May 25th Pastor's Message

Read this week's message from Father Don

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Dear parishioners,

As we will soon be celebrating Pentecost, the great feast of the Holy Spirit, Fr. Don has asked me to share how the Holy Spirit has impacted my life.

It can be hard to foster one’s relationship with the Holy Spirit; at first, it can be more difficult to relate to Him than to the Father or the Son, whose relational names are more intuitive. I have struggled to build a more personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, or perhaps I have failed to recognize how profound His action has been in my life.

An image of the Holy Spirit, which illustrates this aspect of His hidden work in our lives, is sap. Admittedly, this image is unconventional; nowhere in the Bible is the Holy Spirit portrayed as sap. But for me, sap is a useful image for understanding the Holy Spirit, and my relationship with Him.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.” “Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” Here, Jesus compares Himself to a grapevine, and He says that we are the branches which cannot hope to bear any fruit unless they draw their life from Him. What is this life? What is it that flows through the vine and into the branches so that they may bear fruit? The Sap! And, just as we say in the creed, the Holy Spirit is the giver of life!

Though I still sometimes struggle to recognize the fact, the Holy Spirit has been the life-giving sap in my life. He has convinced me of the fulfillment that comes from a life spent in service. He encourages me to strive for virtue, and He gives me hope when I fall short. He gives me insights about God and myself during times of prayer. He has given me experiences of profound joy, a joy that cannot be taken away. In sum, the Holy Spirit has borne many fruits in my life, and, if you take the time, I am sure you will find that He has done the same in yours.

Seminarian Peter

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