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“The Most Holy Trinity” Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC

Dear Believers,

The Church celebrates The Most Holy Trinity, the foundation of the relationship among the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This feast at first glance seems abstract, yet this is the foundation on which we build our lives, our faith and the Church.

In today’s gospel, John 3:16-18, we hear again that God loves us from the beginning of the world. We are created in love in order to love. During these past months, we have celebrated the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Last week, we ended the Easter season with Pentecost. This feast summarizes what we have been living and celebrating.

Our sacramental lives celebrate the Trinity. We are all baptized in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our lives of faith come from this foundation of love from the Father. We are recreated and born again in Jesus’ resurrection. We are also given ongoing hope and purpose relying on the Holy Spirit.

This concept of faith is lived out in our daily lives. When we enter our church buildings and dip our fingers into holy water and bless ourselves, we are living out the meaning of the Trinity. When we begin a meal prayer or receive absolution in the confessional, we receive the blessing of the Trinity. When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours or even the Rosary in the privacy of our home, we are connected to the life-giving action of the Trinity.

We live with courage under the banner of the Trinity as we mark our human bodies Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Living our faith daily in the events of turmoil, misunderstandings, hopelessness and ill health, we take action in the Holy Trinity. We summon the force of God’s love, compassion and hope when we believe, actively pray, and publicly witness the mark of the Trinity, not only on our bodies, but also within our human hearts and actions. Summoning the Trinity on our human bodies as we enter the church door is an act of defiance against despair. God’s love is manifest when we take this courageous step to admit our faith and live it with intention.

Here are some questions to ponder on this Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity:

Take a moment to reflect on how you begin your prayer. Do you mark your body with the Sign of the Cross? What does that action mean to you? Can you take some time this week to simply use that action for your prayer? If you pray from this sign, it might be the only prayer you really need.

Take some prayer time to reflect on how you bless others. When you tuck in your children at bedtime, do you bless them with the Sign of the Cross? What does this mean when you entrust your children with this sign of love? This is the Holy Trinity in action.

Blessings to you all— Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Fr. Ron

On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR

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The Holy Trinity

Gospel JN 3:16-18

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

“The Stone Rejected by the Builder…” Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC 2017

Mark 12:1-12

Have you not read this Scripture passage:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?”

“Pentecost 2017” Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC

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Dear Followers of the Risen Christ,

Today the Church celebrates Pentecost! This is the birthday of the Church, our foundation in the Holy Spirit. Today, we invigorate our lives, confess our faith, and realize our role to spread the Good News in our world. Pentecost is not just a celebration of the past, but also an enlightenment of God’s activity within our human lives.

Today’s gospel, John 20:19-23, is a familiar passage in this Easter season. We proclaimed this text on the Second Sunday of Easter. In John’s gospel, Pentecost happened in the first week after the Resurrection.

Jesus appears behind closed doors. This revelation speaks to us in our weariness and tightness of heart and attitude. There is nothing that will keep the Holy Spirit from our lives— no hardship or discomfort, no sin or doubt, no insecurity or suffering. Today, we are challenged again that all our hearts be open to receive this new life.

The first words from Jesus after his Resurrection were, “Peace be with you.” This is not a throwaway line. This is the truth of Jesus’ presence and his overwhelming life of peace, harmony and forgiveness. Jesus’ greeting of peace is a very commonplace expression in many languages. Jesus is really saying, “Hello.” This is an everyday expression and yet it speaks to the core of how we long for the everyday presence of Jesus Christ.

Jesus breathes on his disciples. The Holy Spirit does not fade into the wind. The Spirit is with us forever. So often in baptism, we live as if the Holy Spirit was given to us once upon a time and fades with our disinterest over time. The Holy Spirit does not leave us! The Holy Spirit’s power, love and consolation are still deep within our lives and hearts. Once we are given such power, it does not fade or get washed away in memory, time or adulthood.

