Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:27:23 -0700WeeblyTue, 14 Jul 2026 16:09:34 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/serve-one-another“But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:43-45

When we hear the words, “I was called” or “you are called,” or “he was called,” it begs the question, what does it mean to be called? Most often what comes to mind are images of missionaries in Africa, or sweating servers in soup kitchens, or door-to-door Bible witnesses. While these things are true and good for those who are called to them, the call that goes out to all of us is the call to serve as Christ served us (see chapter 15 of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.)

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13)

We are not saved by serving, we are saved for serving. Jesus reminds us that He did not come to be served, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 20:28). This is an astounding statement. If anyone should expect to be served, it is Jesus. Yet His life on earth was filled with examples of serving others. And His specific instructions to us follow along with His example. To follow Jesus is to live a life where we are always looking for ways to meet the needs of others through our talents, gifts, and abilities. It is a lifestyle of putting others first, thinking not about ourselves and our own desires, but about what others lack that we can provide.

So often when teaching about service in Christ’s name, Pastors and teachers quote Luke 6:30-36:

30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

This is a meaningful quote from Jesus; unfortunately, when it is read, the most notable (and memorable) line is, 35 "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” Of course this is a true teaching, but getting stuck here obscures the total message,  Do to others as you would have them do to you.

St. Paul tells us, “You were called to be free.” When we are self-focused and defensive, guarding our opinions or preferences against others, service is impossible. You cannot serve God until you’ve been set free from the self by Jesus. He is the prerequisite for serving. Without the freedom of forgiveness, you’ll end up serving for the wrong reasons: trying to earn the approval of others, trying to run away from your pain, trying to remedy your guilt, trying to impress God. Service motivated by these illegitimate reasons is bound to leave you burned out and bitter in the end. Until you experience the transforming power of God’s grace in your life, you’re too enslaved by your own hurts, habits, and hang-ups to think much about others.

God is far more interested in why you serve others than in how well you serve them. He’s always looking at your heart, serving willingly and eagerly out of love for Jesus and gratitude for all he’s done for you. You are most like Jesus when you’re serving others. After washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus said, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:14–15 NLT). In this way, the call to serve is founded in love. Paul says, “Serve one another in love.” This is an important key to building community: 1 Corinthians 13:3 records, “No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” 

When you hear the words call or serve, push down the radical images of far off lands and inner city need; receive them where YOU are. For example, if you are a husband or a wife, you can start with your partner right under your own roof. Strengthen your marriage by serving together, and if you have kids (or grandkids), teach them how to be servants by working alongside them--lead by example.

Jesus formed his ministry around people who had to give something up. For Peter and John, it was their fishing boats and nets. For Matthew, it was his tollbooth. Eventually, all of them surrendered their idea of the Messiah as a conquering king in favor of Jesus, the Suffering Savior. When we hear the stories, it is too easy to focus on the things that were left behind and ignore the inner decision to do so. Christ calls us to serve by deciding to do so. By giving up fear, by forgiving and by relying on Him to lead us in love.

Learning to serve others well is about getting outside ourselves. God has given each of us strengths, gifts, and abilities to use for His glory. And we should be using those to serve others. And through that service you will also be served! Jesus still serves you as you become like the One who serves you! His joy is made manifest in you as you turn to Him. Follow the example of Jesus, answer the call to serve. People in the world need to see what Jesus really looks like. You can show them by serving others.


Serving in the name of Christ,
​
Fr. Bill+]]>Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:51:48 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/our-year-of-jubilee-10-years-laterOur Year of Jubilee 

The following article was written in Fall 2016 for our 50th anniversary celebration. I still think it’s wild that our birthday is in “THE” Book, and I still give thanks for my Creator family. Happy 60th!                                                    Peace, Jenny

Happy Birthday, Creator!  

Can you hear it? It is the horn of a ram sounding our Jubilee. In ancient Israel, the “Year of Jubilee” was a special observance of the 50th year in the life of a congregation. The word "jubilee" in the Old Testament is from the Hebrew word "yobel" or yovel," meaning "a ram's horn, trumpet" or "coronet." If someone announced the Jubilee, he would do so by blowing a trumpet and all of the congregation of Israel would be able to hear it. 

