From the corner office for May 23, 2021

From the corner office is Father Mike's weekly bulletin column.

Happy Easter Peace AND Happy Pentecost to you and your family. Would it surprise you if I mentioned that the Feast of Pentecost is actually a Jewish feast celebrating the 50th day after the ‘first fruits’ of the season? We know that “Pentecost’ means 50th, as we find it in the Greek. The fact that the early disciples and apostles being together for this feast day is nothing new. The Jewish culture and times would often include many feasts and gatherings.

The Gospel reading repeats this important passage from John, where Jesus (not only) greets the disciples with “Peace be with you” and also the forgiveness of sins. This is HUGE as we reflect on it all. We hear in the First Reading the coming of the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire and helped them to “speak in different tongues”. Basically, that they were understood by all! The Second Reading (I like…) includes the line, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” I could have stopped at love, joy, and peace – but the Spirit is more than just that – it’s (always) more!

This is exactly what we need to remember, that MAGIS! The more… We are all called to more, to do more, expect more, to love more, and be more to others.

Fr. Mike

75th Anniversary thoughts:

Can I continue with that theme of MAGIS ? Yes, I know that it is a very “Jesuit” term, and we remember that Ignatius of Loyola had a knack for finding these great spiritually-charged phrases. Nike & Progressive Insurance would love to have the humble Ignatius on their marketing team. But, consider the MAGIS, as we think about all the work and ‘adjustments’ we are doing here at 4170 N. Amber.
The pop-up 75th Anniversary events are planned, there are more in the making, and we even started looking at the “surprise events” being added to the calendar. We can all take a breath and say “Yes, I want more!” it can be in our parish, our school, and our relationship with God.

Get your raffle tickets early. Support the 75th Anniversary Boost campaign. Then look for the events that will fit your family’s schedule. And most of all, let’s have MAGIS, i.e. More fun as a parish!