Peace and the Holy Spirit

Karen Pepe • May 23, 2022

From pastor’s desk on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, year C

This Sunday’s gospel reading provides us with two main messages. First, our Blessed Lord promises that the Holy Spirit will descend upon and remain with Christ’s disciples. The second message is the peace that Christ gives, which the world cannot give.

During the Last Supper our Lord Jesus promised not to leave the disciples alone. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, who “will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Quite often, when we read these verses from the Gospel of John, we tend to think that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to certain individuals. We think of the Holy Spirit very individualistically, as if each one of us as an individual person would know the complete truth and be taught “everything.” We must remember, however, that the words of Jesus in this context are used in the plural form “you” - “y’all,” not a singular “you,” like we so often use in the modern English language. In other words, the Holy Spirit is promised to the Universal (Catholic) Church, not to some individuals. This is not to deny the work of the Holy Spirit within each human soul; but the point is this: the Holy Spirit will come to the community of believers as a whole, if that community of the disciples remain together in prayer and be faithful to Christ’s teachings.

This Sunday’s gospel is a reminder that the Holy Spirit is active within the Church and is given to the disciples to build up the Church on earth and not to boost one’s self ego or make one more “charismatic.” So, when a particular charismatic prayer group claims that now its members have gotten more gifts of the Spirit, it misses the point entirely. It is a great modern misconception to think that an individual person or a particular group (frequently turning into a sect), e.g. Pentecostal churches, possess more exclusive “access” to the Holy Spirit. Once again, it should be emphasized that the Holy Spirit is given only to the Church. In lieu of this, we must see that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are active within the Church, especially in the celebration and dispensation of the seven sacraments. Moreover, the Holy Spirit, promised by the Lord to the disciples, teaches the faithful through the magisterium of the Church. When we profess faith in the Holy Spirit in the creed, we declare that we believe that the Holy Spirit has been guiding and instructing the Church over the centuries helping it to understand the teachings of Jesus and breaking down the “secrets” of the Bible and translating it into the worship of simple believers. Throughout the centuries, the popes, bishops, theologians, and many saints while being open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit always remained faithful to the Church and in this way, they have become the collaborators of the Spirit in Christ’s Church.

The second theme of this Sunday’s gospel is peace, which Jesus bestows on His disciples. Again, that peace is only possible if we stay faithful to Christ while making our faith active in our daily endeavors. Christ’s peace exceeds our expectation for it is the peace of a believer who trusts God in all circumstances, no matter how difficult they may appear. So, we should really take Jesus’ words, "Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid,” to our minds and hearts, so that we too, to use St. Francis’ prayer, may become the instruments of God’s peace.

In this context of seeking of God’s peace, I would like to ask you kindly to please pray for our parish. You may hear and notice significant changes. This is due to serious economic restraints which we are currently undergoing. Unfortunately, we, as a parish, have arrived at the point, at which we cannot conduct the parish activities as we used to; we simply have no money to sustain the usual operations. There are several factors at play right now in the world and in our parish. First, it is low church attendance resulting in very low Sunday collection (out of the seven parishes in our deanery, we are the second to the last in this regard). Secondly, the costs of all utilities have increased drastically, especially the cost of fuel, which translates into heating and other services based on the use of oil. Finally, the maintenance and repairs of the parish buildings require additional funds, which we do not have. Hence, the cuts are necessary. You are going to hear more about all the changes in the following weeks. As you hear about them, please pray over it first and if necessary ask questions directing them to me or to our office staff. Thank you for your generosity and support.

I wish you all a blessed week. God bless. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, Pastor

 

 

Mensaje del pastor para la celebración de la Pascua 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Queridos hermanos y hermanas,

Pastor’s message on Easter 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Dear brothers and sisters,

