Bulletin Letter, Pentecost A
Every year at the Chrism Mass in each diocese—which takes place either on Holy Thursday itself or on some other day prior to Easter—priests renew their commitment to the promises they made when they first became priests, but there is nothing like attending the Ordinations of new priests to bring back memories of one’s own Ordination. During these past couple weeks, I had the opportunity to witness 10 new priests ordained in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and, on June 2, the Ordination of six new priests here in Sioux Falls. On June 26, I’ll celebrate my second anniversary of priestly Ordination along with my 29th anniversary of Baptism.
As I see these young men and our other seminarians so eager to get started after so many years of study and formation, I continue to pray that the Fire of the Holy Spirit would completely consume us. Fire has always been my favorite image of the Holy Spirit, who appeared to Mary and the Apostles at Pentecost and filled them with zeal and courage to proclaim the Gospel of Christ throughout the world. Fire is not very balanced or moderate. It is not politically correct. Fire is not interested in negotiation. Instead, it seeks to completely consume anything it touches. The Holy Spirit wants to consume us, completely, making of us a pure offering to God—not on our own terms, but according to the will of God. He wants to purify all our thoughts, words, actions, and desires.
I’d like to say that I’ve made this my life’s mission, to spread the Fire of the Holy Spirit and the Truth of Jesus Christ to everyone I meet, but at the same time, I know how far I fall short, how much of myself that I continue to hold back from the Fire of God. But God doesn’t ask us to serve Him with half or even most of our heart and mind. “Hear, O Israel! The Lord, our God, is Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:29-30; Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
I’m not interested in adding to the already staggering number of mediocre Catholics. The world doesn’t need any more. Instead, I want to “fan into flame the gift of God” that was given us at our Baptism and on the day of our Confirmation, that we might burn with love and knowledge of Him and give ourselves entirely (2 Timothy 1:6). If we think we’re just going to gently coast into heaven at the end of our lives, I think we’ll all be in for a rather rude awakening. “The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Source of God’s creation, has this to say: ‘I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth’” (Revelation 3:14-16).
Following Christ is serious business. Let’s get to it, by the Fire of His Holy Spirit.
The Word Proclaimed 