This weekend we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, remembering the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples 10 days after the Ascension of Jesus. As the scriptures make clear, this event changed the disciples from people cowering in fear in the upper room to unintimidated missionaries spreading the Good News.
We receive the same gift of the Holy Spirit, first in baptism, when we are anointed with chrism, and then its fullness when we are anointed again at confirmation. For many centuries, the sacraments of initiation (baptism, first communion, and confirmation) were celebrated all at once, as we still do at the Easter Vigil when an adult is brought into the Church. What does the gift of the Holy Spirit mean for us? For me, personally, it means three related things: first, I am not alone. As I move through life with all of its twists and turns, I believe I am always accompanied and protected by the Holy Spirit. Second, I believe that the Holy Spirit will give me the guidance and direction I need to make the right choices in life. Finally, I believe that the Holy Spirit gives me the strength to live the commitments I made and to do what is right. Accompaniment, direction, and strength. Yet, while the Holy Spirit is always there to guide me and give me strength, it only works if I am paying attention, if I am giving the Holy Spirit the time and space needed to help me. I need to be reflective on how the Spirit could be talking to me through the people I interact with and the events of my life. I need to spend quiet time each day, speaking with the Spirit and being quiet to listen. The Spirit is there to help us: accompaniment, direction, and strength. How blessed we are! Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful! God bless.
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This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Jesus had done his part: He became one of us through the Incarnation and His birth; He lived and spoke the Good News, so that we would know how to be His followers; He suffered, died and rose from the dead. Now, with His work completed, He needed to get out of the way so that His followers, including us, could continue His work. He articulated that work clearly in the statement we heard in the Gospel: go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Our second reading, from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (4:1-7, 11-13), gives us some good tips on how to do that, telling us to live the following in our lives:
The more we can live with love, the more peace and unity we bring to the world around us – and to ourselves. That is how we “proclaim the gospel to every creature” and continue the work that Christ began of building up the Kingdom of God. Let us make sure we are living Christ’s command to love one another through a life of humility, gentleness, and patience. God bless. Church sign of the week: Love is the only thing that can be divided without being diminished. What is most important to being a good Christian? Our rules? Or the commandment of love?
In our first reading from Acts of the Apostles, Peter undergoes a conversion. As a Jew, he had always believed that the Jews were the Chosen Ones and would be defiled to have contact with those who were not “in.” Everyone else was lost. That was the long-standing “rule.” But when he sees the Holy Spirit coming upon Cornelius and other “Gentiles,” as the Spirit had come upon the apostles, Peter was able to move beyond what they believed and accept what the Holy Spirit was telling them: all are children of God, made in God’s image, and Jesus came to save all. That was a huge change for those early believers who had been Jewish; who knows what rules and traditions will change as we move forward, led by the Holy Spirit! Our second and third reading emphasize LOVE. The word LOVE appears 9 times in each reading. In the first letter of John, we hear this very blunt statement: Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In the Gospel, Jesus is also very direct: This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. These two statements leave no doubt: we need to make love and acceptance of others, despite their faults and sins (which we all have), the focus of our spiritual life. I believe what Pope Francis said: who am I to judge? As a pastor representing the Church, I believe it is important for me to convey what the Gospels and the Church call us to live and be. But when people know these things and make decisions to live in a different way, that is between them and God. If I rigidly demanded observance of every commandment and rule in order to be part of the community, there would be no one in the community, including me. Rules and rituals and traditions are important: they help keep us from straying and they join us to the community. But we need to lead with love and acceptance of God’s children, not rules and barriers. Church sign of the week: Maybe you wouldn’t have to mention you are a Christian all the time if you just acted like one most of the time. |
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