Pastor's Reflection

The community is gathered together in one place.

A noise like a strong driving wind comes from the sky. The noise fills the entire house.

Tongues of fire appear which separate and come to rest on each one of them.

Those are the signs of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

They are gathered – so much of our life is separated, un-gathered, divided. Even, and especially our family time. We do things on the run. In the rush it becomes easier to use people. And when we get in the groove of using people, we tend to get more aggravated with people – we see them as obstacles to getting what we want, rather than joy. We forget the joy of simply being together.

The noise like the driving wind fills the house. So often the noise that fills our daily life are notices from iPhones, non-stop videos, traffic and alarms, non-stop conversations. We can forget the driving wind of God that can fill and refresh the house of our very soul.

The fire then rests on them. So often our fire can be a fire of wrath, anger, resentment, trying to get even. That eats us up.

Our world tells us that rushing around in division, the constant noise, and the churning desire for “showing them” are the currency of daily life. Those are tricks of the evil one to draw us into sin. The additional trick is not to recognize sin as sin – even to believe sin is impossible.

But the Holy Spirit is real. And He wants to drive sin out of our lives through forgiveness. God forgives us in the Sacrament of Confession.

Let the breeze of the Holy Spirit descend deep into your soul – let Him prompt you to go to Confession. Let His light fill you with forgiveness – the path to joy.

God bless,

Msgr. Bransfield

Time is moving quickly. Easter was seven weeks ago. We are now in the third week of May.

We can easily get swept up in the pace. And the tempo accelerates. Slowness can seem to be blameworthy, a mistake or a fault. iPhones train slowness out of us. And we train it out of each other. Speed seems to be a virtue that we must increase at every opportunity.

Grace slows us down. Grace provides us with a new momentum that allows us to see each other and the ordinary events of life in a new way. Grace pries open the hold we have on control. It dismantles our compulsions. Even seemingly good things can become compulsions that coerce us to double down on ego.

Grace is not something that you and I manufacture. We do not cause it. God offers us grace through the Sacraments we receive, especially in going to Mass – as we receive the Holy Eucharist. Grace resists fitting in, it resists fitting into speed, ego, or compulsion.

Grace is slow. And slow is beautiful.

God offers us superabundant grace in the Sacrament of Confession.

The schedule and the world will give us countless reasons to speed up. And when we speed up, we can easily leave God behind.

But God loves us. He will continually invite us – not force us but invite us - to allow Him to intercept us no matter how fast we go.

This week, give time to God. And see what He does with it.

God bless,
Msgr. Bransfield

We see ad after ad about casinos and the winnings. Prestigious labels call out to us. Commercials try to sell us the shiny makes and models of the latest gadgets. Every ad, sooner or later, to be successful, must take the form of a promise.

After seeing so many “promises,” we can drift into thinking if we just get more things, or get ahead, then we will feel better. Some people can even begin to try to “solve” or salve internal hurts by external validations.

One of the most basic temptations we face is to seek out someone or something other than the Holy Spirit to be our advocate. We may be tempted to have style be our advocate. We may want our successes to speak for us. We may desire that results to speak for us. The world attempts to turn everything it touches into power. And then the world offers it to us.

But those things the world offers us don’t know us. They don’t know our story. They can’t speak. And they can’t save us.

Jesus does.

And Jesus promises to send the disciples “another Advocate” (Jn. 14:15). Jesus, the Son of God, rises from the dead and ascends into heaven. And, in heaven, Jesus asks God the Father to do something.

Jesus asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.

The Holy Spirit is not a back door to worldly things. The Holy Spirit is the front door to Jesus. The Holy Spirit’s goal is not to make us fit in with the world. The Holy Spirit’s goal is to make us resemble Jesus Christ.

The next time we see an ad recommending we spend, buy, or pay for something we most likely don’t need, let’s say a prayer instead and ask God the Father to pour out the Holy Spirit on us. And then wait for the real Promise – the Promise Who is made know in longing, patience, and determination.

God bless,
Msgr. Bransfield