General Audience March 9, 1994 “The Holy Spirit, the giver of every gift and the main principle of the Church's vitality, does not only work through the sacraments. According to St. Paul, he who distributes to each his own gifts as he wills (1 Cor. 12:11), pours out into the People of God a great wealth of graces both for prayer and contemplation and for action. They are charisms: lay people receive them too, especially in relation to their mission in the Church and society. The Second Vatican Council stated this in connection with St. Paul: "The Holy Spirit also distributes special graces … [Read more...] about Pope John Paul II Speaks On Charisms (Fr. Bob reflection)
Messages from Fr. Bob
What Do We Imagine The Spirit To Be? (Fr. Bob reflection)
On Pentecost we celebrate one of three great Jewish feasts which, at the time of Jesus, every Jewish person within twenty miles of Jerusalem was legally bound to celebrate. Those three great feasts were the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Passover, and the Feast of Weeks. Of course, it is us Christians who substituted the Feast of Weeks with Pentecost which means "The Fiftieth." Because there are seven days per week and seven weeks passed, seven times seven is forty-nine so the Jews celebrated the completion of seven weeks after Passover. Normally, Passover fell in the middle of April … [Read more...] about What Do We Imagine The Spirit To Be? (Fr. Bob reflection)
A Memorial Day Reflection (Fr. Bob reflection)
Women and men who belong to the Order of Preachers have a great love and respect for the dead. For eight centuries, Dominicans have had customs and practices that turn their prayers to those who have died. For example, on every anniversary of a Sister’s or Brother’s death, we remember them in prayer by name. Dominican women pray suffrages for the members of their community for eight days after their death. All Dominican men of a province celebrate a Mass for their brother when he dies. Dominicans celebrate the Feast of All Saints Of the Order of Preachers on November 7 and we celebrate the … [Read more...] about A Memorial Day Reflection (Fr. Bob reflection)
Closer than We Think! (Fr. Bob reflection)
Perhaps some of you have heard, at one time or another, some version of the following story. One day, as Augustine of Hippo was strolling along the beach, he became lost in thought while meditating on the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Augustine walked aimlessly until he came upon a young child who had dug a hole in the sand. With his toy bucket in hand, the youngster had begun making trips back and forth to the ocean pouring buckets of water into the hole. After watching for a while, Augustine asked the child, "What are you trying to do?" "I'm pouring the ocean into this hole," came back the … [Read more...] about Closer than We Think! (Fr. Bob reflection)
You Are Sacred to Me! (Fr. Bob reflection)
This weekend flowers will be delivered, telephone calls will be made, cards will be sent, brunch will be shared, and coffee and orange juice will be spilt on bedspreads when breakfast is served in bed. All of these gestures are the ways that children tell their mothers, “I love you!” These are traditional and honorable ways of showing our love for our mothers. But we know that Jesus challenged what was traditional and honorable so that human beings could come to a deeper understanding of who we are and who God is. If we look closely at the different ways Jesus showed his love for people, we … [Read more...] about You Are Sacred to Me! (Fr. Bob reflection)
We All Have Gifts! What Are Yours? Part 2 (Fr. Bob reflection)
On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, the spiritual gifts of leadership, evangelism, and exhortation inspire and encourage Peter to proclaim that Jesus is Lord to the Jewish people living in Jerusalem (Acts 2:14a, 36-41). Shaken and moved by the Holy Spirit, the people ask, “What are we to do?” Peter responds with these words, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Most of us think of the Holy Spirit in terms of what we were taught as children. But often what we were taught does not … [Read more...] about We All Have Gifts! What Are Yours? Part 2 (Fr. Bob reflection)
We All Have Gifts! What Are Yours? Part 1 (Fr. Bob reflection)
During the Season of Easter, the stories we hear from the Acts of the Apostles describe the beginning of the church and the people who played a part in such a divine undertaking after receiving spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. How the Holy Spirit empowers people to flourish through their use of spiritual gifts is described further in Paul’s letters to his Christian communities. In 1 Corinthians12:1-31, Romans 12:1-8, and Ephesians 4:1-16, Paul identifies twenty-nine spiritual gifts that he believed would contribute to the growth of individuals and the communities for whom … [Read more...] about We All Have Gifts! What Are Yours? Part 1 (Fr. Bob reflection)
