November 30, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

Those of you who know me know that my typical response to a question or problem someone will pose is “Have you prayed about that? Have you asked Jesus?” Often the answer I receive from the person is, “Yes,” to which my retort is, “And what did Jesus say?” The reply: “I don’t know.” When I ask for elaboration, what I get is: “I didn’t/don’t hear Jesus say anything.”

I don’t rest with this answer. Prayer is hard, but it is not impossible. It requires us to exercise a new muscle of opening up, listening, and trusting. So, what I will do with the person who is supposedly stuck is do a role-play. I’ll pretend to be Jesus responding. The dialogue might go something like this:

Person: Jesus, why did you take my loved one from me?

Jesus (JC)/Fr. James (FJ): Why do you ask?

Person: Because I’m sad. I miss them. I’m not sure where they are.

JC/FJ: Tell me about your sadness.

Person: I don’t know. I’m just sad.

JC/FJ: Is it that you miss speaking with this person? That you miss holding them? That you miss experiencing life with them?

Person: Yes. All of those things.

JC/FJ: Well, that’s very beautiful–that you had such love for this person.

Person: It is. And I want to be with them. I’m not sure what my purpose in life is anymore.

JC/FJ: Ah, so you’re not sure if you have a purpose in life?

Person: That’s correct.

JC/FJ: Do you think I would say, ‘Indeed, you have no purpose in life anymore.’

Person: Haha. No, you wouldn’t say that.

JC/FJ: OK. Which means you do have purpose then. So, what would you like to do?

Person: You tell me. What are you calling me to do?

JC/FJ: Do you want to meet someone, get remarried perhaps?

Person: No.

JC/FJ: Do you want a particular job? Move to a different location?

Person: No, no.

Jesus/FJ: Do you want to volunteer somewhere? Help someone out?

Person: Hmm, now that sounds interesting. Yes, that’s something that would be meaningful to me.

Jesus/FJ: There you go. It sounds like you might have found your meaning or call–to volunteer and give back. Now, can you tell me what you feel when you serve?

The conversation goes on, but you get the point. Jesus doesn’t just give us the immediate answer. He works with us. Because the point isn’t just ‘getting the answer.’ The point is relationship: sharing our hearts with Jesus. In the fictional conversation above, the person has expressed their sadness, recalled some beautiful memories of love, and shared their desire for service. They have opened their heart and have been vulnerable. That is intimacy. All of that would not have happened had Jesus answered that initial question with some stock answer like, “Your loved one is in a better place” or “I have a plan for you.”

Now, this might seem easier said than done. Often the person will say to me, “Yeah, that works when you are talking, Fr. James. But I’m not able to hear Jesus say these things.”

This is where exercising the ‘new muscle’ comes in. Speak to Jesus like you would speak to me. It might feel like we’re making up the dialogue in our head, but it’s not fake. That is how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. We have to trust it. And, before trusting it, we have to try it.

This is the Advent season: desiring, waiting, receiving. Perhaps we could try to pray this way in the weeks ahead. It feels awkward at first and you might question yourself. But the more you do it, the easier it will become, and you will be experiencing intimacy with God.

Yes, it would be nice to actually hear Jesus’ real voice, to feel his heart pressed against ours. And that is where the longing for heaven comes in. We will one day actually hear his voice and feel his love. But not yet. Our whole life, you see, is an Advent: a waiting. If you think Christmas—the end of Advent—is great, can you imagine what heaven will be like?

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If you missed last week’s bulletin, we published the Parish Annual Report. Please be sure to take a look to see our statistics from the previous year as well as a summary from some of our ministries. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Thanks to a generous gift from a parishioner, this Advent we are giving away the book “The Forgotten Way: The Saint James Master Plan” by Matthew Kelly. Here is a description: The promise of this book is very simple: You can transform your life by changing the way you speak. Inspired by the often-ignored writings of Saint James, bestselling author Matthew Kelly has crafted a uniquely powerful guide based on one epic spiritual truth: Governing your speech is a sure path to holiness. The simplicity and practicality of this great spiritual truth make it remarkable. With each turn of the page you will discover insights and wisdom to help you…Harness the power of positive speech; Eradicate negative forms of speech like gossip and profanity; Flood your life and the lives of others with encouragement; Revolutionize the way you talk to God Redefine the way you talk to yourself; Grow in discipline and alignment with the truth. Copies of the book will be at the entrances of the church while limited supplies last.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace