Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Family: Mirror of the Holy Trinity

30 Sunday May 2021

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Trinity_05

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Trinity. Since A.D. 200, Christians have described God as the Holy Trinity or three persons in one. It is the central belief or doctrine of the Church and has been celebrated as the feast of the Holy Trinity since the ninth century.

Despite this longstanding doctrine or belief, the Trinity, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church “is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the ‘mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God’” (237). So how can we better understand this mystery and live it out in our marriages and families?

The Holy Trinity is a divine community of life and love, the intimate community of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God created us “in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). We were created in the image of God who lives and loves in intimate community.

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Sent on Mission by the Holy Spirit

23 Sunday May 2021

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Pentecost_Jean II Restout_c1732

Pentecost
Jean II Restout, c. 1732

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost when Holy Spirit descends on Mary, the Apostles, and other disciples of Jesus, just as He promised before His Ascension.

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar′ia and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. Acts 1:6-9 (emphasis added)

Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit was not just for His Apostles and disciples in the Upper Room. He continues to pour out His Spirit upon us and His Church today. He is also sending us out on mission to preach the Gospel of His saving work on the cross. He has equipped us with the Holy Spirit who will guide us in all knowledge and truth; “the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things” (Jn 14:26).

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Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

16 Sunday May 2021

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The Ascension__Benjamin West_c1801

The Ascension
Benjamin West, c.1801
Denver Art Museum

Depending on where you live in the United States, the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord occurs on the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter (40 days after Easter) or is transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter. This feast commemorates Jesus’ triumphant ascension into heaven. It is a foreshadowing of our own ascension to heaven.

“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:1-3

This is our hope and our assurance. Jesus also promises to send us the Holy Spirit to lead us in all truth.

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Spiritual Checkup: Fourth Sunday of Lent

14 Sunday Mar 2021

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We are at the half-way point in our Lenten Mission. Last week, we continued on our mission by looking at the second portion of the Great and First Commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your …soul…” (Mt 22:37b). This week, we will look at the third portion:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your… mind.” Matthew 22:37c

What does it mean to love God with all your mind? Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines mind as “The intellectual or rational faculty in man; the understanding; the intellect; the power that conceives, judges, or reasons… the faculties of thinking, willing, choosing, and the like.” That sounds like our conscience.

Now, let’s look at what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about the formation of our conscience…

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Remedy for Fear and Anxiety During the Lockdown

08 Sunday Nov 2020

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st-dymphnaLast week we discussed finding peace in the midst of the pandemic lockdown. Are you feeling anxious and overwhelmed? Are your days filled with fear and worry? In prison, Paul wrote to the young church at Philippi, exhorting them to follow his remedy for anxiety, fear, and worry.

Philippians 4:4-7 (RSV)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

5 Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand.

6 Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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The Tumbler Called “Family Life”

11 Sunday Oct 2020

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Family_Polishing the Rough Edges

If you are like many couples, before you said, “I do,” you had an idyllic view of marriage and family life. You and your spouse were in love and there would never be any friction between you. The PREPARE/ENRICH pre-marital inventory calls this “Idealistic Distortion” or looking through “rose-colored” glasses.

A few weeks or months into marriage, your beloved’s quirky traits that you thought were so cute when you were dating, now are rather annoying. Reality begins to set in and your idyllic view of marriage is now challenged by the tensions of daily living with another person. Marriage is a union of two selfish and wounded people. If you thought that you were entering a perfect marriage, as soon as you entered that union, it was no longer perfect. Along with our virtues, we each bring baggage to the marriage. Continue reading →

Come Holy Spirit

31 Sunday May 2020

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Holy Spirit Veni Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Today the Church celebrates the close of the Easter season with the Feast of Pentecost. This feast commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Mary in the Upper Room. The Acts of the Apostles describes the Holy Spirit as rushing upon them with the power of a strong wind and as tongues of fire:

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Acts 2:1-4

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the Papal household, also describes the Holy Spirit as fire:

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The Role of the Holy Spirit in Marriage

08 Sunday Sep 2019

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Come Holy Spirit Wedding

Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy…he who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 1 Corinthians 14:1, 3

The Sacraments are an encounter with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is present in all of the Sacraments. At baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit; we are immersed in Christ’s death and resurrection, freed from the stain of original sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says “Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments” (CCC, 1213, emphasis added).

Have you ever wondered why couples who marry in the Catholic Church have to be baptized? It is because the Holy Spirit is imparted at baptism and this is a requirement for the marriage to be sacramental. In “this sacrament the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of Christ and the Church. The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of their love and the strength to renew their fidelity” (CCC, 1624, emphasis added).

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From Trial by Fire to Baptism by Fire

08 Saturday Jun 2019

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Holy Spirit and Fire_Lk 3 16_flipped

I (Dennis) did not come to know the love of the heavenly Father until I experienced a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Unfortunately, brokenness from a failed marriage was the catalyst that drove me to my knees, crying out to God for help. Like Abraham Lincoln in the midst of division in our nation, I was driven “upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” [1]

I was raised a Lutheran. Growing up, we did not pray as a family. God was a “Sunday Only” thing. I married in the Catholic Church in 1979. My wife and I attended mass irregularly during the early years of our marriage. But I lacked knowledge of the grace that God pours into a sacramental marriage. The seeds of dissension were planted in our marriage by unchaste behavior during our courtship. Mortal sin had blocked the grace that God wished to dispense into our marriage. We had opened the door to Satan in our marriage which had destructive consequences.

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Saying “Yes” to Jesus

08 Saturday Sep 2018

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Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

It was Mary’s “Yes” to the Archangel Gabriel that enabled God to humble Himself, take on flesh, and launch His plan for the salvation of humanity through the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ. Mary was blessed to be the Mother of God. She was the first disciple of Jesus, carrying the Savior of the world in her womb. She indeed “found favor with God” (Lk 1:30).

Just as God asked Mary’s permission, Jesus is asking permission to dwell within you. He wants you to know His love for you. He took on human flesh so He could search for you like the shepherd searching after the one lost sheep (see Lk 15:1-7). Father Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal Household, said that all of Scripture can be reduced to just three words, “God is love.” Jesus is God’s love manifested in the flesh and He wants a personal and intimate relationship with you.

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