May 22-23

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We have come to the Great 50^th Day also called Pentecost.  For our ancestors in Faith, the Jewish people.  Pentecost was celebrated in thanksgiving to God for the plentitude of the first harvested crops in the Promised Land.  Later it took on a more spiritual meaning as the people of Israel glorified God for the reception of the Ten Commandments which both bound them to the Lord and one another as a community of believers.  From then on the Chosen people bore a grave responsibility to bring to all nations the Truth that there is One God of all peoples Who desires us to live harmony and peace with each other.

Understanding the nature and purpose of the Jewish Pentecost, we as disciples of Christ, appreciate all the more our responsibility to bring the Gospel into the world today.  This mission is entrusted not only to priests and religious, but to all who bear the mark of the Most Holy Trinity by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation.  We cooperated in this great and noble work by unleashing the power of the Holy Spirit and His seven-fold gifts in our lives.  How sad it would be if we left dormant in us these precious gifts by which the world could be converted to Christ.

Today at the 10:30 Mass four of our confirmands will receive these gifts from the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands and the anointing with the Sacred Chrism.  The effects of Covid-19 prevented them from receiving the Sacrament with their classmates when Bishop Bambera was with us three weeks ago.  We are very happy to pray for the support them today as they become fully initiated into the Faith.  May God do great things for these young disciples.

On behalf of our parents and the children of our parish, I wish to thank Anastasia Legg, our Director of Religious Education and our catechist for the First Communion class, Kathy Costa and our Confirmation class catechist, Michael Rosar and all of our dedicated and self-giving catechists, who during the most difficult year continued to teach the Faith in spite of difficulties.  They have been an inspiration to us all.  We are deeply grateful for whole-hearted service.  May God bless them abundantly.

A Blessed Pentecost to all,

Father Langan