Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,<\/p>\n
I hope everyone enjoyed another beautiful week! It has been a busy week here at the parish, including beginning several projects to help keep our parish buildings and grounds in good condition. One of the compliments I have received several times this past year from visitors is how everything here really looks well cared for. Certainly that is a compliment to Fr. David for his commitment to our facilities, as well as our Finance Council for good wisdom and guidance in caring for our campus. I have seen that wisdom in action over the past several months, as we have been planning for projects that will help keep our church, school and parking lot in good condition. As we mentioned last weekend in the Mass announcement, this work may include blocking off certain driveways or parking areas\u2026Of course these are short term situations in service to our long term goals here. I certainly am thankful for everyone\u2019s support and generosity as we strive to keep our parish welcoming and equipped to serve God\u2019s people!<\/p>\n
As we celebrate Pentecost this weekend, I thought it would be fitting to review through the section of the Creed dedicated to the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n After laying out our beliefs about the Father and the Son, the Creed next turns attention to the third person of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son\u2014a love so powerful and perfect that the third person of the Trinity exists as a complete bond of unity and love between the Father and the Son. As if this wasn\u2019t enough, the Holy Spirit is also the same bond of love and unity for us!<\/p>\n Calling the Holy Spirit \u201cthe Lord\u201d helps us realize that the Holy Spirit is the one true God in the same way that the Father and the Son are God. Lord is a title that referred to God the Father and God the Son in the early Church\u2014to call the Holy Spirit the same clearly puts the third person of the Trinity on equal footing with the other two. That is why the Holy Spirit is \u201cadored and glorified,\u201d again sharing in the particular praise that is reserved for the one true God alone.<\/p>\n Saying the Holy Spirit is the \u201cgiver of life\u201d calls to mind the great gift of the Spirit\u2014the breath of life. In a very real way, the Spirit dwelling within us after our baptism breathes the fresh life of God into our souls. The Holy Spirit \u201canimates\u201d us, strengthens us to live life in Christ, guides and directs us into unity with the Father and the Son, and protects us along the way to eternal life. In a specific way, the Holy Spirit has been present to the human co-authors of the Scriptures and God\u2019s chosen leaders in faith, guiding their words so that they understood and communicated clearly God\u2019s word to us. By specifically naming the prophets, the Creed makes clear that we believe the Holy Spirit was present and active long before Pentecost.<\/p>\n How about the phrase, \u201cwho proceeds from the Father and the Son?\u201d Would you believe this section of the Creed has been pretty controversial through the last 1000 years? It really all comes down to three words: \u201cand the Son.\u201d The \u201cproceeding\u201d part is straight forward\u2014we know from the Scriptures that the \u201cAdvocate\u201d is sent to dwell with us and help us. In the original version of the Creed (agreed upon by Christians of the East and the West) the phrase only said \u201cwho proceeds from the Father.\u201d Later on in the West, \u201cand the Son\u201d was added to show the equality of the Father and the Son and indicate that both the Father and the Son do the sending. This might seem like a small thing, but many Churches of the East rejected the addition, and those three words have continued to be a point of contention. In Christian history, this is called the \u201cFilioque Controversy.\u201d Filioque<\/em> is a Latin word that means \u201cand from the Son\u201d and is found in the Latin translation of the Creed. I recently read an article pointing out that the controversy is not necessarily disagreement over doctrine but rather over the wording used to describe the doctrine\u2026and the emphasis of those words\u2014either honoring the Father uniquely or the Father and Son as consubstantial.<\/p>\n All of that is certainly a reminder to pray for unity\u2026and joyfully we celebrate this weekend the Holy Spirit\u2014the bond of love who truly can draw us all together! Know of my prayers and blessing this week!<\/p>\n In Christ,<\/p>\n Father Luke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"