COLORADO SPRINGS. On a cool autumn night last month, current and alumni Pirates of St. Mary’s High School celebrated 137 years of tradition with a week of homecoming events, culminating in the school’s first homecoming football game in three years. Warriors dressed in Pirate green are once again moving the pigskin up and down the gridiron.

DENVER. No matter which way you cut it, healing is at the center of the Gospel. In the same way as Jesus came “not to be served, but to serve” (Mt 20:28), he also came not to be healed, but to heal. Just look at the many miracles he performed; virtually all of them involved a person who so desired to be healed, and Christ alone was the only one who could satiate that desire.

One of the most remarkable things about these healings is that faith was all that was required of the one who was healed. It was not warranted on their own accord, nor did they earn it; in the end, it is Jesus Christ alone who truly heals. All we need to do is believe that he can.

Por eso también nosotros damos siempre gracias a Dios, porque, cuando escucharon la Palabra de Dios que les predicamos, la recibieron, no como palabra humana, sino como realmente es, Palabra de Dios, que actúa en ustedes, los creyentes. -1 Tesalonicenses 2:13

Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas en Cristo, es seguro decir que, en mi primer año y medio como obispo, he hecho cosas que nunca había soñado hacer en toda mi vida. Muchas de esas cosas son sólo parte de la vida de un obispo. Algunas cosas han sido alegres y otras tristes.

We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. —1 Thes 2:13

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is safe to say that in my first year and a half as your bishop, I have done things I never dreamed of doing in my entire life. A lot of those things are just part of the life of a bishop. Some things have been joyful and others sad.

Father Jim Baron is Director of Mission and Strategic Planning for the Diocese of Colorado Springs. He is currently in residence at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish.

In last month’s issue, I exhorted us to take back Sunday as the Lord’s Day. Two specific ways we do this is to go to Mass and enjoy actual rest. As much as keeping Sunday holy is an act of obedience to the Lord’s commandment, it is also a treat to us. This month, I think it is helpful to focus more on why that is true.