A Letter from Fr. Paul - Sunday, June 12th

​With Pentecost last weekend, the Easter season ended and we return to “Ordinary” time, beginning with two special feasts: this weekend the Holy Trinity and next weekend the Body and Blood of Christ.
 
Three persons, one God: that is our belief in the Holy Trinity.  It is a mystery we cannot understand rationally, but we can clearly see the effects of it.  God the Father creates and provides for His creatures.  God the Son redeems us and reconciles us with God.  God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, strengthens us, teaches us, and guides us to God.  As I am one person with three different roles or functions (a community member to those I live with, a mentor to those I am responsible for in formation for religious life, and pastor to the community at St. Pius X), our God is one with three different roles or functions.
 
What does this say to us about our lives as disciples?  Maybe if we integrate those three roles into our lives as best we can, we will be living more like Jesus:
 
God the Father creates and provides for His creatures: while we can’t create, we certainly can participate in providing for God’s creatures, not only those for whom we are responsible (like our children), but for the most needy around us.
 
God the Son redeems us and reconciles us with God: while we cannot redeem others, we can be a force for reconciliation in a world that is so divided and in conflict.
 
God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, strengthens us, teaches us, and guides us to God: while we cannot sanctify others, we can certainly be a good example to others, we can strengthen others in their struggle to live the Gospel, we can be a source of encouragement to others.
 
In short, we are not able to create or redeem or sanctify, but in our own way and with our limited abilities, we can magnify the effects of these actions to the world around us.  Then we are living as Jesus did.
 
As we celebrate the feast of the most Holy Trinity, let us thank God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – for our creation, our redemption, and our sanctification, resolving to do our best to magnify those gifts in the world by the way we live.  God bless.
 
Church sign of the week:
What you are is God’s gift to you.
What you do with yourself is your gift to God.