Dear Parishioners,

One of my favorite hymns is "Praise the Holy Trinity." Here are the lyrics:

Dear Parishioners,

Saint John Chrysostom was an ancient Church Father who lived in Turkey and died in the year 407. He was famous for his preaching. The name Chrysostom means literally, ‘the golden mouth.’ The priest had this to say about Pentecost:

The Apostles did not come down from the mountain like Moses with stone tablets in their hands. They emerged from the Cenacle carrying the Holy Spirit in their hearts and offering everywhere treasures of wisdom and of grace as spiritual gifts flowing from a gushing spring. They went preaching to the whole world, they themselves being the living law, as if they were books animated by the grace of the Holy Spirit. (In Mt. Hom., 1, 1:PG 57-58, 15.)

Dear Parishioners,

Hail the day that sees him rise, Alleluia! It's been forty days (well, more or less) since the Resurrection and this Sunday we celebrate Jesus' departure from this earth—the Ascension. “So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God” (Mk 16:19).

Notice there is a lot of direction on where the disciples are to go and what they are to do when our Lord ascends to the sky. Jesus tells them to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8). He also instructs them to preach the Gospel and baptize (cf. Mk 16:15-16). The angel tells them to stop looking at the sky (cf. Acts 1:11). The disciples return to Jerusalem (cf. Lk 24:52).

What am I to do with my life? Where should I go? These are questions people, young adults in particular, ask themselves often. Graduation is around this time of year and I wonder if some college and even high school seniors are wondering about the direction of their lives.

Dear Parishioners,

Let me share with you a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) that I always read this time of year. Hopkins was a Jesuit priest, a theologian, and is regarded as one of the greatest poets of the Victorian era. This is "May Magnificat":

May is Mary’s month, and I
Muse at that and wonder why:
Her feasts follow reason,
Dated due to season—

Candlemas, Lady Day;
But the Lady Month, May,
Why fasten that upon her,
With a feasting in her honour?

Is it only its being brighter
Than the most are must delight her?
Is it opportunest
And flowers finds soonest?