Today is the day we all need to ask for what we need in life. Life is tough; anguish is real; and the threats of violence, hunger, and war are in the air. We are challenged to pray this Pentecost Day! Pray for your own needs and the needs of your family. Pray for what the world needs and desires. Pray for our Church and our local community. Pray for our future and the hope that peace can really find a home on earth. Pray for everything! We do this because on this Solemnity of Pentecost, who knows how the Holy Spirit will transform the world. Only the Holy Spirit knows for sure.

Here are some questions to consider this week:

How can you revive your prayer and relationship with the Holy Spirit? What is the Holy Spirit calling you to pray for in your life and in our world this week? How is the Holy Spirit challenging you to serve, love and work in the world? How can you practically embrace the Holy Spirit in your life today/

Happy Pentecost,

Fr. Ron

Pentecost 2017, Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC

Sequence — Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your 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.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.

Pentecost 2017

On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR

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Jesus broke through walls of fear and invited his disciples to open their hearts to new life. He not only proclaimed his peace but offered it to them and to us in the Holy Spirit.

(Left) Bishop-Elect Bill Wack,CSC

Click here for the article from Catholic News Service

Click here for the article from Diocese of Austin

Bill Wack, CSC is a former associate pastor here in Colorado Springs, CO in the Tri-Community of Sacred Heart Church in Old Colorado City, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Manitou Springs and Holy Rosary Chapel in Cascade, CO.

Please pray for Bill, a wonderful priest and gentle servant.

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Dear Believers in Christ Jesus,

We celebrate the Ascension of the Lord this weekend. The gospel (Matthew 28:16-20) invites us to let go of Jesus one more time. Jesus calls the disciples to go to a mountain. This mountain brings back the image of Jesus teaching the Beatitudes on the hillside and even his death on Calvary. This mountain becomes another moment of transition.

Jesus calls the eleven disciples together. They worship him and yet they doubt. This combination of love and uncertainty combines together in the Easter season. Thomas, together with others, have witnessed Jesus’ miraculous life and yet hold moments of doubt and questioning. Now the eleven stand on the mountain uncertain about the next step for Jesus and especially the future of their own lives.

Jesus says that all power is given to him. All during the Lenten and Easter seasons, we have heard of Jesus’ connection to the Father. His authority is shown to the disciples one more time. Like reluctant grown children leaving their parents’ home, Jesus now pushes the eleven disciples out of the nest. He sends them into the world to baptize and claim all people for God. Jesus sends them empowered by the Holy Trinity. He commands that they not be fearful or dormant, but courageous in their efforts to proclaim Good News to all people.

The Ascension is not about looking up in the sky and adoring the presence or absence of Jesus. This feast is a command to put our faith into practice, to preach and baptize, to offer peace and harmony, to satisfy the longing of people in their empty hearts. The gospel reveals the mission of the Church.

We live this mission at every Mass. We take the Real Presence of Christ Jesus into the fragile and lost world. We live the mission of hope and peace, of reconciliation and comfort. The Mass is not an end in itself. Even the word “Mass” comes from the word “dismissal.” We are sent with a new imagination, with a new discovery of how our baptismal lives flow into the mystery of our humanity and searching.

The Ascension invites us to get moving, to put into practice what we have discovered in our lives of conversion and change this Easter season. We know that the Ascension leads to Pentecost. We are not alone. We are not orphans. We are not selfish and isolated. We are people who practice our faith, first encountering the person of Jesus in our baptism and the celebration of Eucharist.

Faith means being sent into a harsh and often uncaring world. I invite you to reflect on the mission of our faith that rests in your heart.

What do you understand of Jesus sending the disciples into the world? How is this moment in the gospel an act of hope and a moment of fear? How does the Ascension shape your faith and your service in our world?

Blessings,

Fr. Ron

The Ascension of the Lord, May 28, 2017

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Pictures of our art opening at an assisted living facility in Colorado Springs. The Brookdale Skyline invited me to participate with a dozen of my works because our parish serves that community with Mass and pastoral care from several of our parishioners. The show will last for two months. Twenty artists participated. Photos by: Professional photographer, Rusty Kern

Art Opening: May 18, 2017 Photo by: Rusty Kern

Art Opening: May 18, 2017 Photo by: Rusty Kern