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May 20, 2021This weekend, on the occasion of Pentecost, we invite you to look back over the past 12 months, and see… did your life change because of an encounter with Jesus?
It’s an important question because on Pentecost we remember the Spirit being given to us by Christ; to our Church but also to each of us. This Spirit empowers us to know Christ and to be transformed by God’s love. As a Church, if we’re doing things right, if we’re giving people opportunities to encounter Christ, lives will be changed.
Looking back to the past twelve months, I can say that my life has changed in this way. I have grown so much in my prayer life through participating in Alphas, through being part of the Beta Group community, and lately, my prayer life has been really growing through participating in the Prayer Course.
These processes have been full of great information, and I’ve learned a lot- but it’s not the learning that’s changed me. It’s the interaction with people from this (territorial) parish, and people from all around the world that have given me what I know is truly an encounter with Christ. I’ve been supported, prayed for, welcomed and loved, and I know that God is the source of all that. My life has changed from encountering you, and I have grown in my relationship with God because of the relationships I’ve formed and been formed by here at MQOA.
For me, the change looks like this; a renewed sense of commitment to doing God’s will in my life, a deeper love for others, and a prayer life that is growing and expanding all the time. You might guess that as a minister, these would be run-of-the-mill things, but I can tell you honestly that not in every year of my career could I have reported these effects. God has been busy in my life this year in new and unexpected ways, and I am changed by that.
I hope you can look back, too, and see moments of encounter with Christ, and that you, too, can say that you’ve been changed. And I hope you’ll tell someone about that; you can do it by standing up for a blessing at Mass this weekend, or commenting on our Mass video online. We can’t wait to see how the Spirit has moved in the lives of the members and friends of MQOA.
