Saints of God…the Lord be with you!

There is so much we will never know about God in God’s very Self. But there are some things we can know. To me, the most important fact we can know about God is that God is a Relationship of Love. Some great early theologians once said that if God were one “person”, God could love only Himself; God could be self-centered; if God were two “persons” God’ love could be exclusive. But the fact that revelation says that God is One God in Three Persons, means that God in God’s very being is open to love the other. God desires to love even that which is not divine, hence creation; and God loves creation so much that God, through the Son becomes part of creation in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and continues to be in creation through the Holy Spirit given to us Gift. Hence, the best thing we can know about God is that GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:7).

This is all very “heady” stuff. In today’s Gospel (John 16:12-15) Jesus says that the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth will guide you to all truth.” But the question becomes what is the truth that the Holy Spirit will guide us to? I think the answer to that is found in the second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans (5:1-5). “The love of God has been poured into our heart through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Since GOD IS LOVE, the love of God is in fact GOD’S VERY SELF. It doesn’t get more optimistic than this.

The effect of this love changes us. We become “children of God” (1 John 3:1). St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading that “we have peace with God.” The challenge is to live in peace with one another. Paul continues, “we boast of our afflictions knowing that afflictions produce endurance, endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint.” Again, there is a challenge in this since we are called to help those who are undergoing affliction since Jesus helped those in His own time who were afflicted. And the good news dear Saints of God in Sacred Heart Parish is that you accept the challenge. Hands of Hope, Giving from the Heart, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Bikes from the Heart, the Liturgical ministries, the Women’s and Men’s Prayer Groups, our catechists and O.C.I.A. team, and so many others are a way of living our Trinitarian life in the world. I’ve often say is that being Catholic means that we are not called simply to worship the Holy Trinity, but become involved in and live the life of the Holy Trinity in the world today.

So on this most Holy of Solemnities, BE a witness in word and action to the Love of our God who is a Trinity of Love.

– Fr. Steve

My Good Friends,

Today, we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost — often called the birthday of the Church. But make no mistake: this isn’t just a celebration of the past. It’s a reminder that the Holy Spirit is alive and moving today — in our parish community, in our homes, in our hearts.

There’s a story of a young man who grew up in church but never really believed. He went to Mass because his parents made him, and as soon as he turned 18, he stopped going. Years later, after a series of disappointments, he wandered into a church on Pentecost Sunday — out of guilt more than faith.

He sat in the back, arms crossed, heart closed. During the homily, the priest said something simple: “You don’t have to be perfect for God to fill you. You just have to be open.”

Those words pierced him. Something shifted — not dramatically, not like tongues of fire — but like a quiet wind brushing through his soul. He couldn’t explain it, but he cried that day for the first time in years. And that moment became the beginning of his return to faith. Sometimes the Holy Spirit doesn’t shout. He whispers. But when He does, lives change

That upper room moment wasn’t quiet or comfortable. It was wind and fire, languages and boldness. The Spirit didn’t come gently — the Spirit came to shake the world awake. And suddenly, a group of ordinary, hesitant disciples became courageous messengers with hearts ablaze.

Reflecting on Pentecost, we ask ourselves: Do I still burn like that? Or have I grown comfortable in my faith, content with routine but lacking that wild, Spirit-fueled passion? Pentecost is not just a one-time event — it’s an invitation to daily surrender. To open the doors we’ve locked. To let the Spirit rush in and disrupt the ordinary. It’s about more than speaking in tongues; it’s about living with the power of faith, love, and boldness in a world that desperately needs light.

The disciples were gathered in fear, hiding behind closed doors. Jesus had ascended. The world outside was hostile. They didn’t know what was next. We all have had moments like that — unsure, anxious, waiting for a sign from God. And then it happened. “Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind… and there appeared to them tongues as of fire… and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” A rushing wind. Fire from heaven. Languages no one had studied. Power they didn’t know they had. This was no gentle breeze. The Holy Spirit came to disrupt, to transform, to empower. And that same Spirit is still blowing today. The Holy Spirit isn’t always a comforting presence — It is also a force that pushes us out of our comfort zones, out of fear, out of spiritual laziness — and into the mission of love, truth, and bold witness. The early disciples didn’t stay in the upper room. Once the Spirit came, they moved outward — to preach, to serve, to suffer, and to love. Pentecost launched a movement that changed the world.

And that’s the challenge that remains with us today. Will we stay locked in our upper rooms of routine and fear? Or will we open our hearts to the Spirit and be set on fire? The key is to always to be open and aware of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We must stay open. The Holy Spirit can’t fill a heart that’s closed. We must be willing to be surprised, challenged, even uncomfortable. That’s how transformation begins.

Amen.

Peace and all good,
Fr. Zack

Saints of God…the Lord be with you!

What you don’t hear explained about the Gospel reading (John 13:31-33a; 34-35) is that it is a continuation and explanation of the pericope of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet on Holy Thursday. In other words, the washing of the feet begins the glory of Jesus’ death on the cross and His rising from the dead to a new life. This glorious love is not of Jesus alone but is grounded in the glorious love of the Father and the Holy Spirit. The “new commandment: love one another, as I have loved you…” is our invitation from Jesus to participate in the Divine and glorious love of the Trinity. As Christians, we are called not just to worship the Blessed Trinity but are invited to participate in the very life of the Trinity.

How optimistic is that!

The question becomes what does it mean to participate in the life of our Trinitarian God? I think a way to do that is to reflect on the temptations of Jesus in the desert immediately after His baptism.

Since we are in the year of Luke let’s use his schema. The first temptation is for Jesus to use his power to satisfy his physical hunger ( remember he has not eaten for forty days). Instead, he quotes from the Book of Deuteronomy, “It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone.”

The second temptation is to worship the devil and thus be given all earthly authority and splendor. Again, Jesus refuses and again quoting Deuteronomy says, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.”

The third temptation is to throw Himself down from the heights of the Temple and thus use this spectacle to prove his divinity. Again, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy and says, “ It is said: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

It seems to me that our worship of Jesus since He is both God and man, must include imitating him in some way, Jesus lived out his baptism of solidarity by standing up for and helping the poor and hungry, reaching out to the politically marginalized, and being with those whom religion didn’t want. Looking at our world today, not much has changed and how much does our world need people to live out their own baptismal promises.

This week let’s imitate Jesus who washed the feed of his disciples, by loving one another, particularly the poor, the politically powerless, and those whom religion doesn’t seem to want. In other words, let us truly and actively LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS JESUS LOVES US.

– Fr. Steve