When the trumpet sounded on the fiftieth year, and specifically on the Day of Atonement, liberty would be proclaimed "throughout the land to all its inhabitants," and then all of the property that had been taken by others for unpaid debts would have to be returned to the original families (clans). In that year, there would be no reaping or planting or gathering of the crops, for it was to be "holy to" the nation Israel and everyone could "eat the produce of the field." What a celebration that must have been! Everyone that had been indebted was then released from their debt and able to start over again by having their land returned to them.* 

You may not know it. I certainly didn't until I went online to research the biblical concept of the Jubilee. But here is the wild thing, Creator. We celebrated the Jubilee. We did. Without even knowing it. When your faithful 50th anniversary committee met a year ago to plan the events of this year, we missed one date. A very important date. Kathy Barclay found it by chance, digging through shoe boxes of old photos that would become the BEAUTIFUL scrapbooks we enjoyed on October 9th. That was the crowning date we had been so focused on: October 9th: The date 50 years ago when the Bishop of Virginia first visited Creator and celebrated the first Confirmation. 

How handy (thank you, God) that this momentous anniversary was kind enough to fall again on a Sunday so that we could come to worship and mark it–with what? A homecoming–a call to the people far and wide to relinquish property, to free debts, and to return to one's own family. The crazy thing is, we were working so hard for October 9th as our Bishop's visit that we missed the date Kathy discovered in a faded, mimeographed service leaflet: the very FIRST worship held at Creator. Ever. July the 10th, 1966. 

How handy (thank you, God) that such a nearly forgotten anniversary also fell on a Sunday this year, so that we could observe it as a gathered Body. But we worship an awesome God, a Creator God–a God who can bring life out of dust and meaning out of chaos, and do you know what? The lonely little July date was our church's "real" birthday because it is the very first Sunday 50 years ago that our people gathered together in his name. 

More amazing still, this very date finds a precedent in holy scripture itself. As in, our date is in the book! As Leviticus 25:8-12 instructs,  "You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you…”

The “tenth day of the seventh month” ??? July 10th, 2016? We did that! Our 50th year celebration is in the BIBLE! As I recall it was birthday cake, piñata, and a ring toss--regrettably no ram's horn-- but we gathered, we celebrated, we sang praises and we gave thanks for five decades of God's providence and mercy. 

This past year has given us much to celebrate. We began in fellowship, enjoying a lovely spaghetti supper, and we will end gathered around the manger once again. In between were a bus trip, ball game, concert, homecomings. Ironically--(thank you, God) the Christian year "ends" with its very own beginning: just at that point where the harvest is gathered, the ground is shuttered tight and the air is bright with cold, just at that winding down of all things secular and seasonal comes the greatest beginning of all time: The Genesis of new life from the author of our salvation. And so the year ends with newborn life (IS there anything on the planet more hope-filled than the birth of a baby?) and the great pull to humanity to look up and understand so that we can come to worship and adore the only thing that ever mattered and ever will. 

Of course we can see what Jubilee means to us. Spiritually speaking, we have been freed from sin. Property which was rightfully God's (YOU, precious one) is being freed from family misery or Black Friday shopping or health issues or financial issues or any of the many modern grinds that grip our hearts and vie for that hold that only our God should like to have, freed back into the open arms of your Creator God. In our church body, friends we have lost are returning, new friends are finding home here as all "property" or claim on property has been released such that we are One Body in Christ. 

Indeed, the Jubilee year contains many of the pictures of our salvation. Just as the land, the people, and all the property was released, so we too have been released from a debt that we could not pay (our sins). We were once slaves to sin but now we've been released, once held captive but now set free. Christ's blood has atoned for our sins and satisfied the wrath of God that was due us (Romans 5) and as the land was given rest, we too have entered into His rest from all of our works for we could never save ourselves by our own works because salvation is fully a work of God. 
​
"What then?" They asked of Jesus himself: "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (John 6:28-29).* And so we will, this Advent, pour our hearts into that believing. Live our lives into that believing. For we are in Jubilee. We are a people Holy unto Him. Thanks be to God. AMEN.

"And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you." Leviticus 25:10 ]]>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:03:24 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/independence-day"All must admit that the reception of the teachings of Christ results in the purist patriotism, in the most scrupulous fidelity to public trust, and in the best type of citizenship."

– Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President (1885-1889, 1893-1897)


President Cleveland voiced the truth he inherited from his father, a Presbyterian minister, and from the Founding Fathers, in whose shadow he served. What was known and understood by so many, and is lost by so many today, is that the United States was not founded to be a Christian Nation by force, but by faith.

When John Winthrop led many Puritans from England to form the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, they envisioned a place of religious freedom and peace. Once established, the colony did indeed create a space where Puritan beliefs were honored and respected, but they soon fell prey to the same persecution they were running from. Establishing rules and rights for only those of the “Puritan faith,” earthly fear and earthly power conspired to obscure the Gospel and taint the dream.

One hundred and seventy-six years later, in 1776, the Continental Congress gathered to create a new nation based on the same ideals that Winthrop found and then lost. To ensure that fear and power would not overshadow love and compassion, Congress built into the documents and vision of our new nation the foundation of the Gospel proclamation. Everywhere we look when we study the documents of the founding era we find the tenets of the Christian faith and the plan of faithful governance.

This plan was ‘self-evident’ and known. It was a hope, a dream, that our nation would function based on love, charity, fairness, compassion, honor, integrity, self-sacrifice, self-awareness, and dedication to a higher ideal to which all could aspire. For Christians, this is an everyday action, and for a nation built on these tenets, it is truly the opportunity for “liberty and justice for all.”

Often spoken in the public forum, this plan, this idea of a land where religious freedom for all was embraced as an opportunity for witness, was spoken as the foundation for deliberation. In 1850, Theodore Parker, a pastor and activist, spoke before the New England Anti-Slavery Convention. He said, "...There is what I call the American idea….This idea demands, as the proximate organization thereof, a democracy; that is, a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people; of course, a government after the principles of eternal justice, the unchanging law of God; for shortness' sake, I will call it the idea of Freedom..."

Parker only brought to mind the idea everyone could claim if they knew their history and were confident in the tenets of the founding documents. He tried to remind them of our roots and the hope of what could grow from that first planting: not fear and the quest for power, but honor, integrity, and compassion. Thirteen years later, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln recalled Parker’s words while standing on the grief-ridden land of Gettysburg:

... But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

This moving address makes clear that the grand idea was still alive and had permeated the American mind. That “of, by, and for the people” was not separate from the tenets that had brought this nation into being.

Today we celebrate the birth of our great nation amidst competing claims of ‘special knowledge.’ Constant are the news reports about Christian Nationalists who claim that our nation is only for Christians. Others contend that the United States is “blessed by God,” as Israel was, the new “promised land” appropriate only for Christians. These two views, among others, embody the same tragic downfall of John Winthrop in 1630 and fall victim to the fear and quest for power that promotes biblical heresy. Nowhere in scripture are these views supported, and nowhere in the founding of our nation are they proposed.

This 4th of July, our Independence Day, we celebrate the birth of our nation and perhaps, claim for ourselves a new independence. Independence from the fear and the quest for power which freedom allows, and a new dedication to the tenets on which our nation was founded. 

The underlying vision of the Founding Fathers of love, charity, fairness, compassion, honor, integrity, self-sacrifice, self-awareness, and dedication to a higher ideal to which all could aspire is embedded in our national spirit and offered in witness to all the world. As Christians, we reach out in the name of Jesus Christ to embrace all people everywhere, with the hope of a new life. The United States of America has done the same as part of our national identity; not afraid of the loss of power, but confident and faithful in what has formed us and made America great. 

Perhaps there is no greater example or witness of our national identity, intention, and confidence, than that which is inscribed on our welcome beacon: the Statue of Liberty. I leave you with the poem, “The New Colossus,” written by Emma Lazarus. This poem was unanimously adopted to represent the national heart and mind to the world. 

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

“I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
​
Fr. Bill+]]>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:14:38 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/st-johns-daySt John’s Day

“We are going to celebrate St John’s Day, John the Baptist, the Lord's forerunner, the friend of the bridegroom, with complete chastity, with total sobriety…….'And so, brothers, as I said, we shall be celebrating tomorrow, in the Lord's name, the feast of Saint John the Baptist. In seven days’ time, that is on Saturday, we shall also be celebrating the birthday of the holy martyrs Peter and Paul.'"
– Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine. A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 8, Sermons 273-305A on the Saints (New City Press, 1994). Sermon 279 

Since the early days, the church has recognized that there were ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives of virtue, courage, and dedication to Christ. The people view saints as spiritual heroes and heavenly companions whose lives inspire faith, offer moral guidance, and demonstrate the ultimate triumph of God's love. The church has assigned a day of feasting or celebration to each saint based on events of their lives, their birth or death, or simply a day of agreement. 

