February 12 is not only the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, but it is also the birthday of President Lincoln. The Word of God we hear proclaimed this Sunday and the events of Lincoln’s life remind us that God’s ways are mysterious indeed. President Abraham Lincoln knew a thing of two about grief and the struggle to find God with the mystery of seemingly senseless loss. The year 1862 saw the death of his son Willie at the age of 11 of typhoid fever while the Civil War raged, bringing death and destruction to a divided nation. Lincoln struggled to find a divine purpose behind it all. Of the war he wrote: God “could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.” There may be no final, satisfactory answer to the mystery of suffering, but there is a response: compassion. Practice some toward everyone you meet.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Parish Appreciation Tailgate Party Committee for a job well done this past Sunday! A good time was had by all who attended!
Today is World Marriage Day. Let us pray that all husbands may have the wisdom and courage to help their wives grow and develop their talents to become all God wants them to be and that all wives may have the knowledge and the will to encourage their husbands to grow and fulfill all the rich potential that lies within them.
Tuesday is Saint Valentine’s Day, my mother’s 88th birthday. Happy birthday, Mom! On this day when we celebrate love, let us pray from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians: Love is patient, love is kind, it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, Love never fails.
Our Responsorial Psalm this week, "Lord, you fill me with the joy of salvation," reminds us to rejoice in thanksgiving for God’s gift of salvation.
