Dear Parishioners,
During the next three weeks,
the weekend Masses will celebrate some very significant mysteries of our
faith: Pentecost (the Holy Spirit), the Most Holy
Trinity and Corpus Christi (the Most Holy Body
and Blood of Jesus Christ).
Pentecost Sunday recalls the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the
Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Jesus promised that when he left this world He would send His Spirit to
strengthen and guide His disciples. The
Holy Spirit continues to direct the Church and to remind us of what Jesus
taught.
The Church, a communion living in the
faith of the apostles which she transmits, is the place where we know the Holy
Spirit:
- in the Scriptures he inspired;
- in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses;
- in the Church's Magisterium, which he assists;
- in the sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ;
- in prayer, wherein he intercedes for us;
- in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up;
- in the signs of apostolic and missionary life;
- in the witness of saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation.
- in the Scriptures he inspired;
- in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses;
- in the Church's Magisterium, which he assists;
- in the sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ;
- in prayer, wherein he intercedes for us;
- in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up;
- in the signs of apostolic and missionary life;
- in the witness of saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation.
Trinity Sunday focuses on the mystery of the Triune Godhead as
revealed to us by Jesus. Recall that the
Jewish people were strict monotheists. It must have been quite a startling revelation for them that the One
True God is a unity of three Divine Persons—Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus made
known the mystery of the Trinity for us. The
mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith
and of Christian life. God alone can
make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (CCC, #261) This teaching is not
something that we would be able to figure out for ourselves without
God’s revelation.
Corpus Christi (which is celebrated
in the universal Church on a Thursday—the day of the Last Supper —but moved to
Sunday in the United States) is all about the gift of the Holy Eucharist. How can the Son of God be truly present under
the form of bread and wine? The Catechism instructs us:
It is highly fitting that Christ
should have wanted to remain present to his Church in this unique way. Since Christ was about to take his departure
from his own in his visible form, he wanted to give us his sacramental
presence; since he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us, he
wanted us to have the memorial of the love with which he loved us "to the
end," even to the giving of his life. In his Eucharistic presence he remains
mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for
us, and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love. (CCC,
#1380)
Volumes have been written and
countless sermons preached over the centuries on each of these topics. From a pragmatic point of view, why not take
time during the next few weeks to reflect on the wisdom of the Catechism as it tries to enlighten us
about our Catholic faith? We should
continually seek greater understanding and clarity as we try to delve more deeply into the
precious mysteries of our faith that have been revealed to us.
Fr.
Ed Namiotka
Pastor
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