In the case of John the Baptist, there is a lot of conflicting information as to why June 24 was chosen. The easiest is prescribed by simple math. In St. Luke's Gospel 1:24-27 we are told that, 

24 After this his (Zechariaha) wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 


So, given that Christmas Day is Dec 25, the Annunciation to Mary is March 25, during which time Elizabeth, her cousin, was six months pregnant, meaning that her son John was conceived in September and was born in June. The math points to two dates that could have been chosen, September for his conception or June for his birth, June was the winner. (There are MANY other theories why June was chosen, but for the purposes of this post I am going with the math!)

After Gabriel announced the miracle to Mary he went on to say,

“And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:36-37). 


If we take these words as indicative of the Father’s plan of salvation, then John’s mission was intimately connected to that of Jesus. This is further confirmed when Mary travels in haste to her cousin Elizabeth to help her in the final months of her pregnancy. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, the unborn infant, John, leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. Of this event, Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that John was sanctified in the womb at that moment and prepared for his sacred mission of preparing the way for Jesus’ ministry.  

Saint Thomas even goes so far as to speculate about that moment of sanctification as follows: “Perhaps also in this child the use of reason and will was so far accelerated that while in his mother’s womb he was able to acknowledge, believe, and consent, whereas in other children we have to wait for these things till they grow older: this again I count as a miraculous result of the divine power.” (Summa Theologica 3.27.6) 


John’s birth was surrounded by mystery, amazement, awe, and intrigue. The reaction to John’s birth is recorded this way by Saint Luke, 

“Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, ‘What, then, will this child be?’ For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.” (1:65-66) 


We mark the birth of Saint John the Baptist today, June 24th, and reflect on the divine intention of John’s witness. God’s blessing on Zechariah and Elizabeth displays the “long view” that God brings to Creation. The significant role that John played in the history of salvation is unique and was set in motion long before he was even conceived! 

John is the last voice of the Old Covenant, the close of the Age of Law. Jesus is the first voice of the New Covenant, the beginning of the Age of Grace. Accordingly, John is born to an elderly, barren woman, born when it is really too late for her to be having a child, while Jesus is born to a young virgin, born when it is really too early for her to be having a child. John is announced (and conceived) at the autumnal equinox, when the leaves are dying and falling from the trees. Jesus is announced (and conceived) at the vernal equinox, when the green buds are bursting forth on the trees and there are signs of new life everywhere. John is born when the days are longest, and from his birth on they grow steadily shorter. Jesus is born when the days are shortest, and from his birth on they grow steadily longer. John speaks truly when he says of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease." 

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 Lesser Feasts and Fasts 229

 Feasting, 
​
 Fr. Bill+ 
​]]>Tue, 16 Jun 2026 16:44:15 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/pentecost-lifePentecost Life

Pentecost, the long green season, is an opportunity to think anew about the ebb and flow of your life. Events will come and go, good things and bad things will happen, life will go on. Pentecost is a time to pay more attention to life with all its ups and downs. There are many ways of doing this: prayer and meditation, reading and praying the Holy Scripture, and striving to see and understand existence differently. Here are a few poems written by Jessica Powers (1905-1988), a Discalced Carmelite nun and member of the Carmel of the Mother of God, Pewaukee, Wisconsin. She is hailed as one of America's greatest religious poets, through which we can deepen our Pentecost experience.

This poem lives in the imagery of the house you live in and the suggestion of changing the way you experience that house, but it is actually about your soul. Strive to hear her encouragement to reorder that which you thought was unchangeable.

 The House at Rest

On a dark night
Kindled in love with yearnings —
Oh, happy chance! —
I went forth unobserved,
My house being now at rest.
– St. John of the Cross

How does one hush one’s house,
each proud possessive wall, each sighing rafter,
the rooms made restless with remembered laughter
or wounding echoes, the permissive doors,
the stairs that vacillate from up to down,
windows that bring in color and event
from countryside or town,
oppressive ceilings and complaining floors?

The house must first of all accept the night.
Let it erase the walls and their display,
impoverish the rooms till they are filled
with humble silences; let clocks be stilled
and all the selfish urgencies of day.

Midnight is not the time to greet a guest.
Caution the doors against both foes and friends,
and try to make the windows understand
their unimportance when the daylight ends.
Persuade the stairs to patience, and deny the passages their aimless to and fro.
Virtue it is that puts a house at rest.
How well repaid that tenant is, how blest
who, when the call is heard,
is free to take his kindled heart and go.


The Garments of God

God sits on a chair of darkness in my soul.
He is God alone, supreme in His majesty.
I sit at His feet, a child in the dark beside Him;
my joy is aware of His glance and my sorrow is tempted
to nest on the thought that His face is turned from me.
He is clothed in the robes of His mercy, voluminous garments–
not velvet or silk and affable to the touch,
but fabric strong for a frantic hand to clutch,
and I hold to it fast with the fingers of my will.
Here is my cry of faith, my deep avowal
to the Divinity that I am but dust.
Here is the loud profession of my trust.
I need not go abroad
to the hills of speech or the hinterlands of music
for a crier to walk in my soul where all is still.
I have this potent prayer through good or ill:
here in the dark I clutch the garments of God.


To Live with the Spirit
To live with the Spirit of God is to be a listener.
It is to keep the vigil of mystery,
earthless and still.
One leans to catch the stirring of the Spirit,
strange as the wind’s will.

The soul that walks where the wind of the Spirit blows
turns like a wandering weather-vane toward love.
It may lament like Job or Jeremiah,
echo the wounded hart, the mateless dove.
It may rejoice in spaciousness of meadow
that emulates the freedom of the sky.

Always it walks in waylessness, unknowing;
it has cast down forever from its hand
the compass of the whither and the why.

​To live with the Spirit of God is to be a lover.
It is becoming love, and like to Him
toward Whom we strain with metaphors of creatures:
fire-sweep and water-rush and the wind’s whim.
The soul is all activity, all silence;
and though it surges Godward to its goal,
it holds, as moving earth holds sleeping noonday,
the peace that is the listening of the soul.


The soul is all activity, all silence;
and though it surges Godward to its goal,
it holds, as moving earth holds sleeping noonday,
the peace that is the listening of the soul.


Fr. Bill+


]]>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:27:22 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/contemplate"He who neglects contemplation is deprived of the vision of the light of God; he who is carried away with worry and allows his thoughts to be crushed by the tumult of the things of the world is condemned to the absolute impossibility of penetrating the secrets of the invisible God."

Blessed Maurus Magnentius Rabanus


It's getting hotter, the grass is green…and then brown, the trees are green, the pool is open, the beach/mountains/river beckon. Family vacation plans are being finalized as life shifts from the busy-ness of the school year to the busy-ness of the summer. Even for those empty-nesters who are not driven by school trends, summer affords a special opportunity for down time.

Down time takes many forms. An added block of “me” time, sleeping later, day trips, and full-blown vacations are a time to clear the mind and spirit, to reset the system with what really matters—love and family. Christian or not, the summer season adds a measure of rest and relaxation to our lives. This is why summer is the perfect time to shift into a contemplative mode to calmly consider the presence of God. The celebrations of Christmas and Easter have been wonderful, but all too often the Emmanuel (God with us) of Christmas is convoluted by wrapping paper and tape, and the Messiah of Easter is obscured by eggs and bows and retired as the season passes.

When Blessed Maurus Magnentius Rabanus, an 8th century French Benedictine Monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer, Abbot of Fulda and ArchBishop of Mainz (central West Germany), wrote about contemplation in his treatise De videndo Deo (On Seeing God), he too was afflicted with much to do, and he understood that even the most devout can find the simple presence of God elusive amidst the busy-ness of life (even a Holy life!). The words above and here were aimed at his Benedictine Brothers, but they are appropriate for us today: “to contemplate God is to be open to the mystery of God’s presence.”

Summer is for relaxation and release, a time to slow down, to vacate, but don’t go on vacation without God. Contemplate! Don’t just take a good book, take The Good Book! Don’t just think about your life, think about His! Don’t resolve what to do, resolve who to be in His company! Ask God the big questions and contemplate God’s presence, and you will know God’s answer. 

"He who neglects contemplation is deprived of the vision of the light of God.”

Make it an enlightening summer vacation! Contemplate God!


