Mass Reflection: Sunday - 26th June 2022

1 KGS 19:16B, 19-21; PS 16:1-2, 5, 7-11; GAL 5:1,13-18; LK 9:51-62

Today’s readings take us back to the basics, inviting us to reflect honestly on our deepest priorities in life. 
 
In the second reading, from Galatians, St. Paul reminds us of the essence of the Christian life. “For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Just a few verses later Paul points out why this simple command is so challenging to live out. “The flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.” Isn’t that the truth!
Overcoming our tendency toward selfishness while striving to put Christ and others ahead of ourselves is a daily internal battle.
 
In today’s Gospel, from Luke, Christ refers to this struggle within as he encounters two “would be” disciples on His way to Jerusalem. “‘Follow me,’” Jesus says to the first man. “But he replied, ‘Lord let me go first and bury my father.’ The other said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” These two want to follow Christ but only on their own terms, only after taking care of some other, more pressing matters (at least in their own minds). 
 
To this, Christ says thanks but no thanks! Following Him requires an unqualified “yes” not a “yes but…” We are called to put Christ and His kingdom ahead of our own plans if we truly wish to be his disciples and to find victory in the battle of selfishness.
 
Living stewardship as a way of life can go a long way in arming us for victory.  Stewardship living provides us with a custom-made “training plan” — the commitment to a specific offering of our time, talent, and treasure to the Kingdom of God. It is a plan discerned through prayer and by looking at the realities of our unique circumstances, strengths, and limitations. The daily discipline of committing to the plan strengthens us and helps us gradually move away from the “yes, but” attitude and towards an unqualified “yes!” to Christ and His will.
 
The beauty of this way of life is that far from constricting freedom, living out stewardship day by day increases freedom. Why? It frees us from unhealthy attachments to our comforts, our professional ambitions, and our possessions so that we can attach — fully and without reservation — to Christ. It creates in us the habit of putting first things first, of keeping our priorities aligned with Christ’s priorities.
 

Do not be afraid to give the best of yourself and your gifts to Christ. He deserves nothing less. And this way of life, while challenging, will be characterized by a joy and peace that only comes from giving Him an unqualified “yes!”

Mass Reading: Sunday - 26th June 2022

 

First reading
1 Kings 19:16,19-21
Elisha leaves the plough to follow Elijah

    The Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go, you are to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel Meholah, as prophet to succeed you.’

    Leaving there, Elijah came on Elisha son of Shaphat as he was ploughing behind twelve yoke of oxen, he himself being with the twelfth. Elijah passed near to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left his oxen and ran after Elijah. ‘Let me kiss my father and mother, then I will follow you’ he said. Elijah answered, ‘Go, go back; for have I done anything to you?’ Elisha turned away, took the pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He used the plough for cooking the oxen, then gave to his men, who ate. He then rose, and followed Elijah and became his servant.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11

O Lord, it is you who are my portion.

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
    I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
    it is you yourself who are my prize.’

O Lord, it is you who are my portion.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
    who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
    since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion.

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
    even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
    nor let your beloved know decay.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion.

You will show me the path of life,
    the fullness of joy in your presence,
    at your right hand happiness for ever.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion.

________

Second reading
Galatians 5:1,13-18
When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free

    When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. My brothers, you were called, as you know, to liberty; but be careful, or this liberty will provide an opening for self-indulgence. Serve one another, rather, in works of love, since the whole of the Law is summarised in a single command: Love your neighbour as yourself. If you go snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, you had better watch or you will destroy the whole community.

    Let me put it like this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing, and it is precisely because the two are so opposed that you do not always carry out your good intentions. If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
1S3:9,Jn6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 9:51-62
Jesus sets out for Jerusalem

    As the time drew near for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely took the road for Jerusalem and sent messengers ahead of him. These set out, and they went into a Samaritan village to make preparations for him, but the people would not receive him because he was making for Jerusalem. Seeing this, the disciples James and John said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ But he turned and rebuked them, and they went off to another village.

    As they travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

    Another to whom he said, ‘Follow me’, replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’

    Another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 19th June 2022

First reading

Genesis 14:18-20

Melchizedek brought bread and wine

Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing:

‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth,

and blessed be God Most High for handing over your enemies to you.’

And Abram gave him a tithe of everything.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 109(110):1-4

You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.

The Lord’s revelation to my Master:

    ‘Sit on my right:

    your foes I will put beneath your feet.’

You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.

The Lord will wield from Zion

    your sceptre of power:

    rule in the midst of all your foes.

You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.

A prince from the day of your birth

    on the holy mountains;

    from the womb before the dawn I begot you.

You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.

The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.

    ‘You are a priest for ever,

    a priest like Melchizedek of old.’

You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.

________

Second reading

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord

This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

The word of the Lord.

Sequence

Lauda, Sion

The Sequence may be said or sung in full, or using the shorter form indicated by the asterisked verses.

Sing forth, O Zion, sweetly sing

The praises of thy Shepherd-King,

    In hymns and canticles divine;

Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song

Worthy his praises to prolong,

    So far surpassing powers like thine.

Today no theme of common praise

Forms the sweet burden of thy lays –

    The living, life-dispensing food –

That food which at the sacred board

Unto the brethren twelve our Lord

    His parting legacy bestowed.

Then be the anthem clear and strong,

Thy fullest note, thy sweetest song,

    The very music of the breast:

For now shines forth the day sublime

That brings remembrance of the time

    When Jesus first his table blessed.

Within our new King’s banquet-hall

They meet to keep the festival

    That closed the ancient paschal rite:

The old is by the new replaced;

The substance hath the shadow chased;

    And rising day dispels the night.

Christ willed what he himself had done

Should be renewed while time should run,

    In memory of his parting hour:

Thus, tutored in his school divine,

We consecrate the bread and wine;

    And lo – a Host of saving power.

This faith to Christian men is given –

Bread is made flesh by words from heaven:

    Into his blood the wine is turned:

What though it baffles nature’s powers

Of sense and sight? This faith of ours

    Proves more than nature e’er discerned.

Concealed beneath the two-fold sign,

Meet symbols of the gifts divine,

    There lie the mysteries adored:

The living body is our food;

Our drink the ever-precious blood;

    In each, one undivided Lord.

Not he that eateth it divides

The sacred food, which whole abides

    Unbroken still, nor knows decay;

Be one, or be a thousand fed,

They eat alike that living bread

    Which, still received, ne’er wastes away.

The good, the guilty share therein,

With sure increase of grace or sin,

    The ghostly life, or ghostly death:

Death to the guilty; to the good

Immortal life. See how one food

    Man’s joy or woe accomplisheth.

We break the Sacrament, but bold

And firm thy faith shall keep its hold,

Deem not the whole doth more enfold

    Than in the fractured part resides

Deem not that Christ doth broken lie,

’Tis but the sign that meets the eye,

The hidden deep reality

    In all its fullness still abides.

– – – – – –

*Behold the bread of angels, sent

For pilgrims in their banishment,

The bread for God’s true children meant,

    That may not unto dogs be given:

Oft in the olden types foreshowed;

In Isaac on the altar bowed,

And in the ancient paschal food,

    And in the manna sent from heaven.

*Come then, good shepherd, bread divine,

Still show to us thy mercy sign;

Oh, feed us still, still keep us thine;

So may we see thy glories shine

    In fields of immortality;

*O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,

Our present food, our future rest,

Come, make us each thy chosen guest,

Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest

    With saints whose dwelling is with thee.

Amen. Alleluia.

________

Gospel Acclamation

Jn6:51

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven, 

says the Lord.

Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel

Luke 9:11-17

The feeding of the five thousand

Jesus made the crowds welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing.

    It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food; for we are in a lonely place here.’ He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we are to go ourselves and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men. But he said to his disciples, ‘Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty.’ They did so and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected they filled twelve baskets.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 19th June 2022

 

Today we observe the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. This beautiful feast celebrates the gift of the Eucharist, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches is the source and summit of our Christian faith. “For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ Himself” (CCC paragraph 1324). 

The very word, Eucharist, means “thanksgiving” or “gratitude” and so this feast is especially meaningful to all of us who are striving to live as grateful stewards of all God’s blessings to us. Surely the Eucharist is the greatest of all blessings because it is not only from God, it is God — the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Today’s second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians reminds us of the depths of love our Lord has shown us in the gift of the Eucharist, recalling Christ’s words at the very first Eucharistic celebration. “The Lord Jesus… took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you.’” In that moment, and at every celebration of the Mass thereafter, Jesus gives us His very self in an act of complete humility and perfect love. How can we possibly show our gratitude for such a sublime gift? 

We can (in our own imperfect way) follow our Lord’s example by giving generously of ourselves to others. Our Gospel reading from Luke recounts the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes when Jesus took the small offering of the five loaves and two fish and produced enough to satisfy the whole crowd with twelve baskets full of leftovers. This event is widely understood as a foreshadowing of the miracle that takes place at every Mass as the words of consecration are spoken by the celebrant and God transforms bread and wine into the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus.

And in contemplating this stunning show of Jesus’ power in feeding the crowd that evening, it is easy to overlook an important detail for us Christian stewards found in the brief statement our Lord makes just before performing the miracle. When the apostles suggest to Jesus that He should dismiss the hungry crowd so they could go and find some dinner, Jesus has another idea. “Give them some food yourselves,” He tells them. This is a seemingly impossible command.  It would take work, effort, energy, and resources the Apostles simply did not have. But Jesus is not asking the impossible. He is asking us to give Him what we do have for the sake of others — and let Him do the impossible with it. 

This is the way we can at least attempt to thank Him for all His gifts and goodness to us. This is the essence of a stewardship way of life. When we gratefully offer back to our Lord the gifts He has given to us, He takes those same gifts and multiplies them beyond our wildest imaginings. And yet another miracle occurs — this sharing of ourselves and our gifts does not leave us with less, but with more — the satisfaction of living as Christ’s own disciple and an instrument of His grace in the world. 

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, let us receive the gift of the Eucharist with the greatest possible reverence and love. And let’s give ourselves generously to others in the week ahead to show our gratitude for this wondrous gift — the gift of God Himself.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 12th June 2022

 

Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. This feast is rather unique in that it honors a doctrine rather than an event. What we are commemorating today is a central reality of our Christian faith, that God is Trinitarian in nature — three distinct persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — in one God. 
 
The Church calls this truth a mystery, as indeed it is. It is not a mystery in the sense that it is a question that must be answered but rather in the sense that the depths of this truth are far beyond our human comprehension. Some have said that “mystery” in this context is “not a wall to run up against but an ocean in which to swim.”
 
Contemplating the “ocean depths” of this mystery can make us humans feel so small, and almighty God so far from us. Yet nothing could be further from the truth as today’s readings demonstrate. 
 
The first reading, from Proverbs, says that God ”found delight in the human race.” The greatness of God in no way puts Him at a distance from us. In fact, one of the facets of the Trinitarian nature that we can understand is that God is, by nature, relational. So, it makes sense that He would delight in being in relationship with us whom He made in His own image and likeness.
 
In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that not only does God delight in us, but He is intimately connected to us. “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Not only does God permit us to draw near to Him, He wants to live in the very depths of our being and in all the intimate details of our lives if we will let Him.
 
Finally, in the Gospel from St. John, we learn that God holds back nothing of Himself from us. Jesus tells His disciples (this includes us!) that the Holy Spirit “will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is mine.” Thus, we find ourselves drawn right into the midst of this Trinitarian love. In fact, if the mystery of Holy Trinity is an ocean which to swim, the “water” that makes up that ocean is love.  
 
What then should be the response of the Christian steward to this sublime mystery? All we can do is worship. And offer our lives back to God in total gratitude for calling us to live in the richness of such unfathomable love. This week let’s re-invite God into the midst of our lives and make sure the way we spend our time and energy each day shows Him our profound gratitude for His many gifts to us, but above all the gift of Himself in the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

Mass Reading: Sunday - 12th June 2022

First reading
Proverbs 8:22-31
Before the earth came into being, Wisdom was born

The Wisdom of God cries aloud:

The Lord created me when his purpose first unfolded,
    before the oldest of his works.
From everlasting I was firmly set,
    from the beginning, before earth came into being.
The deep was not, when I was born,
    there were no springs to gush with water.
Before the mountains were settled,
    before the hills, I came to birth;
before he made the earth, the countryside,
    or the first grains of the world’s dust.
When he fixed the heavens firm, I was there,
    when he drew a ring on the surface of the deep,
when he thickened the clouds above,
    when he fixed fast the springs of the deep,
when he assigned the sea its boundaries
 – and the waters will not invade the shore –
    when he laid down the foundations of the earth,
I was by his side, a master craftsman,
    delighting him day after day,
    ever at play in his presence,
at play everywhere in his world,
    delighting to be with the sons of men.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 8:4-9

How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,
    the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what is man that you should keep him in mind,
    mortal man that you care for him?

