Pastor's Spiritual Reflections

By Fr. Leo Schneider (1/20/2008)

Dear People of Holy Name,

“Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.” (John 1:34)

It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that God took on flesh in Jesus Christ. It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus preached and healed, and the Church today exists because of the continuing presence of the same Spirit among us. As a church, we strive to do what John did at the Jordan, recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit and give witness to God’s presence and action among us.

When we gather as church and share our stories with one another and let them mingle with the Story of Jesus, we break open the bread of our lives for one another. In that action, we find our nourishment in the sharing of God’s spirit in and among us, gathered in God’s name.

A deliberate and focused way of doing so is participating in one of our small faith-sharing groups during Lent. The words we share there, enter our consciousness and draw us back to the essence of our sharing as we go through the week. Getting to know each other and sharing our faith is how Christ manifests himself to us today. Such sharing can have a profound effect on our lives as we grow in our understanding of others, ourselves and of the living presence of God.

This year we are focusing on the Sunday readings as our source of inspiration. I can’t think of a better way to live out what we do on Sunday, nor a better way to enter more fully into Sunday Eucharist. During Sunday Eucharist, Jesus comes to nourish us and makes us one from the many through the power of his Spirit, received and shared at the heart of our community in prayer.

Thus our small faith-sharing groups during Lent offer us an opportunity like no other. It is my fervent hope that each member of our community will be able to benefit from our Evangelization effort through participation in one of our faith-sharing groups this Lent. Our Easter will be more meaningful to each of us, individually and communally, and we will become the people who can say with John the Baptist, “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

God bless you and show you his love and mercy in this coming season of Lent!

In Christ’s peace, Fr. Leo