Fr. Jim 3rd Sunday of Lent 3/7/21

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

It is hard to believe that one year ago we were collectively  seeking God’s wisdom to come up with a clear vision for the
future of our parish. We were only one day from our visioning day and all activities and public Masses were shut down. The whole  world was shut down. It was a time that led many of us to a place  of fear, anxiety, and confusion in our lives. None of us knew what  the future would be like. As a parish, we did our best to remain  focused on God and His plan for us amid the pandemic. We  eventually figured out a way to have our visioning day through  Zoom. We listened to the Holy Spirit and to one another. God  gave us a very clear prophetic vision.  

St. Scholastica Parish exists 

to be a Holy Spirit filled beacon of God’s love 

guiding all into a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ. 

 It is the Holy Spirit who makes it possible for us to be a bea con of God’s love. It is a Holy Spirit who works through us to  guide others into a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit is the source of God’s love. The Holy Spirit is the  source of God’s grace. 

Before taking my retreat last week, I spent time in silent adora tion of the Blessed Sacrament. I asked Jesus what he wanted  me to focus on while on retreat. I received three very clear  themes. Current of Grace, Ten Commandments, and Sacra ments. I brought two resources with me; Fr. Raniero Can talamessa’s address to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal entitled  “A Current of Grace for the Whole Church” and the sections of the  Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Ten Commandments  and the Sacraments. What God revealed to me was so powerful.  I will be sharing these three themes over the next three weeks in  a series of Lent homilies. 

The current of grace has been flowing through the Holy Spirit  throughout salvation history. God has always desired to bless  His people. The perennial problem is sin. We turn away from  God and reject His gift of grace. Our sin separates us from God.  Out of love for us, God gave us the Ten Commandments. He  set limits to prevent us from harming our loving relationship with  Him and one another. Unfortunately, God’s chosen people continued to fail at remaining faithful to the law. They were trying to  obey God by their own human power. It was an external law im posed upon them. God spoke through His prophets promising  that a time would come when He would write the law on their  hearts. This promise was fulfilled when Jesus became one of us,  died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven,  restored our relationship with the Father, and sent The Holy Spirit  on Pentecost to dwell in our hearts. On Pentecost, the Church  was born, and God gave us the Sacraments. Peter preached a  message of repentance and conversion and 3,000 people were  baptized on that day. The Baptism that took place on Pentecost  was different than the baptism by water before Pentecost. Those  who were baptized on Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit.  They received the fullness of God’s grace. Baptism is the first  Sacrament that opens us up fully to the current of grace. This  grace is pure gift. It is not earned. It is freely given by God Himself. All we have to do is cooperate with this gift of grace. Grace  is what makes it possible to love God and neighbor. Grace is  what makes it possible to follow the Ten Commandments. With out grace, we will give in to temptation to sin. 

Friends, as we continue our journey with Jesus through these  forty days of Lent, let us seek God’s grace and mercy through His  gift of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconcilia tion. Let us humbly continue to ask God each day to reveal to us  more of this current of Grace. We need God’s grace more than  we need the air we breathe. Be assured of my prayers for you,  and please continue to keep me in your prayers. Peace and  God’s blessings! 

Your brother in Christ, 

Fr. Jim Lowe, CC