From Pastor’s Desk on the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” — Our Lord Jesus addresses this question to His disciples trying to tell them that they need to be healed of their spiritual blindness first. In this context blindness is not to believe in Christ and healing means to have faith in Jesus who is the Light of the world. In other words, when we gain our spiritual sight through faith, then we will be able to help others on the way to salvation. Without faith in Jesus we just remain living in the darkness of sin. Without Jesus we are all like blind men bouncing against the walls of reality and against each other. However, when we embrace faith in God in the person of Jesus and let our hearts be set on Christ, then He—the Son of God and Our Lord—becomes our guide. Because of that our every step will be illumined with the light of faith. While putting our faith into action in our daily life we also start bearing good fruits of an authentic and happy life.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el Octavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“ ¿Puede un ciego guiar a otro ciego? ¿No caerán ambos en un pozo? ” - Nuestro Señor Jesús dirige esta pregunta a sus discípulos tratando de decirles que primero necesitan ser curados de su ceguera espiritual. En este contexto, ceguera significa no creer en Cristo y curación significa tener fe en Jesús, que es la Luz del mundo. En otras palabras, cuando ganemos nuestra vista espiritual a través de la fe, entonces seremos capaces de ayudar a otros en el camino de la salvación. Sin fe en Jesús solo permanecemos viviendo en la oscuridad del pecado. Sin Jesús todos somos como ciegos que rebotan contra las paredes de la realidad y contra los demás. Sin embargo, cuando abrazamos la fe en Dios en la persona de Jesús y dejamos que nuestro corazón se fije en Cristo, entonces Él -el Hijo de Dios y Nuestro Señor- se convierte en nuestro guía. Por eso, cada uno de nuestros pasos estará iluminado por la luz de la fe. Al poner nuestra fe en acción en nuestra vida diaria, también empezamos a dar buenos frutos de una vida auténtica y feliz.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 5º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
A menudo la gente nos pregunta a nosotros, los sacerdotes, qué hacer para profundizar en su vida espiritual. A todos se nos ocurren respuestas diferentes y, ciertamente, hay muchos caminos para una mayor vida espiritual. Hay, sin embargo, un método más probado que ha ayudado a muchos cristianos católicos a estar en la vía rápida de la santidad y a comprender mejor la vida espiritual. Es la consagración total al Corazón Inmaculado de María, o como propuso originalmente San Luis Grignon de Montfort allá por el siglo XVII, la Consagración Total a Jesús por María. Después de San Luis hubo muchos otros que siguieron sus pasos. Entre algunos de los santos más conocidos se encuentran el Papa Pío X, San Maximiliano Kolbe y San Juan Pablo II. Estos santos reconocieron que María desempeñó un papel vital en la vida de la Iglesia primitiva y que la Santísima Madre sigue desempeñando un papel importante en la Iglesia de nuestros tiempos.

From Pastor’s Desk on the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
Often people ask us, priests, what to do in order to deepen their spiritual life. We all can come up with different answers and there are certainly many ways to greater spiritual life. There is, however, a more proven method that has helped many Christian Catholics to be on the fast track to holiness and to better understanding of spiritual life. It is the total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as originally proposed by Saint Luis Grignon de Montfort back in the XVII century, the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. After St. Luis there were many others that followed in his footsteps. Among some of the most known saints were Pope Pius X, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. These saints recognized that Mary played a vital role in the life of the early Church and that the Blessed Mother still plays an important role in the Church of our times.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 2º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
Estoy seguro de que todos estamos atónitos y horrorizados por los incendios forestales del sur de California que afectan ya a cientos de miles de sus habitantes. La velocidad y la ferocidad del fuego sólo demuestran lo frágiles que somos como seres humanos individuales y como humanidad en general. Muchos californianos pueden estar dudando de su fe en estos momentos; muchos se plantearán preguntas: ¿Dónde está Dios? ¿Por qué permite Dios catástrofes tan terribles? Ciertamente, muchos de nosotros nos haríamos las mismas preguntas. Si Dios está detrás o no, no lo sabemos. Sin embargo, sí sabemos que vivimos en un mundo creado que tiene su propio ritmo y ciclos que se dan en la naturaleza. Las cosas suceden con y sin interrupción humana. Algunas cosas las podemos controlar (muy poco, de hecho), y muchas otras no. Lo que sí podemos reconocer es que las catástrofes naturales son una forma de llamada a la conversión y a una mayor confianza en Dios. También es una llamada a la acción para hacer la tierra más acogedora, de modo que las personas puedan prosperar en ella.

From pastor’s desk on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
I am sure that all of us are stunned and horrified by the wildfires in Southern California impacting now hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. The speed and ferocity of fire only proves how fragile we are as individual human beings and as humanity by and large. Many Californians may be doubting his or her faith at this moment; many will pose questions: Where is God? Why does God permit such terrible disasters? Certainly, many of us would ask the same questions. Whether God is behind it or not, we do not know. However, we do know that we live in a created world that has its own rhythm and cycles that occur in nature. Things happen with and without human interruption. Some things we can control (very little, in fact), and many things we can’t. What we can recognize is that natural disasters are a form of a call to conversion and to greater trust in God. It is also a call to action to make the earth more hospitable so that people can prosper in it.

From pastor’s desk on 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year, B

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
Last July over 50 thousand Catholics gathered in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. Obviously, the central theme of the gathering was the Eucharist. One of the key speakers at the Eucharistic Congress, Monsignor James Shea, said:

Del Escritorio del Párroco el 29 Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
El pasado mes de julio, más de 50.000 católicos se reunieron en Indianápolis con ocasión del 10º Congreso Eucarístico Nacional. Obviamente, el tema central del encuentro fue la Eucaristía. Uno de los principales oradores del Congreso Eucarístico, Monseñor James Shea, dijo: