What is this?  A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him."

We have seen that liturgically, the Liturgy of the Word that begins Ordinary Time after the Christmas Season speaks to us of vocation (call and response), to formation in Christ and "his ways," to continuous and consistent surrender to Jesus' divine authority.  Hence today's readings so proclaim:  "A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up …to him you shall listen" (Deuteronomy), and "I am telling you this for your own benefit …for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction" (St. Paul). Make no mistake, from the letters of Paul, John, and Peter, from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—that is, from the writings of the New Testament forward—we are meant to take the same journey as those who heard THE GOOD NEWS for the very first time:  vocation, formation, surrender.

Thank you to all who participated in Together in Mission 2011. I recently received confirmation from the Archdiocesan Office that we have reached—indeed slightly exceeded—our assessed goal. The parishes and schools of the inner city are helped immensely by your generosity.