Pastor’s Letter: October 26, 2025

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

Blessings to you all this day—I hope everyone is well and knows the love of God in your hearts this day! As of this writing, I am joyful to share that our OCIA class continues to grow every week! A couple weeks back, I counted more than 30 people in the room as Fr. Daniel was teaching about the Holy Spirit. Our group is a great mix of people at different stages in the their faith journey—some are seeking life in the Church through the sacraments, some are looking to complete a missing sacrament like Confirmation, and some are just looking to learn more about our Catholic Faith. We have had several new people join us within the last couple of weeks – if you or anyone you know is still thinking about the class…or wishing you would have joined…it is definitely not too late to jump in with us – everyone is definitely welcome!

Reflecting on our OCIA group, and thinking about the previous series on Baptism we concluded a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be fitting to talk about the next of the Sacraments of Initiation:  the Sacrament of Confirmation. Although we often use the simple greeting at Mass, “The Lord be with you,” another of the greeting options the priest can use is: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” For me, this greeting always highlights the Trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…but especially names the “communion” of the Holy Spirit. In our Faith Tradition, we often refer to the Holy Spirit as the bond of love – the bond of love between the Father and the Son…between God and us…between us and one another. So, one of the key works of the Holy Spirit is..