Month: May 2024

Peace and grace to you all!

It is good to stand before the mystery of life, and all that is, and ponder it.  Creation is always surprisingly new!  This weekend we stand before the mystery of the Creator and source of all that is – God, that is why God is called Father: Father = source.  As Christians we profess one God, three persons; a mystery that saints and sinners have pondered since the beginning of revelation!

Because God is the first priority in our lives we should ponder the mystery of God so as to understand God a little better, to be in awe, love, listen to, desire to be with, and celebrate in our worship more profoundly.

Not all that we know about God can come from our own personal experiences of God.  The largest part of our knowledge of God is based upon Sacred Scripture, which is also Divine Revelation and the Church whose task it is to teach the truth about God, as Jesus did, to all people.  In the Gospel this weekend Jesus assures the disciples that the “Spirit of Truth” will guide the Church to all truth throughout all time.  The Church has always been active in speaking and teaching through the centuries so that all people would know God, love God, trust God, and follow his way of life – to where?  To peace and happiness in this life and to enjoy forever the life with God that is to come!  Even in the midst of suffering, there is joy.

In the last few weeks of Easter, Jesus repeatedly promised his disciples that “whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will give you.”  Jesus also told his disciples to remain in “the city” until they received power from on high.  This event of being empowered with the Holy Spirit is what we celebrated last weekend.  One great gift of the Holy Spirit Jesus gave the disciples was to forgive sins and through this gift, we all find our Spiritual renewal.

Another gift of the Spirit is prayer.  For many, when asked about their prayer, they say they pray to “Jesus” or they pray to “God” or one of the Saints.  This is all good!  But for those who have not tried it yet, how about consciously saying a prayer to the Father, asking in the name of Jesus, while knowing you are praying and speaking with the help of the Holy Spirit?   Last weekend’s second reading told us that no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit – this is because God the Father and God the Holy Spirit move us to do it!

The mystery of God is about a relationship, a communion of complete love, an out-pouring of love for the sake of the good of the other.  Try to enter this relationship with your prayer of the heart!  God bless you all! +++ Fr. Peter

May God the Holy Spirit glow within you!

This weekend we celebrate Pentecost which is also the birthday of the Church when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and disciples of Jesus uniting them in one Spirit and one faith in The One Lord. When we speak about spirit on a personal level, we are usually referring to something about matters of interest or passion in life. We notice people who are filled with a kind of spirit: a team spirit, a school spirit, a work spirit, and a family spirit. People of spirit are fired with a special passion, love and energy for particular things. You can hear it in their voice, see it in their eyes and on their face and it shows in the way they spend their time and money. Their whole heart is into it. They get excited about it and they are obviously more animated and energized while they are engaged in what they love.

Understanding spirit at a personal level helps us to better grasp why God gave us the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The presence of the Holy Spirit makes people on fire for Jesus and the Gospel! The Holy Spirit builds, unifies, animates and sanctifies the Church. The Holy Spirit is Truth, guiding us in the truth of God! The Holy Spirit is the breath of God speaking and inspiring action in the members of Christ’s body, the Church. The Holy Spirit is the gift of enlightenment and sure sign that we are God’s people: God’s adopted sons and daughters. The gift of fiery faith that we have from the Spirit is not like the flame of a match that can be blown out by the wind or drowned by water. No, the gift of God the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is an eternal, unquenchable, loving fire that drives us into action and ministries. The Holy Spirit within us loves to be shared and expressed with other people in prayer and good works. Its fruits are purity, gentleness, kindness, generosity, joy, peace, hospitality, healing, forgiveness and unity. The Holy Spirit equips the Church in its mission by filling the members with gifts and inspiring them to action for building up God’s Kingdom. One sure sign of the Holy Spirit that I notice is the light of the Spirit in a person’s eyes. Wherever I encounter people, I can visibly detect the presence of the Spirit within them. Look for it! Can you see it too?

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to ignite us with God’s pure love and passion for life and goodness and share this joy with others! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace to all at St. Edward!

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord that we celebrate this weekend completes a full circle of faith for us.  When the Son of God became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, the beginning of the restoration of humanity foretold by the prophets had begun.  We recognize by faith the marriage of human nature with divine nature, the union of mankind with God in the person of Jesus who is fully God AND fully human.  We know that Jesus’ mission was to rescue the human race and restore the image of the human person as God created them.  We recognize the love and intimacy in the way God chose to do this – by becoming human as one of us.  The Ascension of Jesus makes this wondrous restoration in a spectacular way.  God was not satisfied that we should know Jesus as the one who suffered and died to take away our sins: Our Redeemer, Our Rescuer, Our Savior.  This was not enough!  Jesus raised his human body from the tomb of death and showed himself to the disciples as being alive!  He reveals the resurrection as a new life that is a lived experience for those who follow him.  Now Jesus takes his human body to heaven where it is enthroned at the “right hand of the Father”!

Just sit back and contemplate this event.  Let the shock of God’s exaltation of the human person sink in to your heart and mind!  Jesus raised human status from condemnation, to enthronement at God’s right hand – above all angels and united with God!   I hope that everyone can feel a new confidence in the love that God is extending to each person.    Once the restoration in Jesus is understood and accepted, no one will doubt or stand looking up into the sky.  We will work together diligently to make disciples of all nations, bringing them to the waters of regeneration in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  This is an amazing rebirth and joy!  It is time to pray for the outpouring of the Spirit that we may be builders of the great and eternal kingdom!

God bless you all! +++ Fr. Peter

May the splendor of the risen Christ fill your hearts and minds!

Jesus tells us this weekend that “no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

In this Gospel the word love is used many times. In everyday life we hear the word love used frequently and in a lot of different ways: I love sunsets, I love whipped cream and peanuts on top of my banana split, I love family gatherings, and etc. All of which are good things and it is important that we have them. But when we go beyond the things that we like or being open only to things that conform to what we think they should be, we begin to understand what Jesus is saying. It’s good to remind ourselves that Jesus had to make a human effort to keep his Father’s commandments in order to remain in his love and so in like manner we have to make an effort to remain in God’s same love.

We know that the core of the love that he calls us to is a sacrificial, self-surrendering love. It is a kind of giving that focuses completely on God and the other person. Like a boy who gives his coat and hat to his sister to keep her warm and protect her from the cold. Or a mother who rises early to prepare meals and make sure her family has clean clothes to wear and food to eat. Or a father who is always watchful for the safety and well-being of his wife and children repairing the house or the car and lots of other things.

Many of us really enjoy making sacrifices for others and I know that is because the Spirit of Jesus lives within us. We do especially well when we surrender our hearts and desires to God and give the sacrifices we make to those we love or think well of. Today Jesus calls us deeper. Another part of the giving we do is forgiving. In order to remain in God’s love like Jesus, he shows us how to forgive. Fathers must be ready to forgive sons. Sons must be ready to forgive fathers just like mothers must be ready to forgive daughters and daughters must be ready to forgive mothers. Brothers and sisters must be ready to forgive each other and friends must also be ready to forgive each other. Then Jesus calls even deeper when he commands us to love our enemies. He says  Bless those who curse you and pray for those who persecute you. If we do what he commands, we can remain in his love!

May God give you strength in mercy! +++ Fr. Peter