The joy of conversion, Christian community, and the Catholic faith
Loving God, you called each of us by name.
You gave your only Son to redeem us.
In your faithfulness you sent the Holy Spirit to complete the mission of Jesus among us.
Open our hearts to Jesus.
Give us the courage to speak his Name to those who are close to us, and the generosity to share his love with those who are far away.
When I look back to see how the Lord has been working all my life to draw me closer to Himself, I am reminded of a scene in The Silver Chair, one of C. S. Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles: two children have been sent by Aslan (the Christ figure of Narnia) on a perilous quest to rescue the lost prince of Narnia. Aslan gives them instructions on how to complete their quest but, in the hardship of their journey, they get so tied up in their own discomfort that they forget to look for the signs he has told them to watch for. Only after much struggle and danger do they happen to look back over the way they have come; now they can see clearly that a series of troublesome trenches through which they have struggled are actually a message carved in the earth, spelling out one of Aslan’s instructions for anyone to see who cares to look. What the children in the story couldn’t see at the time is plain in hindsight—but they have left it almost until too late before they look back.
“Acquire the Holy Spirit and thousands around you will acquire salvation” – St. Seraphim of Sarov
St. Seraphim dreamed big. Honored by both the Roman Catholic (today) and Orthodox (January 15) calendars, this wonderworker emphasized seeking communion with God as the true purpose of life for every Christian. St. Seraphim’s life demonstrated that everything else was merely the means for “acquiring the Holy Spirit.”
Wait! Didn’t we acquire the Holy Spirit at baptism and weren’t we sealed with the gift of the Spirit at Confirmation? Can’t we acquire more of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Reconciliation or receive the Eucharist? A resounding “yes” to all of these.
Open our hearts to Jesus. Give us the courage to speak his Name to those who are close to us, and the generosity to share his love with those who are far away.
We pray that every person throughout the world be invited to know and love Jesus as Savior and Redeemer. May they come to know his all-surpassing love.
St. Luke’s gospel this Sunday tells us that two disciples, Cleopas and an unnamed disciple, had left Jerusalem even though the women had told them that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb and that they had seen him in his new presence. These two disciples were walking along to Emmaus and a stranger began to walk with them as they were talking about those things that had happened to Jesus. This stranger they did not recognize began to explain why Jesus had to go through those things. Briefly, it was toward evening and they stopped at an inn for dinner and rest. When did they recognize him it was Jesus? At the meal when he took the bread, blessed and broke the bread. They had been at the Last Supper. Their eyes were opened yet Jesus instantly vanished. They ran back to the Upper Room to tell the others. This story is critical. Pray and think about it.
“Acquire the Holy Spirit and thousands around you will acquire salvation” – St. Seraphim of Sarov St. Seraphim dreamed big. Honored by both the Roman Catholic (today) and Orthodox (January 15) calendars, this wonderworker emphasized seeking communion with God as the true purpose of life for every Christian. St. Seraphim’s life demonstrated that everything else was merely the means for “acquiring the Holy Spirit.” Wait! Didn’t we acquire the Holy Spirit at baptism and weren’t we sealed with the gift of the Spirit at Confirmation? Can’t we acquire more of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Reconciliation or receive the Eucharist? A resounding “yes” to all of these.
Ascension: Acts 1:1-11; Psalms 47: 2-3 and 6-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53 7th Sunday after Easter: Acts 7:55-60; Psalms 97:1-2 , 6-7, 9; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20; John 17:20-26 In most dioceses and states of our country this Solemn Feast of the Ascension was moved to this 7th Sunday after Easter. This was done to...
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Ps 67:2-3, 5-6, 8; Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29 On this Memorial Weekend let us remember and pray for all those who have died trying to keep us safe and more than just the armed forces. Amen. Memorial Day started as an event to honor Union Soldiers who had died during the...