HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL OF US!

All of us are those that are baptized into the Church. Yes, today is the birthday of the Church because Pentecost is when the Apostles began sharing the message of Jesus with the world, and since we are the Church, it is our birthday too.

Lord Send Forth Your Spirit and Renew the Face of the Earth!

For over two thousand years, the Church has been an ever-present fixture in the world, offering hope and faith, and embodying the bold zeal of the Holy Spirit's gift. The Primitive Church laid this foundation, which is also remarkably the work of the Holy Spirit.

Today we celebrate the return of Jesus to the Father in heaven as He completes His mission here on earth and leaves His followers with a task to continue His work. Jesus is no longer physically present with His people, but He will be with them through the Holy Spirit.

The grand narrative of the Easter story keeps unfolding. We have been delving deep into the richness of John’s Gospel. I hope you have been paying attention. We have learned that John’s Gospel is much different than the other Gospels in that the message goes straight to the heart of the matter. The Gospel of John is divided into three significant components that reveal the deepest aspects of the Paschal Mystery.

The readings today remind us that God stays close to His people. The Holy Spirit is given to guide and strengthen believers. Jesus calls us to love Him and live out that love through our actions. Our challenge is to trust that we are not alone in our faith. We need to let our actions show our love for Jesus each day. We should always be ready to share our hope with others and to do it in a calm and kind way. If we do one small act of kindness it can be a way of living out our faith. We should not hold on to our faith but instead we need to help it spread to our family, our neighbors and our friends both near us and those farther away. We need to encourage others to trust that God is with us in every moment. We hear in the first reading that the Word of God is reaching out to new people, and the Spirit is moving among them.

Dear Parish Family,

It is with renewed spirit and heart that I return to the parish, vibrant and ready to continue in the mission work of the Church. Serving on assignment for the Maritime Diocese is rewarding because a priest never hangs his priestly hat, but finds ways to renew it. Witnessing the greater church in the world at work is always an invigorating inspiration for me. I am most grateful to the parishioners who joined me on this journey, assisting me in the ministry at sea and making it fruitful as we served a few hundred Catholics at sea, who comprised passengers and crew.

This Sunday we are invited to trust in Jesus, serve others, and to live as part of God’s plan for His people. The early Christians faced many challenges, but they worked together in faith, and we are called to do the same. Faith is not just a belief but should be a way of life for each of us. It is not just about knowing the truth but living it and what better example do we have than when we follow Jesus because through Him, we find strength, purpose and the way to God the Father. In the second reading we hear that believers are described as living stones in God’s house, so each person has a role in building up the Church by living and helping others to also follow with trust and love. We need to serve and not be served.