St. Faustina Kowalska in her book, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, writes the following - “My Jesus, it is truly easy to become holy; it just takes a little good will!... The shortest road is faithfulness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.” The goal of our faith lives is truly to become saints, and to be guided every day by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. In our Gospel today from John, St. John the Baptist proclaims that Jesus is “the Lamb of God,” because he was filled with Holy Spirit.

Perhaps we do not reflect much on the role of the Holy Spirit in our prayer, but He is essential. The Holy Spirit is the one who allows us to recall the truth that Christ taught, and to identify truth in our lives. He is the one who enables us to live out our baptismal promises to love and serve God and to be sanctified as we live as priests, prophets and kings for God’s kingdom - not for our own wants and desires. It is through the Holy Spirit that we become God’s beloved sons and daughters as we are adopted into God’s family in the waters of Baptism. It is through the Holy Spirit that the love of God is poured into our hearts and given to strengthen us. Finally, it is through the Holy Spirit that we can boldly live out our faith and seek to draw other people to Christ.

As we begin Ordinary Time, perhaps we can reflect this week on how we can call upon the Holy Spirit to aid and assist our spiritual growth. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to be with us, and to help us discern how best to serve God and live out our vocation to Christ whether we are married, single, ordained, or consecrated to God.

Confirmation: This Sunday, January 15th, our Confirmation candidates will have an information workshop with their parents at 12:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center at St. Thomas More Church. Please pray for these candidates as they continue to prepare to receive the Holy Spirit in this special sacrament and recommit their lives to Christ.

March for Life: On Friday, January 20th pilgrims from
Resurrection Parish will travel to Washington D.C. for
the annual March for Life. The bus leaves from St. Thomas More at 6:00 a.m. following a 5:30 a.m. Mass. Even though the federal government overturned abortion, there are still over 900,000 abortions every year. The March continues to witness to the great dignity of all human life as a sacred gift from God. If not attending, please pray and fast if you are able on this day for a greater respect for all human life from natural conception to natural death.