Newsletter - 19 May 2024
Discerning the Spirits - which way am I following?
In his Pentecost homily for 2022, Pope Francis said, “The Holy Spirit is at every crossroads in our lives, showing us the best path to follow. It is important, then, to be able to distinguish his voice from the voice of the spirit of evil.” He gives three points to help make this crucial discernment.
I. The Holy Spirit will never tell you that everything is going just fine … because it is not true. No, he corrects you; he makes you weep for your sins; he pushes you to change, to fight against your deceptions, even when that calls for hard work, interior struggle, and sacrifice.
The evil spirit pushes you to do always what you want, what you find pleasing. He makes you think that you have the right to use your freedom any way you want. Then, once you are left feeling empty inside … he blames you and casts you down. … The Holy Spirit, correcting you along the way, never leaves you lying on the ground: He takes you by the hand, comforts you and constantly encourages you.
II. Whenever you feel troubled by bitterness, pessimism, and negativity … remember these things never come from the Holy Spirit. … They come from the evil spirit, which is at home with negativity [and] stokes impatience and self-pity, and with self-pity the need to blame others for all our problems. It makes us edgy, suspicious, querulous. Complaining is the language of the evil spirit.
The Holy Spirit urges us never to lose heart and always to start over again. He always encourages you to get up. … [to spread] hope and joy, not complaints; never envying others. Envy is the door through which the evil spirit enters. … The Holy Spirit leads you to rejoice in the success of others.
III. The Holy Spirit is practical, not an idealist. He wants us to concentrate on the here and now, because the time and place in which we find ourselves are themselves grace-filled.
The spirit of evil would pull us away from the here and now, … to the past and our regrets, our nostalgia, our disappointments; or the future, fueling our fears, illusions, and false hopes … The Spirit leads us to love, concretely, not in an ideal world, but the real one.
Deacon Ted Wood ccn
Focus of the Week
Pentecost
Saturday 18 May at 8pm
We will be having an evening of praise and worship to welcome the Spirit of Pentecost. The theme will be The Holy Spirit In My Daily Life. Followed by refreshments in the large hall.
We will be joined by High Barnet parish.
Sunday 19 May
After 11 am Mass
To celebrate Pentecost there will also be an International Bring and Share Lunch following the usual tea and coffee. Please bring food that represents your culture.
Please see Caterina for more details.