COME HOLY SPIRIT AND RENEW THE FACE OF THE EARTH! Today is the Feast of Pentecost and so we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the Church. The Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles gathered in fear in the upper room. The gift of the Holy Spirit enabled the apostles to come out of their fear and go out into the world and begin to proclaim that Jesus is indeed the Christ. The Holy Spirit whom Jesus sent to His apostles empowered them to begin the preaching of the Gospel and as a result thousands were baptized that day. The same Holy Spirit has been given to us in Baptism and the fullness of the Spirit to those who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The Holy Spirit was sent to the Church to guide us by teaching us the truth that Jesus revealed to us and by giving us the courage and resolve to follow the teaching of Jesus and so enter into His life here and now and to someday enter into His eternal kingdom. The Holy Spirit can dispel all our fears. Fear is one of the greatest obstacles to living and growing in our Faith. When we are fearful, we cannot trust God as we should and, as a result, we begin to trust more in ourselves and in what the world has to offer.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love and Jesus told us that love casts out all fear. The Holy Spirit gives us all that we need to follow Jesus in our daily lives. The gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord, are gifts that will help us, but we must be willing to use them and seek a deep relationship with Jesus. These gifts are given to all of us in the sacraments so that we can become more like Him in all that we do. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will show us how to use our gifts to serve others so that more may grow in faith and love. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to cast out all fear so that we can truly trust in Jesus every day.
The Feast of Corpus Christi is on Sunday, June 2nd. We will again have an outdoor procession with the Blessed Sacrament after the 11:30 Mass, weather providing. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to gather and publicly express our devotion to and our belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Please plan to join us for this very special time of prayer.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS. The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this year will be celebrated on the weekend of June 8 and 9 at all the Masses. Following the 5 PM Mass on Sunday, June 9, we will hold our Parish picnic.
WE WILL PROVIDE the hamburgers and hot dogs, grilled by the Knights of Columbus. Our Altar & Rosary Society will be providing ALL the desserts: cake, cupcakes, pies, and cookies. WE ASK THOSE ATTENDING TO BRING A SIDE DISH TO SHARE. SO PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND WITH YOUR FAMILIES. THERE WILL BE MUSIC AND BEER.
WARM WEATHER! Please remember to be careful of how you and your children dress when coming to Mass in the warm weather. The church is air conditioned, so it is not necessary to dress as if we are going to the beach or a picnic. We should be respectful and reverent as we come to Mass. The clothes we choose to wear make a statement to others and to God about what we are doing as we come to worship Him. It is a special time, and it is the most important activity of our lives. We would gladly dress up for a variety of occasions such as weddings or funerals or to meet an important person. We would not want our host or hostess to think we have no respect for the occasion or for them. So why should we treat our Lord any differently? It cannot hurt anyone to dress up a little when they come to church. Such things as shorts, t-shirts, halter tops, flip flops all belong at the beach and are not suitable attire to worship God or enter His house. So, please use discretion and good taste as you get ready for Mass each Sunday. We won’t have any “fashion police” guarding the doors so just do it for the Lord and you will feel better about yourself as you sacrifice comfort for reverence and respect.
