Happy Pentecost and Happy Birthday my dear Church!
As you have come to expect, I’m very inspired by the scope and sequence of it all. I love to reflect on the questions about “where we’ve been” and “where we’re going.” I see meaning in the movement of time, and messages in the journeys of life. I recognize the beginning of our creation in that strong driving wind that hovered over the waters and swept across the deserts, breathing life into us all! I take note of when prophets promised things like the coming of a light in the darkness, which was fulfilled at the birth of our Savior at Christmas. I remember the times when that very Savior taught us parables about the splendor of the grass and the trust of the birds. How he fed us and told us that we needed to take his Body and Blood and share it with the world. I’m reminded that he said that he would suffer, die and rise on a third day like his did at Easter. And I see the fulfillment of it all in his greeting of peace, uttered once again in the Gospel, so that we might welcome him into our lives!
As it comes to a close today, the Easter Season gives us the promise of eternal life and the reassurance that there is much to do as we share that life with others. We are the Church! We are recipients of the Holy Spirit! We have our gifts to share, and we are gathered here as Parish to do just that! Today, the fire of God’s love rests on each of us, to fill us with the grace we need to speak our hearts and assist one another in performing “mighty acts of God” for all the world to see and witness!
This is us, and we are God’s people called to serve The Church and one another in the best way we know how! We are empowered by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit first given to us at our Baptism to renew the face of the earth, which means to make new again what was God’s perfect kingdom, created for us to live in and enjoy!
But what is this Holy Spirit and how do we know that it’s there? Listening to my Hallow App last week, I heard a great and very simple explanation from Fr. Dave Pivonka, who likened the Holy Spirit to snorkeling.
We can all float with our face in the ocean’s water and see the blue hues and maybe even make out a shape or two below the surface as we struggle to hold our breath and deal with the sting of the salt water in our eyes, or we can put on a mask and breathe through a snorkel, and truly see and experience the beauty of God’s creation. In this we can relax on the surface, breathe easy, and see the fish, and the reefs where they live, and turtles swimming by, and the flow of the sea grass as the current gently moves it to and fro. Maybe even more simply, for those of us with glasses and hearing aids, what was blurry and muffled, is now clear and distinct as it was meant to be seen and heard. Asking for and accepting the Holy Spirit into your life does just that… It brings us closer to perfection. It makes our mission clearer. It helps us hear God’s call in a way that moves our hearts to truly feel the love that he has for us all!
So with our many gifts assembled here, we call on the Holy Spirit to make us ONE. We put on its gifts to make us WHOLE. We ask that it come into our lives and bring us closer to God’s love; a love given to us in His Son Jesus Christ, who sent this Spirit to us so that we might BE CHURCH and be his Body and Blood for those who hunger and thirst for the His promise!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Shed Your divine light to dispel the darkness!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Refresh our souls!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Give us rest and cool us in the heat!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Give us solace in the midst of woe!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Fill us with Your love!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Heal all of our wounds and strengthen our hearts!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Guide our journey and every step along the Way!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Feed us with Your Body and Blood!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Wash us clean from every sin and give us virtue!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Grant us salvation and share Your never-ending joy!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love!
I invite you to close your eyes and in the silence of your mind and heart, repeat the prayer: “Come Holy Spirit… Come Holy Spirit…”
As you have come to expect, I’m very inspired by the scope and sequence of it all. I love to reflect on the questions about “where we’ve been” and “where we’re going.” I see meaning in the movement of time, and messages in the journeys of life. I recognize the beginning of our creation in that strong driving wind that hovered over the waters and swept across the deserts, breathing life into us all! I take note of when prophets promised things like the coming of a light in the darkness, which was fulfilled at the birth of our Savior at Christmas. I remember the times when that very Savior taught us parables about the splendor of the grass and the trust of the birds. How he fed us and told us that we needed to take his Body and Blood and share it with the world. I’m reminded that he said that he would suffer, die and rise on a third day like his did at Easter. And I see the fulfillment of it all in his greeting of peace, uttered once again in the Gospel, so that we might welcome him into our lives!
As it comes to a close today, the Easter Season gives us the promise of eternal life and the reassurance that there is much to do as we share that life with others. We are the Church! We are recipients of the Holy Spirit! We have our gifts to share, and we are gathered here as Parish to do just that! Today, the fire of God’s love rests on each of us, to fill us with the grace we need to speak our hearts and assist one another in performing “mighty acts of God” for all the world to see and witness!
This is us, and we are God’s people called to serve The Church and one another in the best way we know how! We are empowered by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit first given to us at our Baptism to renew the face of the earth, which means to make new again what was God’s perfect kingdom, created for us to live in and enjoy!
But what is this Holy Spirit and how do we know that it’s there? Listening to my Hallow App last week, I heard a great and very simple explanation from Fr. Dave Pivonka, who likened the Holy Spirit to snorkeling.
We can all float with our face in the ocean’s water and see the blue hues and maybe even make out a shape or two below the surface as we struggle to hold our breath and deal with the sting of the salt water in our eyes, or we can put on a mask and breathe through a snorkel, and truly see and experience the beauty of God’s creation. In this we can relax on the surface, breathe easy, and see the fish, and the reefs where they live, and turtles swimming by, and the flow of the sea grass as the current gently moves it to and fro. Maybe even more simply, for those of us with glasses and hearing aids, what was blurry and muffled, is now clear and distinct as it was meant to be seen and heard. Asking for and accepting the Holy Spirit into your life does just that… It brings us closer to perfection. It makes our mission clearer. It helps us hear God’s call in a way that moves our hearts to truly feel the love that he has for us all!
So with our many gifts assembled here, we call on the Holy Spirit to make us ONE. We put on its gifts to make us WHOLE. We ask that it come into our lives and bring us closer to God’s love; a love given to us in His Son Jesus Christ, who sent this Spirit to us so that we might BE CHURCH and be his Body and Blood for those who hunger and thirst for the His promise!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Shed Your divine light to dispel the darkness!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Refresh our souls!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Give us rest and cool us in the heat!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Give us solace in the midst of woe!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Fill us with Your love!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Heal all of our wounds and strengthen our hearts!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Guide our journey and every step along the Way!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Feed us with Your Body and Blood!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Wash us clean from every sin and give us virtue!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Grant us salvation and share Your never-ending joy!
“Come Holy Spirit…” Fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love!
I invite you to close your eyes and in the silence of your mind and heart, repeat the prayer: “Come Holy Spirit… Come Holy Spirit…”
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