Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

If you get the chance to go to St. Peter Basilica in the Vatican, you may notice the beautiful Dove of the Holy Spirit window in the back apse. It was created by Gianno Bernini in 1660 AD and is not stain glass but actually alabaster stone. The dove, from wing tip to wing tip, is six feet wide, which puts into perspective the colossal size of the whole sculpture. The light rays shift from brighter to darker as they move away from the dove, thus illustrating God the Holy Spirit as the source of light. The brightness alternates between light and dark with each division between the amber light rays around the dove, thereby accentuating each individual beam of light without bringing too much attention to any single one. Our stain glass window of the Holy Spirit above our altar is designed after this beautiful masterpiece. 

This weekend we celebrated the feast of Pentecost. It was at the first Pentecost in which the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and Mary in the upper room as tongues of fire. The fire of Divine love equipped them for the missionary endeavors.

The Holy Spirit is given to each of us as forms of different gifts so that we may give glory to God and build His Kingdom. “Whether extraordinary or simple and humble, charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world...It is in this sense that discernment of charisms is always necessary” (CCC 799,801).

“Each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards” (1 Peter 4:10). We are a stewardship parish and every one of us is called by God to give back our time, talents and treasure. What are your spiritual talents, gifts, charisms?  

Like other presents, it is impossible to fully appreciate and make use of our spiritual gifts until they have been discovered and opened. Let us discover our gifts together today so we may allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to help others and build God’s kingdom.

In His Mercy,
Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor