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Dear Brothers and Sisters in
Christ,
With our celebration of Pentecost comes the official end of the Easter season.
In this feast, on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus
Christ, we celebrate the fulfillment of His promise, “I will be with you
always”. In this we come to recognize that the feast of Pentecost is not so
much the end of something as it is the doorway to a new beginning in Christ. Even if we
are observing this celebration for the 50 or 60th time, it is still
an invitation by God to enter more fully into His life of love.
The Lord is with us for a reason. So that we can be saved and go to heaven
– yes. So that we can know for certain that we are never alone – absolutely.
But more than these, which when we look at them we are caught staring at
ourselves, the Lord is with us so that we can effectively fulfill His command to
go out to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit! We are called and chosen to enter into a relationship,
first with God, and then with one another! Our religion is not just about us!
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This is quite a different view of
religion from what society tells us on at least two levels. First of all, we
see here that our faith is NOT something that is intended to be private. This
good news that we have heard, this Gospel, is meant to be shared with all people
– the good news that God has come to be among His people.
What wonderful news! Why would we want to keep that to ourselves??? If we
truly believe that God is with us, as He promised, then why wouldn’t we
cultivate that relationship to the fullest extent possible? After all, look at
what the apostles and the saints who came after them accomplished! Of course,
didn’t Jesus promise that those who believed in Him would work great wonders?
Second of all we see more clearly that our faith is not merely about ME.
Our faith becomes truly active and alive when we look outside ourselves and
begin to focus on the other – that is, God and our neighbor.
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The apostolic work of the saints is
pretty obviously not focused on them. When we see a St. John Vianney, Blessed
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St. Charles Borromeo, we see people who were not
focused on themselves, but on the people around them. Whether they were picking
up the dying off the streets of Calcutta or forgiving the sins of parishioners
in Arles or carrying out the reform of the structure and life of the universal
Church – their focus was on anyone but themselves. When the saints like Teresa
of Avila or Francis of Assisi devoted themselves to prayer, even that wasn’t
about them. It was ALL about their love for the one to whom they were praying.
In order to find ourselves we must lose ourselves. But the great thing is
that when, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we manage to leave ourselves
behind, great things can happen.
Pray Well!
Fr. Klos
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