Adult Faith Formation & Initiation

This Thursday is the traditional date for celebrating Ascension of the Lord, marking 40 days since the Resurrection.  Tradition tells us that 10 days after Jesus’ Ascension the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles – Pentecost – which we celebrate next Sunday.  In the vast majority of the diocese in the United States, however, and in many other parts of the world, the bishops councils have moved the celebration of the Ascension from Thursday to this coming Sunday, traditionally the 7th Sunday of Easter.  Why was this Solemnity moved to Sunday?  Because the reason for the celebration far outweighs the timing of the celebration.  The Ascension of the Lord is a pivotal moment for the Apostles.  Jesus, resurrected, is now leaving them, but he instructs them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Word for the Ascension of the Lord Acts 1-1-11 Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 Ephesians 1:17-23 Matthew 28:16-20 Our first reading comes from the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles where the opening

If you want to have some fun, ask a Catholic (or any Christian) about the Holy Spirit.  The answers you get will likely be as varied as the people you ask.  Our faith is based on a “Trinitarian” view of God:  God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  As a Church we do quite well teaching about God the Father, and we do an excellent job teaching about Jesus, but when it comes to the Holy Spirit, we tend to treat the subject like a “third wheel” or “odd man out.”  We spend so much time learning about God the Father and God the Son that we end up with little time to spend on God the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps our readings for this week can help us to better understand this nature of our God: The Word for the 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 1 Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21 For this 6th Sunday of Easter we open with a story from Acts of the Apostles where we hear how Philip has had great success in bringing the Gospel to the people of Samaria.  Even am

What happens when you have too much of a good thing?  Moments like when a business wins that lucrative new contract or expands into a new location?  Or taking that same idea a bit closer to home, what happens when two families merge through marriage, or when a family welcomes a new child?  We consider this kind of growth to be a good thing, but as with all things, these successes also come with their own baggage.  Our readings for this 5th Sunday of Easter have our Apostles facing similar challenges in the face of their growing successes. The Word for the 5th Sunday of Easter Acts 6:1-7 Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 1 Peter 2:4-9 John 14:1-12 Our reading from Acts of the Apostles, we see the Apostles learning the hard way about the challenges that grow out of their continued success when their number of followers continues to grow.  Up to this point the Apostles have been doing their best to address the needs of the community, both spiritual and physical, but the community has grown so larg