Resolved and thinking,
​
Fr. Bill+]]>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:22:43 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/the-spirit-dwells-in-youDo you not know that you are a temple of God 
​and 
that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor. 3:16)

So how literally are we to take this bold proclamation made by St. Paul to the Corinthian church? The answer to that question isn’t found in one place, it is the living expression of all of Scripture! Jesus declares, “You have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you” (1 John 2:27), and the witness of the Apostles in the Book of Acts is a witness to that truth.

The personal indwelling of the infinite, eternal Holy Spirit in the believer is such an amazing blessing and privilege that the mind never wholly grasps it. Sadly, the daily succession of joys, sorrows, temptations and trials produces various reactions in us often without stirring our awareness that God is in residence. How would those events have changed if the Holy Spirit was invited to actively participate? 

It is a divine paradox, and a blessed one, that it is the same Holy Spirit who is helping us to be aware that the Holy Spirit is helping us! We recognize the hand of God by the hand of God! This is part of the divine circle of love. How wonderful and loving is God to care so much for us. One of the greatest joys of life is being aware that God is present in the moment as our companion, teacher, and guide.

We are now in the liturgical season of Pentecost—“Ordinary Time,” or the “Long Green Season,” as it is referred to. Liturgical Green reflects creation itself and the creation event of Genesis 1. “Ordinary Time” reminds us that the presence of God—the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—is a common, usual, constant, regular, ORDINARY reality in the life of the believer.

Since the reality of the Holy Spirit acting in your life is an eternal truth, begin each day by giving each new moment to God (it is His anyway!). Be consciously aware and actively present with God through what ever the day brings, and what the day will bring is the presence of God! Seeking God first and making God first will fill you with the blessing of joy and peace that our Lord promised you. 

Do you not know that you are a temple of God 
and 
that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Yes, Lord God! Come Holy Spirit, Come! That I may be wholly yours!
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Fr. Bill+]]>Tue, 26 May 2026 16:22:02 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/simple-love“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

The world is an exhausting place as we search for what should be most important or what deserves our attention from moment to moment. As the tides of societal values ebb and flow, so do our affections. We invest value and love into that which offers us nothing in return. Our efforts to fill our lives with simple meaning often results in filling our lives with complicated and bewildering complexity. We make complex what God intended to be so blessedly simple.

A. W. Tozer, a mid 20th century American pastor, preacher, editor, and devotional writer associated with evangelicalism in the Christian and Missionary Alliance, wrote in his very influential book, The Pursuit of God,

“Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all. If we would find God amid all the religious externals, we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.” (Ch. 2,"The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing")

Loving God is at the core of everything we are meant to be and do. Our love for God matters more than any achievement, success, or program. It matters more than any possession, status, or relationship. In fact, everything we do and every relationship we have, unless they are specifically centered in God, is nothing more than a distraction. But when we pursue loving God above all else, all other pursuits fall into their proper places.

We were not created to offer our affections to anyone or anything but God first and foremost. To do otherwise is simply idolatry, and it will ruin the heavenly peace and simplicity God intends for his children. We create our own golden calves and ask them to satisfy us in ways only God can. We look to the world to offer us love it never had to begin with. But your heavenly Father is a wellspring of love and affection for you.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  

You will never be satisfied until you rest in the powerfully simple truth that God has loved you and will always love you. And you will never experience the fullness of what Christ died to give you until you respond to his ceaseless love by crowning him Lord and loving him with every fiber of your being. Make it simple, recognize now what you love and turn to the Father with greater love for that which you have been given.

Simply,
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Fr. Bill+


]]>Tue, 19 May 2026 16:41:50 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/the-stigmataThe Stigmata

The Stigmata is the mystical phenomena where holy men or women (mainly women, including Catherine of Siena) receive some or all of the bodily wounds of Christ’s crucifixion. 

“Stigmata” derives from the Greek word stígma (a mark) and the verb stízein, which means "to tattoo, prick, or puncture."  Historically, a stigma was a physical brand burned into the skin of slaves, criminals, or soldiers to mark them as property or denote a mark of disgrace. Over time, the plural form stigmata took on its modern spiritual meaning. It refers to the spontaneous appearance of bodily wounds or scars corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. 

