Fifty-days have passed since we first sang our Easter songs of, “Alleluia!” Time does surely fly. Much has happened since those first days of Easter.
Our gospel today takes us back to that first night of the week. It is Easter night and Jesus appears to the frightened gathering of brothers and sisters. The doors are locked and yet He appears. Jesus says: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
All these years later, we remember that first night. We, in many ways are still as frightened as those first sisters and brothers huddled in that upper room. What we have that they did not is all the history of over two-thousand years resulting from that first sharing of the Holy Spirit.
We can look at the many accomplishments we have made in these last two thousand years or, just in the last fifty days and sit back and relax. We can say to ourselves, “Yes, the Spirit is alive in our midst so we do not have to worry about anything.” That thinking would be so very wrong.
Today we celebrate this “birthday of the Church” called Pentecost. We, as God’s people continue to call on and to be animated by that power of the Holy Spirit to do things others would not even contemplate. We witness miracles of God’s grace and mercy almost daily in the Sacramental life of this holy, historic and venerable community of San Felipe de Neri. We get energized and move forward in times when others, due to the problems in the world are paralyzed.
I am in awe of all that God has given to us in just these past 50 days of Easter. Perhaps, through God’s continued blessings, we can, as one community with our different components that are part of the greater Church that is the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Roman Catholic Church, can do even more, witness more miracles and assist others with our prayers as we grow.
One bit of evidence of the Holy Spirit manifesting a dynamic life in this community is happening in a few weeks. As our
FIESTAS 2016 draws ever closer, we realize that while we are a spirit-filled community always, on that weekend of June 3, 4 & 5 we REALLY WILL BE filled with energy, life and excitement as we once again throw open our arms to the whole of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe AND the City of Albuquerque. I pray that the Holy Spirit will truly be with us now and for the year to come as we host FIESTAS and all the other events this year.
Perhaps in these days, weeks and months to come, we can more completely embrace the Holy Spirit to burn within our hearts just the way that early church felt on that first night of the week. Together we can do anything with God as our guide.
As of May 21, 2016, JUST NEXT WEEK NOW we will move to this NEW weekend schedule: On Saturday evening, the Sunday Mass of anticipation at San Felipe will be at 4:00 pm. Later that evening, at 6:00 pm we will celebrate another Sunday Mass of anticipation at San Jose Mission in Duranes. This can be a very good thing for the people who like to go to an early Sunday Mass at San Felipe, then be free to go to dinner or have other Saturday evening events. The San Jose Mass is a return, I am being told, to a former reality where the community there used to have a Saturday evening Mass years ago.
On Sunday, the Mass schedule will begin as it does right now. The first Mass of Sunday morning will be at 7:00 am; the second Mass of Sunday -- that will remain completely in Spanish -- will be at 9:00 am; the third Mass of Sunday will be at 11:00 am. All of these Masses will be celebrated at San Felipe. This will give us plenty of time between the Masses to clear parking, have some time to do donuts and coffee on the first Sundays of the month and not be so very rushed between the Masses. This will also accommodate all the people who desire and enjoy praying the rosary before the Mass AND the music ministers who rehearse before Mass and review with the congregation the new music that is being introduced to the community.
Let us pray that this change will be something that is truly good for our community. Please join in the praying that all will positively respond to this as we grow as one united community of faith and love.