“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them fire of thy love.”
Since Easter, we have been on a journey toward Pentecost with a wounded Resurrected Christ. Along the way, we have experienced the Risen Lord. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, our hearts were on fire recognizing Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Like a doubting Thomas, we touched his wounds in the vulnerable around us.
The Gospel continually reminds us of God’s abiding commitment, and Christ’s promise to always be with us in the Eucharist and through the Advocate sent to enkindle our hearts with the fire of love.
We experience this journey connected as branches bound to the vine.
Near the end of April, folks from 21 states, including Hawaii, gathered in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, to prepare for Pope Francis’ September visit to the United States. We came in response to a call from PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing), a community-based organizing network, founded by Jesuits, working in more than 150 dioceses and 40 religious denominations and faiths throughout the country.
PICO gathered people to share their journey by talking with papal advisor Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga about their hopes for a “year of encounter” with Pope Francis, before, during and after his visit.
In his writing and preaching, Pope Francis is constantly inviting us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus through “encounters” with others, especially those whom society ignores, undervalues or excludes. As we focus on the family and the upcoming Year of Mercy, the pope asks us to take the next step: from seeing all people as part of God’s family, to bringing about a world that respects everyone’s dignity in solidarity.
Pope Francis urges us to go forward, physically and spiritually, pushing beyond our comfort zones, past those things that keep us from meeting Jesus in others, excluding no one, including all.
We came to Philadelphia drawn by Pope Francis’ vision of a church as a field hospital, out in the world, healing all, excluding no one.
We visited a Cristo Rey School where African American, Hispanic American and Asian American students (who normally could never afford a private education) were completing high school and going on to college, contributing to building the Kingdom.
With hearts set on fire, we gathered in a candlelight vigil at the airport with cleaning crews working for only $7.25 an hour without basic health benefits or sick days. We prayed the rosary while airport workers, in solidarity, clapped and played “This Little Light of Mine” on the loudspeakers.
We have also been blessed to encounter Jesus in gatherings in Hawaii — in Hawi, in Wahiawa and at St. Stephen Diocesan Center — organized around Pope Francis’ call for One Human Family – Food for All. The next encounter will be on Maui at St. Theresa, Kihei, on June 6 and on Kauai on June 13.
“Come Holy Spirit, enkindle in our hearts the fire of Christ’s brotherly love.”
Mahalo!
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
