Countdown to Pentecost, May 19!
Why Pray?
The Power of
the Holy Spirit
We need the Holy Spirit to transform our lives, so says Fr Mike Schmitz in this video. Only one "superhero", Fr Mike believes, encompasses the true power of baptism. This hero was good and was made great, just as the Holy Spirit takes us, good sons and daughters of Christ, and makes us great sons and daughters of Christ.
Discipleship and Evangelization...
What Can We Do to Become Missionaries for Christ?
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field . (Matthew 9:37).
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. ( John 1:12)
How the Holy Spirit Enables Evangelization
In this touching evangelism encounter, Ray Comfort shares the gospel with a young woman who is deeply moved by the reality of her sin against a holy God. Watch as the Holy Spirit does a work in her heart through God's Word being proclaimed. Please pray that this young woman would surrender her life to Jesus.
See the "Word of the Week" below as it also discusses the Holy Spirit and how He empowers us to evangelize!
Catholics and the Culture
Populism is not a bad thing itself, but it can become toxic. It’s so hard to participate in popular movements these days and keep it from becoming negative and antagonistic. Some may wonder if the breakdown of civil discourse has played a large role in that.
Do you always feel like you run out of time to pray? Do you spend lots of time in the car, maybe shuttling kids to school or commuting to work?
In this video, Kendra Tierney would like to encourage you to take advantage of that car time with these 5 prayers you can say whenever you hit the road.
Vincentian Home 100 Year Anniversary Mass - May 4, 2024
Please Pray for Vocations!
Two Priest's Vocation Stories
This video is the vocation stories of Fr Josh Johnson and Mike Schmitz. Jesus' dying on the Cross sums up every person’s life story because it shows what our sins did and God's power to forgive them, so our lives can be defined by love and not shame. These are certainly two inspirational priests!
In unity with the Holy Spirit, precisely because the Holy Spirit is dwelling within us, we are empowered to successfully give testimony about Jesus Christ. And with this enablement comes great responsibility. We cannot ignore the call to be evangelizers — not without committing the sin of omission. So the question is not if but how: How are we to do this in our daily lives and personal circumstances? Jesus defines the gift of his Spirit, which gave birth to the Church on Pentecost (and which we received in baptism when we became members of the Church). He calls the gift “the Advocate.” In the original Greek, this translates as “Paraclete”, which comes from “parakalein”, which means “to invoke” (“para” is “with” and “kalein” is “to call”). From this name we can conclude that Jesus was telling us to invoke or call upon the help of his Spirit. He wants us to know that we are capable of doing whatever the Father asks of us, despite our human limitations, if we rely on the Holy Spirit. Notice what kind of help Jesus focuses on here. He refers to the Paraclete/Advocate as “the Spirit of truth” who testifies to others about Jesus. How? Not by emails from heaven. God’s Spirit teaches the truth about Jesus to the world through me and through you in our daily encounters with others. To what extent does your everyday life bear witness to the truth about Christ’s love? Or his saving power? The more we invoke the Holy Spirit, repenting of sin and asking God to increase our holiness, the more we testify to the truth in our daily circumstances. We need to invoke the Holy Spirit whenever we’re tempted to fight with someone, so that we can turn the other cheek, or whenever we feel selfish, so that we can become generous, and whenever we need help overcoming any temptation. We grow in holiness by asking the Spirit of Holiness to teach us how to imitate Christ whenever we’re unable to do so on our own. We cannot bring others to conversion or successfully invite them back to church through our own choice of words, our own wisdom, and our own understanding of what they’re seeking. It’s only the Spirit of Truth who provides us with the right way to reach their hearts. And it’s only the Spirit of Truth who prepares their hearts and gives them an understanding of the truth that you give them. Whenever we testify against Christ, through decisions and behaviors that are unGodly, we must turn quickly to the Holy Spirit, repent, and ask for help. |
-From Good News Ministry
Memory Lane!
Pentecost Sunday at St Athanasius Church! These pictures are from 2016. Each of the 40 ministries created their own banners and processed through the church with them. Each of the banners were then hung upon the outside walls throughout the Mass. Down below you can see a video of the procession.
Deacon Bill Homily Archive
Here are four recent homilies. Hover over the icons below to see the dates and topics.
Take a Step Back and Reflect
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Deacon Bill Palamara 412-596-3370