Solemnity of Pentecost (E-Pistle)

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This week, I spent time with many of our priests from throughout the diocese at our summer gathering. This annual tradition gives me the opportunity to celebrate Eucharist, pray, visit, share meals, and recreate with the men who have accepted the call to serve this local Church as priests of Jesus Christ.  Thank you for joining me in supporting our priests and please continue to pray for us as we strive to serve the faithful throughout the diocese with grace and joy.

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, marking the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Spirit’s gift of power to go forth to boldly proclaim the Gospel.  We too are gifted with the same Spirit at Pentecost to become bearers of the Gospel in a world in need of hope and unity.   At Pentecost we celebrate the Church’s beginning that, even today, invites us into communion with Christ and one another, forming the mystical Body of Christ. 

We also look forward with great anticipation to Saturday June 11 and the ordination to the priesthood of the three men who said yes to God’s call to share in my ministry as their Bishop.  Please remember Deacons Sam Bass, Jakob Hurlimann, and Fernando Ricaud in your prayers, that the Holy Spirit will infuse them with courage and generosity.  Recognizing and accepting the call to serve the Church, especially as a priest, is something that we must all cultivate in our parishes and families. In a world that is often noisy and filled with distractions, we must pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood.  Pray also for our seminarians, and religious men and women in formation, whose “yes” is a gift to us all.

Finally, as we continue to mourn the deaths of 21 children and their teachers in Uvalde, just this week we were again confronted with the tragic loss of life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Join me in holding these men and women in your thoughts and prayers this week.  May this Pentecost breathe into our world a fresh wind of the Spirit, bringing us into a new oneness – a new communion of God’s goodness and grace.