This weekend marks the 76th anniversary of D-Day, the Battle of Normandy, where we remember and honor the brave soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy during World War II. At the time it was the largest naval, air, and land operation ever launched in history. And what was the motivation behind mustering so large an outpouring of American soldiers in a foreign land? It was the threat of one of the greatest evils humankind has ever encountered; it was the threat not only of Nazi fascism, but…
“Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.” On this great Solemnity of Pentecost, we invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts so that rivers of living water will flow from within us. Jesus promises the Spirit to all who come to believe in him. And so, today we give primary focus to the Holy Spirit, who is the source of all life, the source of all love, the source of all being.
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, which commemmorates the event of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, where he is now seated at the right hand of the Father. St. Paul tells us that the honor bestowed upon Jesus places him “far aSbove every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.” St. Peter echoes this, saying, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under…
Today is the Sixth Sunday of Easter and it’s hard to believe how quickly the time has passed. Pretty soon, we will be celebrating our Blessed Lord’s Ascension and Pentecost. These upcoming feast days are quite significant, and our readings set the stage for these miraculous events. Something I have always found funny about the way the readings are arranged during Easter is how they are out of order. If we were to visualize and piece together the events described in today’s readings, it would be…
