Portrait of Love Personified - JANUARY 27, 2007

At 80% of the weddings I preside at today’s second reading is chosen. It is the famous reading where Paul says, “love is kind, patient, not jealous, it is not rude or selfish…It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Walter Burghardt has pointed out that if ever a four-letter word could cry out against its abuse, that word is love. Love is the total gift of husband and wife to one another in marriage, but it is also used of a one night stand after a casual meeting in a single’s bar. Love describes a growing experience that never ends, as well as the fleeting experiences of doubling one’s pleasure with Doublemint Gum or enjoying a beer at the beach. We say we love one another, but we also say we love popcorn, pepperoni on pizza, our pets, our Patriots, our cars etc. Paul today challenges our abuse of this special word as he sets before us the verbal portrait of love personified. This love came alive in Jesus; it is this love to which each believer must aspire so as to be able to be his disciples.


Today we welcome all to our School’s open house. The purpose of St. Luke’s School is to share the love of Jesus. It is this love that we seek to teach and share with our students. Come and see the good things going on in our school. This week is also Catholic School Week. May the Lord bless our teachers, staff, aids, and benefactors.

Fr. Bob Hawkins - JANUARY 27, 2007

An important year for St. Luke School - JANUARY 20-2007

This present year is an important one for St. Luke’s School. In June Julia Signore will step down as our principal and a search committee will be formed to find a replacement. Please pray that a competent leader can be found to continue our tradition of academic and spiritual excellence. Next Sunday we will have a special School Mass at 11:30 to begin Catholic Schools Week (Jan 29-Feb 3, 2007). Our Open House will follow the mass. Come and visit the School. Our marketing committee has done a great job in publicizing this event.

Fr. Bob Hawkins JANUARY 20-2007

Epiphany journey toward God - JANUARY 6, 2007

This feast of Epiphany reminds me that all human beings are on a journey toward God. This God calls us all to a special intimacy with Him. It is out of this intimacy that we sense our connectedness to all human beings. This reality is hard to realize in a world so divided between rich and poor, Shiite and Sunni, Jew and Palestinian, Protestant and Catholic, Hutu and Tutsi. Our world is in desperate search to find solutions to our many divisions. The Epiphany calls us to ponder many questions:

How do we overcome barriers and obstacles to God’s love?

What word can I say that will overcome misunderstanding or alienation?

What gesture can I make to allow another to feel wanted?

What apology can I make to end a rift?

How can I move out beyond my comfort level to reach out to the alienated?

How can God’s love which is beyond borders be translated into my life?

Fr. Bob Hawkins - JANUARY 6, 2007