We receive the Spirit of truth so that we can know the things of God.  In order to grasp this, consider how useless the faculties of the human body would become if they were denied their exercise.  Our eyes cannot fulfill their task without light, either natural or artificial; our ears cannot react without sound vibrations, and in the absence of any odor our nostrils are ignorant of their function.  Not that these senses would lose their own nature if they were not used; rather, they demand objects of experience in order to function.  It is the same with the human soul.  Unless it absorbs the gift of the Spirit through faith, the mind has the ability to know God but lacks the light necessary for that knowledge.

This unique gift which is in Christ is offered in its fullness to everyone.  It is everywhere available, but it is given to each man in proportion to his readiness to receive it.  Its presence is the fuller, the greater a man’s desire to be worthy of it.  This gift will remain with us until the end of the world, and will be our comfort in the time of waiting.  By the favors it bestows, it is the pledge of our hope for the future, the light of our minds, and the splendor that irradiates our understanding.

(From the treatise on the Trinity by Saint Hilary of Poitier)

Greetings to all of you.  I pray you are well.  I return spiritually strengthened and not a little tired from my trip to the Holy Land.  My brother, Fr. Jim, and I have travelled to the Holy Places where our Lord walked and proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven to be at hand.  I remembered the parish in my prayers at the holy sites and during the Masses I celebrated.  I hope to be able to share about this pilgrimage before I leave.  As I mentioned last week, I had planned on this trip, but not on announcing any changes in my life.  When I began last summer, I told Janet and JP that I would be here for a year.  Well, the prediction rang true.  I had a hunch that I was in a holding pattern for another parish.  Not that I want to leave.  Being at St. Paul’s is not administratively taxing, and there is enormous potential to be had here in a college environment.  Nevertheless, I got the call and I must respond. These transition moments are never easy, and my short stay here does not change that.  Please pray for me as I prepare for this move.

From the Liturgy of the Hours  6th Week of Easter

At Easter, beloved brethren, it was the Lord’s resurrection which was the cause of our joy; our present rejoicing is on account of his ascension into heaven.  With all due solemnity we are commemorating that day on which our poor human nature was carried up, in Christ, above all the hosts of heaven, above all the ranks of angels, beyond the highest heavenly powers to the very throne of God the Father...And so our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed into the sacraments.  Our faith is nobler and stronger because sight has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts, enlightened from on high.  This faith was increased by the Lord’s ascension and strengthened by the gift of the Spirit.