Pastor's Column -- May/June 2010   

As we begin crossing the threshold into Summer, the thoughts of vacations, hot and humid days, and cook outs might crowd our minds. I ask that we not forget about some very important Feast days of the Church that are also upon us. On Sunday, May 23rd we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, the greatest feast of the Church after Easter and on par with Christmas. At Christmas, Son of God is born into human history. At Pentecost, the third person of the Trinity is enfleshed into human history in the Church. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Early Church and transformed a frightened, timid people into a courageous body of witnesses eager to witness to the Good News of Jesus.

We are still a Church today in need of transformation. There are still hungry people in our world. There are still children who are neglected and abused. There are still people who are hurting from divorce, substance abuse, and racism. The Church still has a needed call to witness in the world. Our purpose for being is to witness to the world. This Pentecost it is my prayer that the Holy Spirit calls all of us out of our comfort zones and out of our familiar surroundings. It is not enough that "my family" is well-fed, educated, and employed. There is a strong temptation for many of us to think that, once we have had a relative amount of success with our own families, the work is done. The Ascension mandate of the Church is Matthew's gospel was to go out to all the ends of the earth spreading the Good News. The Holy Spirit is ready to move on this. The question remains--are we?

On the following Sundays, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Trinity and the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. Trinity Sunday is a time for us to reflect on the nature of God. God's nature is totally "other" to the human experience; that's why we describe the Trinity as a mystery. Yet, the Scriptures do tell us something about the power of God, the infinite fogiving nature of God, and the sanctifying power of God. We are also reminded that we are made in the image and the likeness of this God. Our destiny is to be as much like this God as God will allow us. The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is of critical importance to us in this age when studies suggest that the majority of US Catholics don't even believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This Sunday, aka Corpus Christi Sunday, is a day for us to reflect on the powerful presence of Christ in this sacrament, that God truly makes Himself present to us in the ordinary matter of life, bread and wine. It is our new Passover Feast.

Late Spring and Summer are to be enjoyed by all of us--rest and relaxation is important. But let us not pass these feasts by without letting them strengthen our faith because we are engrossed in graduation festivities and Memorial Day cook outs. These three feasts--Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi Sunday--are needed reminders for us of God's unwavering commitment to never leave the human family.