By Fr. Paul Shovelain

Holy Spirit Moment

This past Saturday evening I had a prompting to call my Grandma Kasper (my mom’s mom) and check in with her. After she answered she told me that my parents had just stopped over to bring her Holy Communion. My parents suggested that I pray the prayers over the phone with her for Holy Communion outside of Mass. I had never done that before but we did it then. It was a beautiful experience and reminded me that we truly are United in the Holy Spirit! My hope is to pray together in person but sometimes it works through technology. (I did celebrate Mass with her on Monday morning at her home which was wonderful:)

United in the Holy Spirit

What divides you from God? What divides you from others? This Lent is an opportunity for us to get rid of the sin that divides us and be more United in the Holy Spirit. God desires to unite us to himself and each other through prayer, fasting, and giving alms. These three Lenten practices also provide us with opportunities to live out our Core Values. Our core value of reliance on prayer fortifies our relationship with the Lord as we pray and gives us the strength to love as he loves. Our core value of willingness to grow allows our minds to be more united with God as we grow to understand his plan of salvation. We can fast from entertainment or things that distract us and commit to learning our faith by watching great videos on formed.org or listening to Catholic podcasts like the Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz. Our core value of generous spirit allows us to let the bright light of Christ shine in our dark world. Giving alms is a sign of a generous spirit. If you are struggling to enter into the Lenten season, commit to living out the core values as they will help you get on the right track.