Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Happy Pentecost! Happy Memorial Day weekend!
What a great day to give thanks! I am grateful to God that he gave us a share in his own Spirit and divine life. Pentecost is an opportunity for renewal in the power, life and freedom of the Holy Spirit. Today I am especially grateful for all of the supernatural gifts that he gives each and every one of us (Eph 4:7). These gifts, when we use them, build up the Body of Christ (Eph 4:12), meaning that we can play a role in helping one another get to heaven. WOW! You matter. Your choices matter. The gifts you have been given matter. Over 100 of us (attending Living a Spirit-Filled Life) have been spending the last month opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit and his gifts, knowing that he always has more for us, and his more is always better than anything else. Thanks be to God for their openness to what God wants for them and their willingness to use his gifts.
I am also grateful to all the men and women who have, in the recent and not so recent past, sacrificed their time, talent, treasure, and even their lives for our country. War itself is a horror, sometimes justified, sometimes not. We must work tirelessly for true justice, the only path to lasting peace. But today is a day to remember that patriotism, properly understood, is a virtue, and those ordinary men and women who defend our peace are to be commended for their sacrifice.
God’s gift of eternal life and the many varied gifts that we have as citizens of our country are too great for us to ever pay back fully. We must at least express our gratitude in words and actions. So thank God in prayer and loving others. And thank a veteran––or three––for their service and say a prayer for all those who have died or been injured in any way (physically, mentally, spiritually) in that service.
But my gratitude doesn’t stop there. I am grateful that we have a new deacon––Dcn Peter Lawrence––at our parish for the coming year. He is a great blessing for our parish. I pray that he will strengthen our faith in new ways, including raising up vocations to the priesthood from our parish family.
And still my gratitude goes on, because I am grateful for the success of our School Auction last week. Our school is an important part of our parish and helps us live our mission and identity as a parish: to Announce the Gospel of the Lord to all (Mk 16:15; Mt 28:18-20). I am grateful to all the women and men who have made this past year one of hope, renewal and growth. Thank you! Praise God for his blessings. May we continue to grow in carrying out our purpose as a parish and school.
Finally, as we enter the final month of my time here at Holy Family, I am deeply grateful for all of you. I am thankful for the blessing you have been in my life, the ways you have welcomed me, encouraged me, advised me, supported me, and even brought me to my knees before God (I need those “severe” mercies too!). Thank you! As we say our TTFNs (Ta Ta For Now), may these final weeks together be filled with an abiding gratitude to God for all he has done for us, all he is doing for us and all he promises to do for us in Jesus Christ.
May God bless you and your family abundantly this week.
Fr. Jonathan