Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
This Sunday we are fortunate to have our beloved Bishop, Danny Garcia, with us to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for thirteen young members of our community. At their Baptism, their parents chose for them to embark on a journey of faith in our Catholic Church. They have received Jesus in the Eucharist, further strengthening them for the journey, and this Sunday they will receive, in a special way, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are now choosing for themselves the faith they were raised in, and are asking God to continue to be with them, to guide and support them, as they enter adulthood and face the many decisions that lie before them.
The readings today speak to our young people as they welcome the Holy Spirit into their hearts, as they all involve God’s call and our response. In the Gospel Jesus calls his first disciples, Simon (Peter), James and John. They had listened to Jesus’ teaching on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and Simon calls Jesus “Master” when he follows Jesus’s instruction to put out their nets again, despite a complete lack of success earlier. When Peter returns with his boat heavily loaded with fish, he now calls Jesus “Lord” and is ready to follow Him and become a fisher of people.
Pope St. John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter in 2001 entitled Novo Millennio Inuente (At the Beginning of the New Millennium.) In it he reflected on this Gospel passage, writing, “Duc in Altum (Put Out Into the Deep)! These words ring out to us today, and they invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm, and look to the future with confidence: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:18.)” )
Please join me this week in praying for our newly confirmed, and that we may all be inspired to put out into the deep, and delve ever further into the magnificent mysteries of our faith.
I wish you and your loved ones continued blessings of good health, great hope, and the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit,
Fr. Paul.
Please take a moment to read our Carmel Mission Weekly Bulletin.