Pastor’s Letter: November 9, 2025

Pastor’s Letter: November 9, 2025

7 Nov 2025 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

God’s blessing and peace…and the joy of the Holy Spirit be upon you all this day! I hope everyone is well and enjoying November—we are rapidly approaching Advent and our new Church year! As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, this week I thought I would share some Scripture passages that outline for us the Sacrament of Confirmation and the work of the Holy Spirit among us.

Confirmation is one of the Sacraments of the Living that increases the life of Christ in us. Confirmation is also one of the Sacraments of Initiation, the Sacrament that perfects and strengthens the life of God within us we received in Baptism.

If we look back in the Old Testament, we see some of the gestures and signs found in Confirmation. We see laying hands upon another as a commissioning for a mission and as gesture of laying on authority. For example, in the Book of Numbers, God instructs Moses to lay hands on Joshua as a way of sharing authority (Numbers 27:18-21). This was very fruitful:  “Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, since Moses had laid his hands upon him; and so the Israelites gave him their obedience, just as the LORD had commanded Moses” (Deuteronomy 34:9).

In addition to laying on of hands, we also have anointings where Kings (and some prophets) are set apart for God’s chosen role or consecrated for God’s service. In 1 Samuel, for example, Samuel anoints David to indicate he is chosen by God to be the next king: “Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David” (1 Samuel 16:13).

As for the Gift of the Holy Spirit received in Confirmation, Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would be coming: “Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’ He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive” (John 7:38-39). Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Advocate and the promise of the Father:

• “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7)
• “And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

The reception of the Holy Spirit first happened at Pentecost—where we recall the Church’s birthday and the strengthening of the Apostles through special gifts that prepared them for spreading the Gospel:

• “When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.  And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:1-4).

As we continue through Acts of the Apostles, we see both a distinction between Baptism and Confirmation, as well as fruits that came from the laying on of hands:

• “Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14-17).
• “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:5-6).

Hopefully, taking this tour through the Scriptures helps us see not only the roots of the form of Confirmation, but also how right away the Gifts of the Holy Spirit impacted the life of Christians and the early Church. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll look more closely at how the Sacrament is celebrated today, as well as a closer look at the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit. Know of my prayers and blessing for you all this week!

In Christ,
Fr. Luke