Pentecost is one of the three most important feasts of the Church year.  Christmas is one of the three.  And the feast of Jesus’ resurrection – Easter – is the most important of all three, because if there were no resurrection, we would have no faith or hope at all.  The Jews were celebrating Pentecost 3,000 years ago.  It was one of their three most important feasts.  Originally, it was a harvest feast on which the first fruits were offered in gratitude to God.  It later came to be celebrated as the anniversary of the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt Sinai.  The word itself means simply 50^th, the 50^th day after the Jewish Passover.  The Jews were celebrating the feast when the Spirit came on Jesus’ followers.  And so Pentecost is still celebrated, but we who are Christians celebrate it as the day on which God sent his Holy Spirit upon the Church.

Pentecost isn’t just the celebration of a past event.  It is important for us today, because the Holy Spirit is important for us today.  The Spirit is hard to picture, because it is like the air, unable to be seen, but something that we cannot live without.  In the waters of Baptism, the Christian receives the Spirit, and water − as you know − gives life.  Nothing lives without it.  Hence Jesus says of the Spirit: “He will guide you to all truth.”  A few examples might help.  If we want to know something about rocks, we go find rocks.  They won’t come to us, and they won’t run away from us.  In no way do they cooperate with us in getting to know them.  The initiative is all on our side if we are to know rocks.  If we want to study wild animals, that’s a little different.  We’ve got to go find them, and they could run away from us.  We have to be very quiet in observing them.  The initiative is mostly on our part if we are to know about wild animals, but they can attempt to prevent us from knowing them.  If we want to know another human being and they are determined for us not to know them, we probably won’t.  We have to win their confidence if they are going to open up to us.  The initiative is equally divided: it takes two to make a friendship.  When it comes to God, there is no way we could find Him or know Him if he didn’t show Himself to us.  And he has done so in Jesus Christ.  But we cannot know Jesus without the help of the Spirit, as St Paul says in our reading: “No one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.”  And if we live by the Spirit, “the Spirit will produce in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.”

Fr. Gabriel Wankar
Priest-in-Residence

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

We are approaching Pentecost, the coming of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity who will be with us until the end of time.  As Jesus promised in today’s Gospel: “If you love me and obey my commands, I will ask the Father and He will give you another Paraclete, to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.”  How can we live up with the Holy Spirit?

First of all, we have to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in every moment of our daily lives.  If not, we are not who we are now at this moment!  In looking at our Church history, we should see how the promise of Jesus has been fulfilled.  There were heretics and schismatics who threatened the very continuance of the Church as God’s faithful people on earth.  There were crises and near-catastrophes caused by the human weaknesses of its heads and its members, yet the Church survived and spread and continued to send saints to heaven because of the direct and active aid of the Holy Spirit.  Secondly, we should know and admit our weaknesses and waywardness of human nature; we easily fall into sins and cause death.  God our Father and through the Son sent the Holy Spirit to remain not just with the Church but also within each one of us as the teacher, consoler, protector and guide until the last person has entered heaven.  Thirdly we should believe that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete or the Spirit of Truth, is a “Real Someone” who helps us, even in the context of a legal trial.  For example, a Paraclete could be a lawyer or a witness on our behalf.  A Paraclete must be convincing to the judge or jury, or He would not help us win the case.  However, the Paraclete whom the Father sends us is not accepted by the world “since it neither sees Him nor recognizes Him.”  Therefore the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, might not help us win our case on earth; rather, He is with us and within us so we will have the strength to remain faithful when unjustly persecuted or condemned.  The Paraclete will make us holy so that on the final judgment day, Jesus the judge will give the verdict: “Well done!  You are a good and faithful servant!  Come, you have my Father’s Blessing!  Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.”

Let us pray together: Come Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.  Please help us be acquitted in the final judgment, even though we may be condemned in the world’s trial.  Praise and glory to the Father who sent us the Holy Spirit.  Praise Jesus who died and came to life again, that He could be Lord of both the dead and the living.  Praise the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete; come and renew the face of the earth.

With love,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I love today’s readings, for two reasons.  First, the letter of Peter reminds us that “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own…”  Second, Jesus promises us in the Gospel: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…  I go and prepare a place for you..  I will come back again and take you to myself so that where I am you also may be.” Continue reading…

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In Jesus’ time, the leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees and Sadducees, were false shepherds who tried to prevent the people from following Jesus, but they failed.  They then killed the Shepherd, but in vain.  He rose from the dead and His flock increased by the thousands and will keep increasing until the end of time. Continue reading…

My Dear Friends in Christ,

“Jesus is risen from the death. This is our true faith. This is the faith of the whole Church. We are proud to profess it.” On the afternoon of Jesus’ resurrection, He walked about seven miles with two of His disciples and “interpreted for them every passage of Scripture which referred to Him.” He did this even though His last three years of teaching the apostles seemed ineffective, for they had abandoned Him when He was executed. As Jesus taught His two disciples, their hearts were burning and being purified. That evening of His resurrection, Jesus continued His ministry of teaching by opening the apostles’ minds to the understanding of the Scriptures. Jesus’ teaching of the Scriptures eventually bore fruit at Pentecost. The Church continues this pattern to the present day. As God’s Word is proclaimed, we recognize the risen Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit. Abide in God’s Word. Witness for the risen Jesus. Receive new Pentecost.

