May 2023

Reflection for Pentecost By Katie Cillo

The Holy Spirit comes to us at Confirmation, when we may not have a sense of what we are being given, but the Spirit remains with us throughout our lives. We can always pray to the Holy Spirit when we have questions, when are a discerning, and when need guidance. Although the Spirit is abstract, it is a powerful gift that God wanted us to have and that we need in our daily lives.

When I think about how Jesus wants me to “send it,” I wonder if his model with the disciples is similar. He wants me to be kind to others, to let them know that I am His disciple throughout my actions, speech, and by living a virtuous life, more so than by telling others. But he also calls me and calls all of us, to “send it” when it comes to living with the Spirit and to sharing our faith with others. He wants us to be confident and reckless in our love for him, for each other, and for our world. He is asking us to send it when we make decisions about faith, family, and friendships. We are being asked to live in the model of his disciples, to not be afraid and to let the Spirit work through and with us.

Reflection for Sunday May 7th by Finn A.

Sunday Gospel: Jn 14:1-12

In Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus explains to his apostles the next step in his journey: he is going to the Father. The apostles question Jesus, asking questions such as "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus tells them to have faith in him, and trust that he is the way, the truth, and the life. If the apostles know Jesus, then they know the Father, for the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father.
Recently, our parish has undergone severe hardships. We are only able to hold service because of the hospitality of others. Although this may seem unfair, this passage shows us how we must maintain faith in the Lord. Just as our faith in Jesus guides us to be with him in Heaven, our faith in the Lord will guide us back to our home. In these difficult times, will you grow impatient and frightened, or will you maintain trust in God that he will aid in our recovery?

This week's reflection is by Finn, OMC School class of 2023.

Reflection for Sunday May 14th by Silvia C.

Sunday Gospel: Jn 14:15-21

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus preaching to his disciples telling them that if they love him they will keep his commandments. Throughout this gospel, Jesus talks about the love we have to put into each of our own relationships with God. God will always love us, but we need to reciprocate that love and put time and effort into our relationships with God.
Jesus says, “But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you.”. While Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit, this can also relate to the sacrament of the Eucharist. During the Eucharist, we receive Jesus’ body and blood, allowing us to be one with him and for him to be in us. This strengthens us and the bond of our faith and helps us to follow his commandments. Next time you receive communion, how can you meditate on Christ remaining with you?

This week's reflection is by Silvia, OMC parish school class of 2023.

Reflection for Sunday May 21st by Matteo

Sunday Gospel: Jn 17:1-11a

This week’s passage is extremely dense and can be hard to understand. I had to read it a few times to really grasp the meaning of it. Jesus is speaking to His Father in heaven in this passage. Jesus is saying all that God the Father has given Him has allowed Him to go out and bring more people to The Father. It praises and thanks God the Father for all that He blessed Jesus with. This passage ends with an almost mysterious line; “And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.” This line really stood out to me. It hints at Jesus’ ascension to heaven which we celebrated last Thursday (May 18th). I think this line feels like a grand conclusion. Jesus is saying “thank you for everything you have given me and now I will join you, because your disciples can now thrive down on Earth without me.”
This excerpt from Saint John’s gospel reminds me of the song “Saint Bernard,” by Lincoln. This song details someone with a tumultuous upbringing trying to refind God. The song Saint Bernard and Saint John’s Gospel feature lines that intertwine with each other. Saint John writes, “give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,” and Lincoln writes “make me love myself so that I might love you.” In my eyes, I think that the latter line is something a lot of people can identify with. Among other reasons, a lot of people who have left the faith have left because they feel that God is not there for them or something along the lines of “if God was real and who the church says He is, then he wouldn’t let (insert circumstance) happen to me.” The reality is that that is the wrong mindset. God always has our backs and everything that happens to us happens for a reason. From the Gospel of Saint John, we hear the line about God the Father giving glory to Jesus so that he may pass it on and bring more disciples to the Church. This line correlates almost as a response to the one from the song aforementioned. The character of the song says “make me love myself so that I may love you,” and God is responding “I will give you glory so that you may have glory to give to others,” almost as though He’s telling the character that love is not what he is looking for, what he really is looking for is the glory of God. Saint John’s gospel continues to tell of what happens when you embrace the glory of God and how it will bring you glory in the eyes of the Father.
With this, I challenge everyone reading this week to think about how you can bring glory to the kingdom of God and in what ways you can improve your relationship with God.

By Matteo, OMC class of 2023