I am pleased to present this guest post from Father Steven LaBaire, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Worcester, MA.
In preparation for mass this Sunday:
This weekend we join millions of Christians as we celebrate Pentecost, the 50th and final day of the Easter Season.
Pentecost celebrates the presence of a divine energy called Holy Spirit at work in the wider church.
This holy energy is also at work in our individual lives.
Celebrating Pentecost requires something of the attitude that hearty New Englanders have towards the weather:
“Forecasters will make all kinds of predictions for tomorrow. But, who really knows, where the wind will blow?”
It’s like that in the Church. People try to predict things. Experts like to tell us “where things are headed.”
But, who really knows? Only the Spirit.
- Who would have predicted Vatican II? Who would have anticipated a Pope Francis?
- Who would have believed fifty years ago that the Christianity would decline in Europe and grow exponentially in Africa and Asia?
- Who would have ever thought that the American Church would be over 50% Spanish-speaking?
- Who would have ever believed that the day would come when the old Latin Mass would be revived? And increasingly among young people?
And yet, it’s all true.
This Holy Energy is full of surprises. Maybe the happiest Christians are those open to surprises; those who are ready to serenely accept that the future won’t be exactly the way they think it will be.
Pray that the Spirit would make us (joyfully) open to where the Spirit is leading us.
Copyright 2015 Steven Michael LaBaire
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That’s right! Happy Pentecost! I love this feast because the colors, flowers and candles, ancient music and paintings as well as the story that never gets tired, are so beautiful! The weather is finally good, too: it all combines to make me feel happy! Thank you for your poignant thoughts. An afterthought: how can we let the Spirit work in us to recultivate Christianity in Europe and the U.S.?
We just need to get out of the way and let Him do His work, with us as His tools.