From our Pastor’s Desk

Dear Family:

Preparing myself to write this column, I found this joke in the internet that I find in line with the message I want to convey today. It says: “One day a mom told her little son to clean his room but each time he went in, he got distracted by all the toys and he put nothing away. She went in and said to him, ‘Stephen, what did mom tell you to do?’ ‘Clean my room,’ he said. ‘And did you clean your room,’ she asked. ‘No’ he replied quietly. She disciplined him and then helped him to pray and confess his error to God and ask Jesus to help him get his room cleaned. He seemed to respond really well to all of this and she thought, ‘Wow, prayer really works.’ But Stephen just got down and sat in the middle of the room, doing nothing. In frustration she asked, ‘Stephen, what are you doing?’ He replied, just as frustrated, ‘Oh, Mom! You prayed to Jesus, right? I'm waiting for him to come and help me clean my room!’

This weekend the Church celebrate the Feast of Pentecost when we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit to establish the Church. “Pentecost” means fifty days. For the Jews, Pentecost was a commemoration of God giving the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai. They were guided by the Torah. For us, Pentecost is the giving of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that we count on to guide us. Do we hear and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit to change our way of living? Or, though we hear the promptings we ignore them and continue to wait for Him to come and clean up the mess in our life for us?

Saint Paul, in his letter to the Romans, a part of which we heard today, speaks about two kinds of life, namely the life of the flesh and the life of the spirit, and he draws a sharp contrast between these two. He says, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you." What does Paul mean by being in the flesh and being in the spirit?

The word "flesh" means body. There are many references to the "flesh" in the letters of Saint Paul but it rarely refers to the physical body. He often refers to "the flesh" to the person who is controlled by "self" and the desires of the self. He speaks of the whole person - body, mind and soul - who longs and strives for the demands of the flesh or one's own desires, which Paul believes are destructive and sinful. In his letters to the different communities he mentions different people having different destructive forces in them such as pride, ambition, greed, hatred, envy, arrogance, lust and so on. He points out that people who are ruled by their sinful selves or desires of the flesh cannot please God.

In contrast to the concept of the flesh, Paul says that "the spirit" is dominated by the "Spirit of God" and God's desires. The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit which proceeds equally from the Father and from the Son and, the Spirit of God desires that we embrace love, forgiveness, compassion, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, self-control and peace. Hence, he tells us that only those who are in the spirit or seek what God desires, can please God. In short, as Jesus said it is mercy that God desires more than sacrifice Matthew (9:13).

Paul then goes on to observe, "Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." Paul reminds us that the sacrament of baptism alone is insufficient and that we must have the Spirit of Christ within us to belong to Him and to be a member of the Church, His body. In other words, a true Christian is one who has the Spirit of Christ within him and listens to the promptings of the Spirit. If we do not obey the promptings of the Spirit who is a special gift given to us at Baptism, we may lose the Spirit and as a result, we do not belong to Christ.

However, Paul encourages us to remain in Christ. He says, "But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness." What he means is that a true Christian may struggle against the sins of the flesh and give into or succumb to the demands of the flesh on occasions, but the spirit of God is still in the person because of the person's faithfulness and remorse for sin. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is promised to those who love Christ and ask for the forgiveness for sins. As Jesus said, God indeed comes to call not the upright but sinners Matthew (9:13). He loves those who truly seek forgiveness for sin.

Paul, then, warns the Christians of the danger of following the flesh, "Consequently, brothers and sisters, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

Paul's point is that we owe nothing to the flesh but owe everything to the Holy Spirit, because while the works of the flesh lead us to unhappiness, misery and death, the deeds of spirit lead us to happiness, peace and a life of grace. To those who live according to the Spirit of God, two precious gifts are given:

1. The Spirit makes us children of God. As His children, we have an intimate relationship with God the Father. We have the special privilege of speaking to Him and calling Him, "Abba, Father!" We can tell him our joys and sorrows. We can confidently go to Him with our troubles, trials and fears.

2. The Spirit makes us heirs of God. As heirs, we are given love, peace and all that belongs to God our Father.

Let us examine our life. Are we living according to the flesh? Or according to the Spirit? If we are living in the flesh then remember the warning of Paul that we bring condemnation and death upon ourselves. We deprive ourselves of our own peace, joy and life. However, we can seek forgiveness for our sins through Jesus Christ and enter into a new way of life through the Holy Spirit. If we are living in the Spirit, then let us rejoice and praise the Lord and strive for more peace and life in Him.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Make us always One Body, One Spirit, One Family!

Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Michael the Archangel, Pope Saint Pius X, St. Charbel and St. José Gregorio Hernández, pray for us.

Yours in Christ Jesus!
Fr. Omar