Dear Parishioners and supporters of the Immaculate Conception Church,
This coming Sunday we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost. 50 days after Easter, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus Christ. Acts of the Apostles describes a wildly diverse group of people communicating with one another in their own tongues and speaking about the mighty acts of God.
The miracle depicted in that Scripture finds an easy echo at our parish. This past Sunday morning, I approached one of our Spanish-speaking parishioners. He stood outside of our church and wore a yellow vest. As part of the newly formed “Parking Lot Vigilance and Security Ministry”, he was helping out with the traffic flow and keeping watch over the cars. The man said to me: “Padre, I do not have much but this is one of the ways I give to my church”.
We all understand the language of kindness, service, and self-giving. We get it, regardless of whether we are speaking English, Spanish, Tagalog, or some other native language. My wish, my prayer for us and for our larger Church is that we will cultivate our ability to speak the language of kindness, love, and solidarity; that we do not lose sight of what unites us, of what is good, beautiful, and noble in us and in the others.
And as we approach the celebration of our birthday of us as the universal and local Church in the feast of Pentecost, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of our faith community of saints and sinners. We are called, gifted, and sent to live out the Gospel in charity and justice; to teach children and youth the Christian faith and demonstrate it as we seek to live it with integrity and justice. Happy birthday, Church!
-Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM
This coming Sunday we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost. 50 days after Easter, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus Christ. Acts of the Apostles describes a wildly diverse group of people communicating with one another in their own tongues and speaking about the mighty acts of God.
The miracle depicted in that Scripture finds an easy echo at our parish. This past Sunday morning, I approached one of our Spanish-speaking parishioners. He stood outside of our church and wore a yellow vest. As part of the newly formed “Parking Lot Vigilance and Security Ministry”, he was helping out with the traffic flow and keeping watch over the cars. The man said to me: “Padre, I do not have much but this is one of the ways I give to my church”.
We all understand the language of kindness, service, and self-giving. We get it, regardless of whether we are speaking English, Spanish, Tagalog, or some other native language. My wish, my prayer for us and for our larger Church is that we will cultivate our ability to speak the language of kindness, love, and solidarity; that we do not lose sight of what unites us, of what is good, beautiful, and noble in us and in the others.
And as we approach the celebration of our birthday of us as the universal and local Church in the feast of Pentecost, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of our faith community of saints and sinners. We are called, gifted, and sent to live out the Gospel in charity and justice; to teach children and youth the Christian faith and demonstrate it as we seek to live it with integrity and justice. Happy birthday, Church!
-Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM