Pentecost 2021

Dear Parishioners,

Maranatha! Come Holy Spirit! That is the call I wish for us all to have, and most especially this weekend on the Solemnity of Pentecost. In these days, we most certainly need to keep our focus and not get distracted by the darkness around us. So many people are struggling to find peace and joy. May you are one of them. While vacations, days off, entertainment, and many other activities are good for the soul, nothing is better than a deep indwelling of the Holy Spirit who is our consoler, guide, and advocate in times of need. Call on the Holy Spirit to give you peace beyond circumstances and passing issues. Surrender yourself and push aside arrogance, pride, or anything else that may impede the Holy Spirit from entering your heart. Life is to be lived fully. Jesus wanted us to experience it in abundance, and the Holy Spirit is the person who can make that happen if we just allow it. A start may be to pray with earnest the following prayer or something from deep within your soul:

Come, Holy Spirit!
Fill my heart.
Kindle in me the fire of your love.
Help me push aside anything which may block you,
And renew my life from the inside out.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Pentecost Sunday

Maranatha! Come Holy Spirit!

Dear Parishioners,

Maranatha! Come Holy Spirit! Through the Holy Spirit, our Lord fulfills his promise not to abandon us. He gave us the Holy Spirit who has permeated the Church with his Divine presence to be our advocate, our helper. We Catholics don’t talk as much about the Holy Spirit, but focus more on Jesus. That’s not a problem, but our Orthodox brothers and sisters are much more focused on the Holy Spirit. Did you know that? Yes. It is true. Their theology is more “pneumatic” (Spirit-centered). Catholic theology is more Christocentric (Christ-centered). It’s understandable since Jesus was the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who came to us so that we could see, talk, and touch him. His words are written in our Scriptures. He is even called, “The Word.” Curiously, we have no specific “words” from the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, but certainly the Holy Spirit directed the first Apostles and Disciples in their missionary work as well as forbade some from preaching or traveling to certain places. When the Apostles and prophets spoke, they were communicating the desire and will of the Holy Spirit, so in this sense, the Spirit “spoke.” Today, this still occurs through many people in the Church. Of course, much discernment must be applied when someone “feels” guided by the Spirit. One simple guide is to test whether that which is being spoken is in line with the Bride of Christ: the Church. 

We have descriptors in the Bible where the Holy Spirit appears in various visible forms such as flames or a dove. The Holy Spirit is the abiding presence of God which warms our hearts, lifts us up, and guides us to the Truth. It is the Holy Spirit who also guides the Church on her pilgrim way. In all the Church’s Sacraments, the Holy Spirit is present. Can you see where? Maybe list them out and see where you might be able to see the action of the Holy Spirit. Consider that some homework!

May this Pentecost bring you a renewal of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. May you be set afire for love of God and his people. May you always be open, especially in times of need, for the in-breaking of the Holy Spirit to give you gifts you didn’t expect. God is amazing and through his Holy Spirit, miracles can and have happened. Will you allow a miracle to be done in you? Some Holy Spirit! Come!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Easter Season Reading

Dear Parishioners,

Happy Easter season!  Yes!  Season! Our culture celebrated Easter and is now on to the next thing. We continue to celebrate and focus on the Resurrection of our Lord for 50 days until the Solemnity of Pentecost which is May 20th. Then we return back to Ordinary Time in Week seven. In the meantime, we will hear a healthy dose of the events that followed the Resurrection via the Acts of the Apostles, both in the weekly readings and Sunday readings at Mass. I recommend reading to that entire book at home so as to get a sense of continuity and the amazing faith of the Apostles and new Christians. Remember that this is our heritage. We have with us the successors of the Apostles today in our bishops and we celebrate the same Sacramental life that they did. You will also see who they held each other closely in their hearts.  You will read how powerfully the Holy Spirit moved in their midst. But, you will also read that they still had many trials issues and were persecuted. And while they had their own personal struggles with each other, they focused their energies at spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. While you read the book, here’s some questions to ponder:

• What role did the Apostles play in the first Christian communities?
• How did the Apostles get along with each other?
• What power/authority did the Apostles demonstrate?
• What are some of the issues the Apostles had to face?
• What events paralleled things from Jesus’ life?
• How did the Christian community help each other?
• What fears/hardships were present in the Christian community?
• How did they receive new-comers/strangers?
• What healings/miracles occurred?
• What healings do you see today? 
• What cities were visited?
• Who were converted?
• Who did you relate to the most?
• What does your reading call you to do?
• How has your reading changed your view of the first Christian communities?

May this Easter season help raise your hearts and minds to the things beyond this world.  Despite the challenges of our own time and in our personal lives, I pray that this Easter time remind us all of the great things that went on in the early Church and still do today.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Technology & Pentecost

Dear Parishioners,

With the advancements in technology, communication has been made possible like never before.  We are now able to communicate with each regardless of how far away we are.   There are applications for our smart phones that can allow two people speaking different languages to understand each other in real-time.  Advancements have also allowed us to be made aware of events as they happen and comment on them for everyone to read, share, or debate. The Church has sometimes lagged in this area, but has made great efforts to catch up. Pope Francis has further encouraged this advancement in our call to accompany each other on our journey of faith.  

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With this new power comes the potential for great good as well as evil. Many people have been reunited due to social websites while others have been stalked.  Long lost relatives and friends have rekindled relationships and healed deep wounds while others have further promoted deception through misunderstanding and misinformation.  The speed and access of social media is possibly the greatest sociological force since the creation of the Internet itself. The Church applauds these advancements in technology while also offering caution.  Pope Francis noted in his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium):

We are living in an information-driven society which bombards us indiscriminately with data-all treated as being of equal importance-and which leads to remarkable superficiality in the area of moral discernment. In response, we need to provide an education which teaches critical thinking and encourages the development of mature moral values. (§64)

This is where St. Anne Catholic School, our Faith Formation ministries, and Youth & Young Adult Ministries play a vital role in our parish.  Anything you can do to participate and/or support these ministries helps develop our faith and moral character. We all need to make use of and access the Internet in order to learn about our world.  But we also need to do so to inform our consciences in the way of the Christian life.  In order to have a mature understanding of the events of the world in light of the Gospel, we must also pair these means of education with a solid prayer life and openness to the Holy Spirit.

This weekend, we celebrate Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples, a gift to the Church to which we all have access.  Spend this week pondering on the gifts that you have been given.  Ponder on how you are being called to share the faith through these gifts, and ask the Holy Spirit to inspire you to go out and share God’s love and his Gospel to those whom you know and meet.  Remember, we are not to shy away from the technologies before us, but to use them for the propagation of the faith.  So, may the Holy Sprit enkindle in each of us a new fire to share the Gospel in our lives using whatever technologies are before us, not to be timid for fear of their misuse, but instead, making them vehicles of Good news, news that the world needs to hear.

Maranatha!  Come Holy Spirit!

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor