May 15, 2016
Pentecost
Scripture Readings describe the coming of the Holy Spirit differently. In Acts by St. Luke, the apostles with some women, Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers gather together in the “upper room†when suddenly they hear and feel a strong driving wind and see tongues of fire. Less dramatically, in the Gospel according to St. John, when Jesus dies, he “hands over his spirit.†It is a bequest to the Mother of Jesus and the Beloved Disciple standing near the cross. Then on Easter Sunday, the disciples are huddled together in fear. Jesus, the Risen One, stands in their midst, “breathes†on them saying: “Peace be with you.†The Holy Spirit both empowers us with courage to proclaim the Gospel and endows us with God’s mercy to forgive and to love.
Jesus at the Last Supper promised to send the Advocate, the Spirit, to remind us of his words and of their meaning. This spirit filled recollection-reflection is transformative. Our Pastoral Council has changed. Some parishes do not have Pastoral Councils. Parishes that do are often caught up in addressing practical issues like sufficient handicap parking or installing a changing table for diapers in the women’s bathroom or ants in the kitchen. But something happened to the dynamic of our Pastoral Council four years ago when we started reading and discussing the Gospel from the past Sunday and ending our meeting with prayer. Our focus shifted from the practical to consciousness of our vision and mission. We were slowly becoming intentional disciples. Last year the fruit of our reflection was the Festival of Faiths. Today, on the feast of Pentecost, I want to share with you three initiatives for our faith community recommended by our Pastoral Council: Break Open the Word, Mercy Projects and Planning for the Future.
Break Open the Word is a simple way of gathering in small groups to reflect on Sacred Scripture from the previous Sunday. With the Word of God still fresh in our minds, we intend to reflect upon it using a guide book entitled: “Quest.†We are not emphasizing the word: “Quest†because of its association locally with drawing blood. We are calling our program: “BOW†an acronym suggesting a gesture of reverence for the Living Word of God in the Bible and in our hearts. Parishioners will be invited to enter a small group or stay in their present prayer/renew group committing themselves to weekly or biweekly reflection on Sacred Scripture. If you miss a particular session you can reflect on Sunday readings at home. As your pastor, I encourage you to become part of a small group and even to volunteer as a group leader. (Joy of the Gospel)
Mercy Projects are our participation in the Jubilee Year of Mercy. There are three steps or stages: a special day locally when volunteers will help persons/families at home with household and yard tasks that because of health, age or circumstance they are not able to perform alone; a day away when volunteers join Habitat for Humanity assisting in building a house; and a special presentation on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy – opportunities to serve throughout the year. (Joy of Love)
Future Planning is always necessary for a faith community as we assess our mission in light of our resources. Our parish needs to maintain our facilities and properties as good stewards; and to thoughtfully study how to improve our parish campus in such a way to sustain our mission. We are embarking on a study of our cemetery; storage sheds; pavilion; playground; kitchen (Selbert Hall); parking lot in front of the parish office/school; and how we can better visually integrate our four corner properties together. After further consultation and participation of parish committees and societies, we will present a master plan for input from our parishioners in order to discern the best way to proceed. (Care for our Common Home)
I see all three endeavors – Break Open the Word, Mercy Projects and Future Planning – as fruit of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church of the Annunciation.
Whether it is the “strong wind†in Acts of the Apostles (St. Luke) or the “life breath†of Jesus in the Gospel according to St. John, the Holy Spirit is renewing our faith community as we become missionary disciples. We pray: “Come Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful. Kindle in us the fire of your love. Re-create the face of the earth.â€
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