How happy are we! We are beginning to honor our blessed Virgin Mary during this month of May. We offer our Mother reverence, flowers, special honor and with Mary “Magnificat.” When we Honor Mother Mary, Jesus will surely be very pleased. Honoring Mary is the way to proclaim that Mary deserved to share the Resurrection of Christ in the first place. Please offer to Mary all flowers: the flower of praise, the flower of thanksgiving, the flower of gratitude, the flower of prayer from our hearts, souls and minds. Above all, pray with Mary as the disciples gathered together with Her, awaiting the Holy Spirit. Be like Mary. Listen to the Word of God, contemplate and incarnate it deeply in our hearts. Also, be with Mary and the whole Church, re-evangelize the Good News of the Resurrection. Mary is the Queen of the Apostles. She will help us to become a community of apostolic mission; we might dare to  approach others, seek sinners/fallen people and welcome those who are abandoned or the poor of the poor. We can make Jesus alive in our society with Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My friends, I would like to invite you all this week to meditate on these words: “Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?” We are still experiencing the same way when we celebrate the Eucharist: Why did not we open our eyes to recognize Jesus? Why are we not in haste to proclaim “Jesus is risen from the death?”

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Peace be with you always!

With love,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen, Pastor

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, the Blessed Pope John Paul II and Blessed Pope John XXIII are canonized.  Pope John Paul established the feast of Divine Mercy in 2000, saying that he had fulfilled the will of Jesus Christ.  We are to be merciful to others through our actions, words, and prayers.  The popes showed us by example how to be merciful.

Pope John Paul II was born Karol Józef Wojtyła in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920.  He was elected pope on Oct. 16, 1978.  John Paul II successfully encouraged dialogue with the Jews and other religions.  They met several times, especially in Assisi.  He beatified 1,338 persons and 482 became saints.  His love for young people brought him to establish the World Youth Days.  He was the pilgrim pope through his many travels.  The pope helped bring about the fall of Communism in Easter Europe. He was shot on May 13, 1981.  He protected the dignity of human beings and he showed how to die in hope by his suffering.  He died on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday.  After his death the people shouted “Santo Subito!”(“Saint now!” in Italian).  Pope John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli at Sotto il Monte, Italy, on Nov. 25, 1881 and was elected pope on Oct, 28, 1958, taking the name John XXIII.  His pontificate, which lasted less than five years, presented him as an authentic image of the Good Shepherd.  He carried out the Christian duties by works of mercy. He launched a renewal of the Church, the Second Vatican Council.  The faithful called him “the good Pope”.

Both popes were sustained by a profound spirit of prayer, so they knew how to lead the Church.

The Divine Mercy message prepares us for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. “I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like…”  (Diary 741, Sister Faustina Kowalska).  On the Day of Divine Mercy Sunday, whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300).

Fr. Rafal Duda
Parochial Vicar

We walked together during the Lenten journey, and the time comes to relive together the joy of the empty tomb, whose empty mystery fills us with hope and shows us our common future, the resurrection. When we climb the mountain together, we do not ask who was the first. Sometimes we only say that we were the first on the peak, but in reality, we do not think this way, because we are conscious of the common work. We come here to St. John the Baptist Church to celebrate Easter in community. We celebrate with spiritual communion with the sisters and brothers who are sick and homebound.

When Jesus came to the disciples, He gave them a command. Jesus commanded the disciples to preach to the people and to testify to all, that He was the One sent by God to judge the living and the dead. Peter affirmed that he and the disciples of the Lord were witnesses to all that Jesus had done in Judea and in Jerusalem. What was said about Jesus were not fabricated stories. It was the truth. The disciples of Christ lived alongside Him and witnessed everything He did and said. In all, it is estimated that Jesus appeared to approximately 500 different persons during the days that followed His resurrection. What blessed women! They did not yet know that this was the dawn of the most important day of history. They could not have known that they, they themselves, would be the first witnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection.

Everyone who meets Jesus Christ and confesses faith in him is not able to be silent and cannot keep his good news to himself or herself. Open your heart: the people around you need you. The Risen Christ commended us to preach and witness to those who do not know Christ and to those who knew Christ but do not remember him anymore. To protect the faith is not enough; it has to be preached.

Father Thoung, Father Gabriel and I wish you Happy Easter! Chúc Mừng Phục Sinh!, Easter Adoo! ,Wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych!

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Fr. Rafal Duda
Parochial Vicar