There are over three hundred confirmed cases of the Stigmata. These may show some or all of the five Holy Wounds that Jesus received at the Crucifixion – wounds in the hands and feet, from nails, and in the side, from a lance, as well as wounds to the forehead similar to those caused by the crown of thorns. Other reported forms include tears of blood or sweating blood, wounds to the back as from scourging, or wounds to the shoulder as from bearing the cross. Some stigmatics' wounds do not appear to clot, and stay fresh and uninfected. The blood from the wounds is said, in some cases, to have a pleasant, perfumed odor. There are cases where the Stigmatics feel the extreme pain of wounds with no external marks. This is referred to as invisible stigmata. 

Cases of stigmata have been reported at different ages for different stigmatics. Some have manifested stigmata continually after the first appearance; others have shown periodic stigmata that re-occur at certain times of the day or on certain, sometimes holy, days throughout the year. Many of those who receive the Stigmata have been canonized by the church.

It is widely believed that St. Paul was referring to the Stigmata when he wrote to the Galatians,“Let no man trouble me, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body” (6:17). So it has been that down through the centuries a number of Christians have received the grace of having the stigmata, or marks of Jesus’ wounds, on their bodies; many of them were great saints, such as Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena, and, of course, Padre Pio, a nineteenth-century Italian Capuchin friar and mystic, who is venerated by the Roman Catholic church.

This is not meant as cruel or as torture but is rather a grace of being deeply united to Christ in his sufferings for the sake of sinners. After all, all Christians must share in Christ’s sufferings, each one in his or her own way. Jesus tells us in the Gospel that everyone who would be his disciple must take up the cross and follow him. He even shared the cross with St. Simon of Cyrene, who carried it for a while for Jesus on the way to Calvary. So the stigmata can be understood in the light of the universal standard of being a follower of the crucified Savior, that we each carry our cross with him.

St. Bonaventure, writing about St. Francis, who was the first to receive the stigmata, speaks to the blessing and confirmation contained in sharing Christ’s own wounds:

“How is it that we, wretched as we are, have such cold hearts that we are not prepared to endure anything for our Lord’s sake? Our hearts neither burn nor glow with love. Ardent love is a quality of the heart and the stronger this love burns in a person’s heart, the more heroic and virtuous are his deeds. Do you desire to imprint Christ crucified on your heart? Do you long to be transformed into him to the point where your heart is aflame with love? Just as iron when heated to the point it becomes molten can take the imprint of any mark or sign, so a heart burning fervently with love of Christ crucified can receive the imprint of the Crucified Lord himself or his cross. Such a loving heart is carried over to the Crucified Lord or transformed into him. That is what happened with Saint Francis.” 

In St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians, he encourages us to “put on Christ” (3:27). Simply wanting to follow and imitate Christ will not be enough; wanting to know him will not be enough. We need to become, and we need power to become more than we are by ourselves. The invitation is to grow into the “measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13). To “put on Christ” is to participate in his life and his atoning sacrifice. Through our ritual action, we embody how Christ was in the world. We are all familiar with the explanation, clearly elaborated in Paul’s writings, that in baptism we symbolically die, are buried, and are resurrected with Christ—a new being!

In Galatians 3:27, Paul says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Paul explains how we put on Christ in baptism. When we were “baptized into Jesus Christ [we] were baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3). Our immersion is a participation in his death. Then after “we are buried with him by baptism into death,” we also participate in his resurrection, “that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Many of those who have so completely embraced this truth receive the Stigmata, not as punishment but as a grace. We must go forward and walk in newness of life, putting on Christ in our daily life, just as we did in our Baptism. 

While the Stigmata may intrigue us, the sign itself and those who bear it, for example St. Francis, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Padre Pio, St. Faustinia of Kowalska, St. Rita of Cassia, should inspire us to seek a closer union with our Lord. In time, as that union is deepened, the explanation of the Stigmata may matter less than the experience.

Putting on Christ,
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Fr. Bill+
​]]>Tue, 12 May 2026 16:04:37 GMThttps://www.creatorchurch.net/reflections-fr-bill/a-holy-mothers-dayA Holy Mother’s Day 

Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis (1832–1905)* lived and raised her family in the  Appalachian hills of the Virginia/West Virginia line. Of the 13 children born to the Jarvis family, only four lived to adulthood during a time when diphtheria and other diseases ravaged the countryside.  Jarvis worked hard in her community to try to help other mothers and families avoid the tragedies she had suffered. Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Work Clubs” as part of a national public health movement and promoted special “Mother’s Work Days,” when women would collaboratively collect trash and undertake other projects to improve local environmental conditions and their neighbors’ understanding of hygiene.   

