Trinity Sunday - 2026

When you look back on the history of the human race you find that in every age people understood well that everything that exists must have had a creator; every age that is except this age. Within the scientism of our age there are those who insist that everything in the universe just spontaneously happened on its own. However, knowing who the creator of all things who is called God, truly is has been a long work in progress. History is full of gods that man put forward to describe who God is; some of whom are still today thought of as true gods. Knowing who God is, is impossible for mere humans to discover on their own. As his first letter, John points out “that no one can see God”. God, who is beyond sight, must reveal Himself to us. And so, our Jewish-Christian tradition has been that long historical experience of God revealing who he is to us. First God is seen as having the nature of a father, the giver and protector of all life. Then in the New Testament, Jesus is revealed as the Son of God. Finally, Jesus reveals that there is a third person, the Holy Spirit, who comes to take us up into the very life of God. In the early generations of the Church, these revelations were pondered and studied, not without conflicting opinions. Then, in the year 325 AD, that is Anno Domini, the year of the Lord, not of the Common Era; the bishops of the Church gathered in the City of Nicaea to discuss and define who God truly is. From this Council of Nicaea we now have the Nicaean Creed in which we profess our faith. In 1 John 4: we read: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is already in the world at this time. From a theological perspective the doctrinal proclamation of the Church lays out for us who and what our God is, one divinity shared co-equally by three divine persons. So our spirituality is formed by our relationship with each of these three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Here there arises an interesting question, do I think and act with each divine person in a uniquely different way one from the other? The people of the Old Testament thought of God as one person, the Father. Their spirituality grew out of their relationship with this one God. In the New Testament Jesus calls God his Father and himself as God’s Son. Further to that, what was shocking even scandalous to some, Jesus reveals that he too is God, sharing fully in the one and same divinity that is the divinity that makes the Father God. Further to this, Jesus reveals that there is a Third Person who is also God, sharing fully in this one divinity and that this Third Person, the Holy Spirit will have a full and dynamic role in the lives of all believers. Now we all have fathers. The character of our relationship with our natural fathers may vary, but overall we have a good idea what fathers are all about. Added to this, in the gospels we see the very dynamic relationship Jesus has with the Father, the same relationship which Jesus direct us to have also. Perhaps the easiest of the three persons for us to relate to is Jesus since he is fully a human being like ourselves. Now with the Holy Spirit the images seen in the scriptures are not so easy to identify with. At Jesus’ baptism by John the Holy Spirit is identified with a hovering dove. Later the Holy Spirit is seen as breath breathed upon the disciples, then as flames of fire over the heads of the disciples. As significant as these images are they may not inspire in us an attraction to develop a personal relationship with such a Holy Spirit. My understanding of what having a relationship with the Holy Spirit might look like began by taking into account that my spiritual life began in the very womb of the Holy Spirit. This most mysterious new life, literally a sharing in the divine life of God, began when I was born anew in the Holy Spirit. Quite naturally  the notion of womb, birth, new life conjures up the image of a maternal person, one who is a mother. Consider this, in the scriptures the Holy Spirit is directly linked to wisdom. In the Old Testament in the very Book of Wisdom the pronoun “she” is used throughout to refer to the Holy Spirit. From the very womb of Mother Holy Spirit we are born into the life of the divine. Like all mothers Mother Spirit gathers us up into her arms where she nourishes our new life on the milk of her divine wisdom. As children of the Father, we embrace a new spiritual life with the goal of fulfilling the vocation the Father has given us. In communion with Jesus his Son, now our brother and leader, we take on the challenges that try to prevent us from attaining the fullness of holiness to which we are called. But this battle can be fierce at times, and we often find ourselves wounded and discouraged. St. Ignatius calls these “times of desolation”. I believe it is in such times that we find comfort and healing in the maternal embrace of the Holy Spirit. We return to where our spiritual life began to have it repaired and healed and given new strength to take up ounce again our journey to sainthood. As we pray in a personal way in the presence of the Father and equally personally with the Son, so we can develop the same personal way of speaking with the Holy Spirit. O Holy Spirit from who’s womb I was brought forth into this new life of holiness and given the blessed fruits that nurture and make it thrive I come to you now as a wounded son and daughter seeking your healing embrace once again.   As I place my wounded heart in your consoling hands Bring me to life once again. Instruct me with your words of wisdom. Cast light upon the path that I must take So that I may live to the fullest the life the Father intends for me.

Pentecost - 2026

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Jn. 20:19

PENTECOST When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Acts 2:1

PRAYER FOR THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Jesus my Lord, I confess to you and to all the world  my need for your presence in my life.  I am alone and in darkness without you.  I am influenced and controlled by the many forces that surround me.  Even though I struggle against them, it is sin that so easily dominates my life. Who can save me but you alone, my Lord and my God.  Deliver me from the Evil One.  Touch my life with that power which flows from your resurrection.  Cause your Holy Spirit to be born in me anew.  Prince of Peace and Lord of Glory / reign now in my heart.  Baptize me with your Holy Spirit and Fire.  Raise me up to a New Life in you. (From the Eucharistic Devotions)

PRAYING WITH MARY ON PENTECOST

Holy Mary Mother of God, on Pentecost Day you gathered all the friends of Jesus in that meeting room of prayer.  Jesus had instructed that all must come together in prayer, to wait in trusting hope for the Promised One to come.  In the mystery of God’s grace, let us gather with you now.  We desire with all our hearts that the Anointing of Pentecost may come upon us once again.  Pray for us dear Mary, that the Mighty Wind of God’s Breath will come and fill our house of prayer.  Pray that Jesus your Son will send down upon us now, those tongues of flame, to enkindle in our hearts the fire of love and the light of faith.  Pray that our tongues be freed so that we might fill this house with the praises of God.  Pray O Queen of heaven that the Holy Spirit will give to our hearts a song of joy and thanksgiving for His mighty works now done in our midst. Come Holy Spirit, come.  Come down upon us now. Melt our frozen hearts, reshape our distorted minds renew our sagging spirits with your Breath of Life. (From the Eucharistic Devotions)

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GRACE of RENEWAL

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Prayers from the Mass of the Vigil of Pentecost Dear brethren (brothers and sisters), we have now begun our Pentecost Vigil, after the example of the Apostles and disciples, who with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, persevered in prayer, awaiting the Spirit promised by the Lord; like them, let us, too, listen with quiet hearts to the Word of God. Let us meditate on how many great deeds God in times past did for his people and let us pray that the Holy Spirit, whom the Father sent as the first fruits for those who believe, may bring to perfection his work in the world. Grant, we pray, almighty God, that the splendor of your glory may shine forth upon us and that, by the bright rays of the Holy Spirit, the light of your light may confirm the hearts of those born again by your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Ascension of the Lord - 2026

He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:3-5

Meditation for Ascension Sunday You may have heard it said that you get an entirely new body every 7 years - that the cells of the human body are regenerated over a 7-year period. This is not quite accurate – but the cells of our bodies do regenerate and at various rates. Red blood cells live for about four months, while white blood cells live on average more than a year. Skin cells live about two or three weeks. Colon cells have it rough: They die off after about four days. Sperm cells have a life span of only about three days, while brain cells typically last an entire lifetime (neurons in the cerebral cortex, for example, are not replaced when they die) and it takes an average of 10 years to grow an entirely new skeleton. So there is some truth in saying that we are not the person we used to be. The down side is that the new cells are usually not as good as the ones they are replacing. This is what aging is all about. St. Paul has a different take on our “regeneration “ So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. 2Cor. 5:17 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 We are concluding our Easter celebrations with this feast of the Ascension of Jesus, and we now anticipate the feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church – our birthday too. The gift of the Holy Spirit is a sharing in the very life of God. Those who receive this Gift begin living a new life, one that has a new destiny, a life that death cannot destroy. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Rom. 6:5 Even as the cells of this physical body decline and die, within we are living a new spiritual life. The question for today and this week leading to Pentecost is: am I truly living a spiritual Life, the New Life of the Spirit, that I received in baptism? Now, if I am concerned about the condition of my physical body I go to the doctor and he will do tests to diagnose my condition. This week could be viewed as a time of diagnosis, a time to examine the health of my spiritual life. Is my faith-life growing stronger or weaker? Are my works of holiness increasing or decreasing? May I suggest you take St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, especially Chap. 5. Here Paul is a physician, giving us an excellent examination and diagnosis of our spiritual lives: For you, brothers and sisters, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity to gratify your flesh, but through love make it your habit to serve one another. For the whole Law is summarized in a single statement: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never fulfill the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do.  But if you are being led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the actions of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, witchcraft, l hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Now those who belong to Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also be guided. Let’s stop being arrogant, provoking one another and envying one another. Galatians 5:13ff.

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Sixth Sunday of Easter - 2026

Toward Pentecost

We are continuing through these Easter days as we approach the final two weeks of the Easter Season. This Sunday, May 10th begins the Sixth Week of Easter, followed by Sunday May 17th the feast of the Ascension of the Lord and the beginning of the final Week of Easter. The Easter season then ends with Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church, and the outpouring of the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very source of the Life of the Church and the Spiritual Life of every member of the Church. The more we expand our understanding of this mystery the better we will be able of cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit within us. On Friday May 15 begins the Novena to the Holy Spirit, the nine days of prayer in preparation for the Feast of Pentecost. I have posted on this blog a Novena to the Holy Spirit . . . LINK . . .