Reflections of a beloved son

As Catholic Christians we believe in the Trinity, that is that there are Three Divine Persons in One God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of the same substance, and each is not a part of a whole. There are one but distinct. Drawing from St. Augustine, they are a community of love where the Father is the lover, the Son is the beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the love that exist within that community. The Trinity exists as a relationship. Our God is a relational God, and God wants a relationship with us. The Father calls out to us and sent us His Son, Jesus who came to give us life and to bring us to the Father, who sent the Holy Spirit to be with us always, reminding us of how much we are loved. The Trinity is a mystery, which means we may never really fully understand it, but we don’t need to. We only need to believe. Our faith and belief is our response to the call of the Father. This call of the Father is an invitation to be in relationship with Him and the Son and the Holy Spiri...

Pentecost is known as the birthday of the Church. On that day the Holy Spirit descended upon the people and the barriers that separated them were taken down. The people were all together – the apostles, the disciples, and Mary. They were bound together by the love of God and they were ready and open to receive the Holy Spirit into their hearts. Though the people were from different places and spoke different languages they were able to understand one another because the Gospel is one and the same. The Gospel and the love of God transcends all barriers, even language barriers. The language of the Gospel is the language of love, a language that speaks from the heart to the heart. With the Spirit we will be able to weather the storms of our lives joyfully because Jesus comes to us and says, “Peace be with you.” The world today is filled with violence and unrest because as a people we are divided. The people at Pentecost were united in the love of God, and because they were united together...

We are called to remain in God’s love. It is only by remaining in God’s love, in the Holy Spirit, that our joy might be complete. Life in the Spirit is what will bring our joy to completion. When we live in the Spirit and in the love of God, we can not but be moved to do all that we can to make God’s love known to others – even at the expense of sacrifice. When we come to realize that our lives are gifts, we will be more willing to give of it and ultimately give it up. Gifts are meant to be given. Our lives are gifts, and so our lives too are meant to be given up, in service of the Gospel and of our brothers and sisters. If you want to experience true joy and peace, live knowing that your life is a gift. Give it a try.

"I'm gonna get him back!"  "He's gonna pay for this."  "I want him to feel the pain he caused me."  These are some of the sayings people may say when they are angry and feel that they were hurt or treated unfairly or unjustly.  Have you ever felt that way?  Sometimes when someone hurt me or when I felt treated unfairly, I whisper under my breath or in my head "They're gonna get it back.  Wait til they see.  Just let them wait."  I t could have been a true unfair or unjust situation, but the desire to want to get back at them is not the work of the Holy Spirit.   How do I do?  Because the thought, desire, or feeling does not reflect the fruits of the Spirit.  The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are: charity (love), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity (see Galatians 5:22-23).  So, if my thoughts, feelings, and desires do not reflect those fruits, the...

Pentecost is called the “birthday of the Church ,” because on this very day, 50 days after The Resurrection, and 10 days after the Ascension, the Holy Spirit was sent down to the people, whose hearts were opened and a flame was instilled in their hearts that remain burning despite the many attempts to extinguish it.  On that day many were baptized with the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit, the baptism that gives us the inheritance of God.  On that day a new and common language was granted to the people - the language of the Holy Spirit, the language of love. On Pentecost, the nations were gathered together and all received the same Spirit.  But this Spirit is manifested in different ways, unique ways to each individual as appropriate and conducive to their calling just as different gifts and talents are given to different people. Yet, though as diverse as the manifestations of the Spirit may be, they are all unified by the one binding element - love.  Before ...

" Do you understand what you are reading? " Philip asked.  " How can I, unless someone instructs me? " the Ethiopian court official answered (Read Acts 8:26-40). How many of us want to understand the mysteries of life?  Or know the secrets to joy and happiness?  Or for some closer to home, how many of us want to just know how to get through this week and put food on the table?  In the Acts of the Apostles, while on his way preaching the Good News, the Angel of the Lord told the Apostle Philip go south.  When he listened and followed the path as instructed, there he saw an Ethiopian court official who was reading from the Prophet Isaiah.  And the Spirit told Philip to go to him.  Philip did and he asked him the question that started this reflection.  "Do you understand....? "  By this question, Philip opened up for the court official windows and doors of opportunity and grace.  By being docile to the Holy Spirit, Philip was able to c...

The gift that the Lord first gives to His disciples after His Resurrection is peace.   " Peace be with you."   This peace is not just the warm, happy feeling that comes when the sun shines on our faces and the gentle breeze breathes on our skin.  This peace is the calming sense that overcomes us, easing troubled hearts and convinces doubtful minds.  The feeling of knowing that all will be well, according to the plan of God.  The knowledge that the victory has already been won.  The hope of eternal life and the "resurrection of the body."  Jesus showed the disciples His wounds, emphasizing that He is flesh (not a ghost) and that He is truly risen.  He then also "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures."  In doing so, He was strengthening and encouraging the disciples, moving them to belief and faith, and instilling hope in their hearts, hope and knowledge that all He had shared with them and all that was foretold about Him in the Scr...

Selections from Part I of a talk I gave on the Parable of the Prodigal Son Younger son (YS) – “give me” mentality, I deserve my inheritance, it belongs to me – I take; “The son is as impatient as the father was kind” (Peter Chrysologus).   (Grasping and grabbing)   Really saying to the Father:  “I wish you were dead.”  It is usually only when someone dies that we receive inheritance. Imagine what takes place during those few days before the son leaves.   When the son leaves and sets off to a distant country, he is not only leaving home, but he is leaving himself.   He wishes to leave his identity behind.   He wants to be his own person.   How often are we tempted by this?   “Be somebody” the world tells us.   Somebody powerful, rich, and famous.   Be somebody.   We are already somebody.   We are God’s beloved.   Each one of us.   We are loved by the Father from all eternity.   “I have loved you with...