During the Civil War, the women's groups she organized helped both Confederate and Union troops who were sick or wounded, and she worked to promote peace and unity following the war. In 1868, despite threats of violence, she organized a “Mother’s Friendship Day” to bring families from both sides of the war together to try to restore a sense of community. 

After Ann Maria Jarvis’ death, her daughter, Anna Jarvis (1864–1948), set out to honor her mother’s legacy by establishing a national Mothers’ Day on the second Sunday in May, the day her mother had died. The day was intended to be a holy day of thanksgiving and recognition when each Mother was honored in the context of their own family.

She chose white carnations as an emblem of the day and urged everyone to write personal heartfelt letters of gratitude to their moms. With widespread adoption of the day, President Wilson issued a proclamation establishing the first national Mother’s Day just before the start of World War I in 1914. 
 
Sadly, as Mother’s Day became a national holiday, it strayed from Ann’s plan of heartfelt intimacy to a commercial venture which helped establish the greeting card industry. Ann’s vision of the day as a holy day of thanksgiving had become, in her eyes, a crass holiday benefitting florists and greeting card companies more than honoring the mothering work done by women. 

Today, while we depend upon that same card industry to help us express our thoughts and emotions, we are also aware that the day is a far cry from Ann’s intention. Still, Mother’s Day is an opportunity for us to reflect on the profound impact that mothers have on our lives, both in our immediate families and the broader spiritual community. 

In the Fifth Commandment, God tells us to “honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12); this is a cornerstone of biblical teaching, underlining the importance of respecting our parents. On Mother’s Day, this commandment takes on a special significance as we celebrate and honor moms.

Throughout Holy Scripture, mothers are depicted as symbols of love, strength, and unwavering guidance. Proverbs 31 portrays a woman of noble character, a woman worth far more than rubies whose children rise and call her blessed, and her husband also praises her. The writer declares: “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). This passage is a powerful testament to the esteem and respect that godly mothers command in their families. The deep reverence for the mother of Proverbs 31 stems from her unyielding commitment to biblical principles. This dedication shaped her character and profoundly influenced her family's spiritual and moral compass. Her example sets a standard of virtue and integrity that continues to guide and enrich the lives of her loved ones.

In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah dedicates her son Samuel to the Lord as an act of faith. Her profound trust in God shows how a mother's vow can enrich and direct the spiritual life of her child even to the influence of an entire nation. Hannah’s story is a beautiful narrative of sacrifice, prayer, and dedication. Her story reveals the deep yearnings of a woman, who, faced with barrenness, turns to God with her plea to bear a child. Her extraordinary vow, if she is to become pregnant, is to dedicate her son to the Lord’s service for all his days (1 Samuel 1:11). God responds to Hannah with compassion, granting her heartfelt request. True to her word, once Samuel is weaned, Hannah fulfills her vow, raising him with the knowledge of God until time to serve in the temple (1 Samuel 1:22). Samuel grows to become one of the great Old Testament spiritual leaders. Undoubtedly, his life is a testament to the power of faith and the impact of a godly upbringing.

The virtue of motherhood is rooted in the godhead itself, as Jesus laments over Jerusalem with the imagery of a mother hen protecting her brood to describe his longing to nurture, defend, and bring the people close to himself. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing."  Luke 13:34
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Mothers are at the forefront of handing the faith down to the next generation, as St. Paul wrote to Timothy: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5). In the Church, a mother’s influence can extend far beyond her biological family. Paul says in Romans 16:13: “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.” Through the institution of motherhood, God used this unnamed woman to nurture— to mother— St. Paul. Let us be grateful for all the mother-figures in our lives — whether they’re related to us by blood, or faith, or both. 

We use Mother’s Day as a singular moment to celebrate our mothers, but the recognition of the divine intention and spiritual dimensions of motherhood should be present to us all the time. Let’s cherish and honor our mothers, grandmothers, and all the women who have been like mothers to us, recognizing their irreplaceable role in our lives and communities. Happy Mother’s Day— everyday— to all our wonderful mothers.

In thanksgiving,

Fr. Bill+


*Historical and biographical information taken from the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
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