St. Matthew Catholic Church

Weekly Message     

From Locked Room to Open World

Dear brothers and sisters,   

     On this Pentecost Day, the birthday of the Church, I wish you, a Happy Birth Day. You are the Church, and each of you make the Church family what she is.

     The disciples are gathered in the upper room behind closed doors. Fear, uncertainty, and confusion still linger in their hearts. Though they had seen the Risen Lord; they were not yet ready to step into the world. Pentecost is not simply about receiving the Spirit; it is about being sent. The Spirit pushes the disciples outward, from silence to proclamation, from isolation to communion, from fear to courage. It is about becoming people who carry that fire into the world.

     Reflecting the life of St. Francis of Assisi, who called the Holy Spirit, the “Minister General”, and insisted that the Holy Spirit was the true leader of his Franciscan Order, requiring his friars to walk in obedience to the Spirit. His conversion and ministry were guided by spiritual experience focusing on inner spiritual transformation.

     Today many people still live in the “upper rooms.” Some are locked by disappointment, anxiety, selfishness, fear, prejudice, or indifference. Sometimes even the Church can become comfortable staying inside safe walls instead of reaching out to the wounded world. Pentecost challenges us not to remain enclosed within ourselves but open doors to go throughout the world to renew the face of the earth and witness the Gospel joy.

     Pentecost continues whenever believers allow the Holy Spirit to renew them and send them forth into the world. The disciples did not remain in the upper room forever. Neither can we. The Holy Spirit calls us outward into our families, communities, and workplaces to become living witnesses of the Gospel.

Blessings!

Msgr. Xavier Pappu
                     Insert:  Giving to God/Dar a Dios.pdf

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