From pastor’s desk on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, year C
This Sunday’s gospel reading provides us with two main messages. First, our Blessed Lord promises that the Holy Spirit will descend upon and remain with Christ’s disciples. The second message is the peace that Christ gives, which the world cannot give.
During the Last Supper our Lord Jesus promised not to leave the disciples alone. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, who “will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Quite often, when we read these verses from the Gospel of John, we tend to think that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to certain individuals. We think of the Holy Spirit very individualistically, as if each one of us as an individual person would know the complete truth and be taught “everything.” We must remember, however, that the words of Jesus in this context are used in the plural form “you” - “y’all,” not a singular “you,” like we so often use in the modern English language. In other words, the Holy Spirit is promised to the Universal (Catholic) Church, not to some individuals. This is not to deny the work of the Holy Spirit within each human soul; but the point is this: the Holy Spirit will come to the community of believers as a whole, if that community of the disciples remain together in prayer and be faithful to Christ’s teachings.
This Sunday’s gospel is a reminder that the Holy Spirit is active within the Church and is given to the disciples to build up the Church on earth and not to boost one’s self ego or make one more “charismatic.” So, when a particular charismatic prayer group claims that now its members have gotten more gifts of the Spirit, it misses the point entirely. It is a great modern misconception to think that an individual person or a particular group (frequently turning into a sect), e.g. Pentecostal churches, possess more exclusive “access” to the Holy Spirit. Once again, it should be emphasized that the Holy Spirit is given only to the Church. In lieu of this, we must see that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are active within the Church, especially in the celebration and dispensation of the seven sacraments. Moreover, the Holy Spirit, promised by the Lord to the disciples, teaches the faithful through the magisterium of the Church. When we profess faith in the Holy Spirit in the creed, we declare that we believe that the Holy Spirit has been guiding and instructing the Church over the centuries helping it to understand the teachings of Jesus and breaking down the “secrets” of the Bible and translating it into the worship of simple believers. Throughout the centuries, the popes, bishops, theologians, and many saints while being open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit always remained faithful to the Church and in this way, they have become the collaborators of the Spirit in Christ’s Church.
The second theme of this Sunday’s gospel is peace, which Jesus bestows on His disciples. Again, that peace is only possible if we stay faithful to Christ while making our faith active in our daily endeavors. Christ’s peace exceeds our expectation for it is the peace of a believer who trusts God in all circumstances, no matter how difficult they may appear. So, we should really take Jesus’ words, "Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid,” to our minds and hearts, so that we too, to use St. Francis’ prayer, may become the instruments of God’s peace.
In this context of seeking of God’s peace, I would like to ask you kindly to please pray for our parish. You may hear and notice significant changes. This is due to serious economic restraints which we are currently undergoing. Unfortunately, we, as a parish, have arrived at the point, at which we cannot conduct the parish activities as we used to; we simply have no money to sustain the usual operations. There are several factors at play right now in the world and in our parish. First, it is low church attendance resulting in very low Sunday collection (out of the seven parishes in our deanery, we are the second to the last in this regard). Secondly, the costs of all utilities have increased drastically, especially the cost of fuel, which translates into heating and other services based on the use of oil. Finally, the maintenance and repairs of the parish buildings require additional funds, which we do not have. Hence, the cuts are necessary. You are going to hear more about all the changes in the following weeks. As you hear about them, please pray over it first and if necessary ask questions directing them to me or to our office staff. Thank you for your generosity and support.
I wish you all a blessed week. God bless. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, Pastor