Holy Spirit Parish

Dear Holy Spirit Parish:

            “What I say to you, I say to all:  Stay Awake!”
                                                                                                (Mark 13:37)

These days, being fully present to someone is a real gift; truly, a miraculous event.  And if that is true of our interactions with one another, how much truer is it when it comes to our being really present to God and God being Real Presence to us.  The Catholic Church in the United States is in the midst of a revival aimed at restoring belief in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.  We give this revival our full attention this Advent season. 

What does “restoring belief in the “Real Presence” entail?  It must be more than teaching correct concepts.  It must include experience if it is going to nourish our souls.  To say that Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist is a mystery does not mean it is simply and idea to be accepted.  “Mysteries,” (or in the Latin language: “Sacraments”) engage not just our minds, but our whole being: body, mind, emotions, will, and spirit.

Where in the world of our experience, would we begin our journey into God’s Real Presence?  Our Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent calls us to “Stay Awake.”  It is so easy to grow numb, to close our eyes to what is happening in the world.  It is so alluring to self-medicate the anxiety we feel with petty pleasures and mindless activity.  We fall asleep.  We become dead to the world… the real world.  The world where there is Real Presence.

Longing for peace, thirst for love, hunger for justice….are experiences of God pulling on our hearts.  Even though it Is painful to be a person of peace, to love and to act justly today, we must Stay Awake!  We must let these virtues, these spiritual powers, scour and purify our hearts.  Longing makes the heart grow fonder, says the old proverb.  Christ urges his disciples to stay awake because longing also prepares the heart for real encounter, for real presence.

We do not need to look far for a living example of someone who refuses to fall asleep and is therefore pulled and purified by powerful longings.  In this bulletin our parish Director of Adult Faith Formation, Julie Meadows, announces that she is going to retire this coming June 30^th.  Yes, this is the Julie Meadows who makes so many wonderful experiences and events happen here at Holy Spirit.  And as we all know from our interactions with her, she loves her ministry.  But she also longs deeply to join her husband in retirement and to move into the work of Spiritual direction with the completion of her three years of training.

She is announcing this now, seven months in advance because we believe it wise to do a prayerful study of where we need to go with Faith Formation Ministry in this parish before we hire new staff.  We envision listening sessions with families, parish surveys, research and prayer taking place the first few months of 2024.  We still need a Director of Family Faith Formation, now a Director of Adult Faith Formation, in addition to a Finance Director…. It is a bit overwhelming.  But I take to heart the Lord’s promise: If I stay awake, I will know his presence.

Father Steve





 

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