In mid June, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish hosted a retreat for young adults, facilitated by Charis Ministries NYC Retreat Team. The theme was ‘God, Teach Me to Seek You.’ It was a one day retreat open to young professionals, giving them an opportunity to learn ways to seek God in their daily life and build a community of faith among their peers, as well as grow in prayer.

Father Ron Sordillo was the celebrant at 7:30 mass this week. I found his sermon to be very motivating and I asked him after mass if I could share it here for those who did not attend this mass and therefore wouldn’t have heard the sermon.

“Lord send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth!” That’s the Psalm response we sing today.  It’s a powerful statement that God is not static, but demonstrates His presence through motion, action, and creation.  The psalmist recognized the importance of the Spirit of God many years before Christ, and the Jewish people sang out their praise through the Psalms.

This passage from John’s Gospel is so powerful and leads my emotions in many directions. As I read it, the first thoughts that came into my mind were Love, Faith, and our call to Evangelize.   In this reflection, I will try to show the impact of each one of those words.  

Our first reading is a unique in its style and offers to us a glimpse of the workings of the early Church.The disciples are in a foreign land, spreading the Good News, and there seems to be some local customs and traditions that come into conflict.

During the Easter season, our First Readings are based on the lives of Jesus’ disciples. In today’s First Reading, we hear about Paul and Barnabas and how they “strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith.”