How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

Yet you have made him little less than a god;
    with glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your hand,
    put all things under his feet.

How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

All of them, sheep and cattle,
    yes, even the savage beasts,
birds of the air, and fish
    that make their way through the waters.

How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!

________

Second reading
Romans 5:1-5
The love of God has been poured into our hearts

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by faith we are judged righteous and at peace with God, since it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God’s glory. But that is not all we can boast about; we can boast about our sufferings. These sufferings bring patience, as we know, and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope, and this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us.

The word of the Lord.

_______

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Rv1:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
the God who is, who was, and who is to come.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
John 16:12-15
The Spirit of truth will lead you to the complete truth

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 05th June 2022

First reading
Acts 2:1-11
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak

    When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

    Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 103(104):1,24,29-31,34

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the Lord, my soul!
    Lord God, how great you are,
How many are your works, O Lord!
    The earth is full of your riches.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

You take back your spirit, they die,
    returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
    and you renew the face of the earth.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord last for ever!
    May the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
    I find my joy in the Lord.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

________

Second reading
Romans 8:8-17
Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God

    People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.

    So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.

    Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.

Thanks be to God.

________

Sequence
Veni, sancte Spiritus

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light,
From the clear celestial height
Thy pure beaming radiance give.

Come, thou Father of the poor,
Come with treasures which endure
Come, thou light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best,
Thou, the soul’s delightful guest,
Dost refreshing peace bestow

Thou in toil art comfort sweet
Pleasant coolness in the heat
Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal, light divine,
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill:

If thou take thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay
All his good is turned to ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew
On our dryness pour thy dew
Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will
Melt the frozen, warm the chill
Guide the steps that go astray.

Thou, on us who evermore
Thee confess and thee adore,
With thy sevenfold gifts descend:

Give us comfort when we die
Give us life with thee on high
Give us joys that never end.

________

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
John 14:15-16,23-26
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever.

‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him and make our home with him.
Those who do not love me do not keep my words.
And my word is not my own:
it is the word of the one who sent me.
I have said these things to you while still with you;
but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 05th June 2022

 

Today we reach the finale of the Easter season with the celebration of the great Feast of Pentecost. Reflecting on today’s readings inspires a sense of awe as we consider the mighty power of the Holy Spirit at work giving birth to and sustaining our Church. Just as awesome — the same Spirit is calling to us this day to take up our part in the Church’s saving work.

In the first reading, from Acts, we see the creative genius of the Holy Spirit moving through the newly confirmed Apostles “who began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” The large crowd, gathered from all over the world were “amazed” and “astounded” that each one could understand the Apostles speaking in their own language.

Each one of us, young and old alike, is personally called today by the Holy Spirit into the same mission as that of the first Apostles — to advance the Kingdom of God in our corner of the world. Just as He did on that Pentecost day, the Holy Spirit speaks to us in our “own language” to give us the Good News of the Gospel and urge us to share it.

We can think of our own language as the particular gifts, talents, and passions we possess. We truly serve a personal God who sees each of us as unique and individual creations. Therefore, each one of us has a personal mission to fulfill through the use of our personal gifts and talents in grateful service of the Kingdom of God. 

We see this described in our Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he explains: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God…To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”

When we consider the stewardship way of life we are called to live, we often focus on the challenges it poses. And living as a modern-day steward is indeed challenging. But on this feast of Pentecost, when we reflect on the unleashing of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Apostles, and through them the crowd, let’s remember that we Christian stewards have much to celebrate.  

When we surrender ourselves to God, putting Him first in all aspects of life — our time, talents, and finances — we can count on a life that is challenging, yes, but even more so a life that is exciting, creative, and deeply rewarding. In other words, we can experience life as a great adventure because it is a life guided and directed by the very source of power and creativity— the Holy Spirit.

What’s more, when live in grateful dependence on the Holy Spirit, we can count on not only adventure, but peace — the peace that cannot be found in a “worldly” way of life where one tries to find security in wealth or prestige or self-indulgence. Rather, It is the peace that Jesus brings to us as we commit ourselves to Him. As He said to the Apostles in today’s Gospel reading from John, He says to us today, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 

As we celebrate the birthday of the Church today let’s give thanks to God for calling us, His stewards, to the adventure of a lifetime!