From the Pastor's Desk - January 10 & 11, 2026
On January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, I emphasized in my homily the need to carve out at least a small portion of our day, every day, for prayer, Scripture reading, and time with our Lord. We were told in the Gospel that day, that Mary pondered these things in her heart, meaning the things that the shepherds recounted to her and Joseph when they arrived at the manger. Like Mary, all of us are called to spend some time each day pondering the blessings of God in our lives, as well as the Word of God that we should read at least a little of, every day in an appointment with God.
Many years ago, I read a book entitled Appointment with God, authored by the late Father Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. It’s a short book about having a daily appointment with our Lord, Jesus Christ. On December 31 and January 1, I offered handouts at St. Philip Neri with a summary of Fr. Scanlan’s 5 steps to have a daily appointment with God. I was impressed that at the morning Mass on New Year’s Day we ran out of handouts and people asked me for more. Below is a copy of that same handout. I truly believe that we would all mature and grow in our commitment to Christ and our service to him, if we tried to put these steps into practice:
Step 1: Praise the Lord
Through song, through Psalms, through recitation of the names of the Lord in Scripture, through offerings of thanks for the blessings or even the sufferings of our lives that unite us to the Lord, and for prayers answered. If someone has received a gift of prayer tongues to use to praise the Lord, this can be used here as well.
Step 2: Listen to the Lord and receive His revelation.
Read a chapter of Scripture until the Lord speaks to you through His Word.
Meditate upon the words in the Scripture that speak to you. Write important
Scriptures in a diary or prayer journal.
Step 3: Confession and Realism
Confess the sins that you have committed since the day before and tell the Lord what is on your mind. This is not a substitute for the Sacrament of Confession which we need if we’re serious about growing in grace and avoiding sin. This is a time to tell God what’s on our minds and in our hearts, including the ways in which we have failed Him.
Step 4: Petition and Intercession
Ask the Lord for His will on the situations of your life. It is a good idea to keep a journal of situations that you regularly need to bring to the Lord. This is an opportunity to pray for our needs and those of others.
Step 5: Our Response and Our Resolutions
What does the Lord want us to do after we speak to Him and read
His Word? It’s good to write these answers and resolutions in our journal.
I’m trying hard to make a daily appointment with God a commitment that I remain faithful to, regardless of how busy my days become. Please join me in this commitment, this New Year’s resolution.
God Bless you all,
Father Rich