​Beloved,

Veni Sancte Spiritus"-Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love." Catholics have continuously prayed for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit since the beginning of the Church in the upper room on Pentecost. I have said the prayer almost daily throughout my "adult" or "mature" Christian life. In making the novena to the Holy Spirit in preparation for Pentecost Sunday, I have frequently had recourse to this most ancient Catholic devotion. Why this prayer? What makes this prayer a standard and effective Christian prayer to the Holy Spirit?

It is a biblically inspired prayer. A part of the whole prayer is taken from Ps. 104. Other features of the prayers are not taken verbatim from the Bible, but they paraphrase its content and intent on the power of the Holy Spirit in renewing and recreating the Christian life. The prayer espouses an orthodox, Catholic theology of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and love. The prayer reminds us of the importance of having a relationship with the Holy Spirit to manifest the Christian life of love and living witness to Jesus and his Kingdom.

We need the actual presence of the Holy Spirit to evangelize effectively as individuals and as a parish. Fr. Dominic Eshikena, OP, our speaker at the parish's annual 40 hours during his talks, directed our attention to this need. The Sequence read at the Mass of the Pentecost stresses the importance of building a solid relationship of devotion to the Holy Spirit so as to receive its gifts: "On the faithful, who adore  and confess you, evermore in your sevenfold gift descend."

We continue to pray to the Holy Spirit. Make the Holy Spirit your daily companion. Pray for the fruits of the Holy Spirit, as found in Galatians 5: 21-23. Come, Holy Spirit. Let your fire fall on us!

In His Love,

Fr. Bernard, OP
 

                                                               Blessed Mother’s Day                                                                                                                                     
Beloved,
 
Mary and Mother. In my bulletin message last week, I acknowledged the
fascinating lexical connection between Mary and May. I pointed out the link
between Mary without the letter "r" and May. "R" from Mary stands for rosary, a genuinely Marian devotional prayer we pray with greater intensity and frequency in May to honor the Blessed Mother of God- the Theotokos. For centuries, Catholics have designated May as the month of Mary. One of the significant features of May is the blooming of spring flowers. We associate roses with the rosary, praying a Hail Mary on one bead at a time. The symbolic association of flowers with Mary was demonstrated in our children's procession into the church last Sunday with flowers, culminating in Mary's crowning. Our roses for Mary are signs of
honor-hyperdulia, not worship-latria. We honor Mary this way because it is fitting to do so and because of her role in bringing Jesus, the world's savior, to us in the flesh. Her role places her in a privileged position to intercede on our behalf.
 
The Second Vatican exhorts the faithful to "pour forth instant supplications to the Mother of God and Mother of men that she, who aided the beginning of the Church by her prayers, may now, exalted as she is above all the angels and saints, intercede before her Son in the fellowship of all the saints" (Lumen Gentium,69). Therefore, petition your heavenly mother in a devout saying of the rosary, especially throughout May. In praying the rosary, you venerate her affectionately.
 
In like fashion, we honor our earthly mothers, especially this Sunday, Mother's Day, because of their special and unique role in cooperating with God to bring us to life. Like Mother Mary, our mothers said yes to life, not without difficulties. Mothers make a lot of sacrifices for us to come into existence. Right from the moment of conception to our birth and throughout their lifetime, mothers defy hardships and obstacles to ensure we thrive happily. They worry about us when we are not in a good place. They cheer us on as we struggle to stand on our feet; they lovingly discipline us when we fall short of expectations and still love us if we fail to achieve our ideal goals. As my Yoruba people would say of mothers, "Iya ni wura Iyebiye"- "A Mother is a precious Gold that cannot be purchased with money." Mothers are genuinely precious gems of inestimable value. Therefore, it is necessary to hail and love them.
 
Happy Mother's Day! We love you!!
 
In Jesus and Mary,
 
Fr. Bernard, O.P.

Beloved,
 
"Chosen and precious in the sight of God" (1 Pt 2:4). Those words of St. Peter, our parish patron saint, aptly describe how I felt at the beginning of this month. I want to share with you this Sunday the joy I experienced on May 1. As you all know, May is traditionally dedicated to devotion to Mary. Catholics have come to identify praying the Holy Rosary as the primary way of expressing our love for Mary in May. As a priest once noted in his homily, you will get May if you remove the "r" in Mary. The "r" stands for rosary. We prayed the rosary during the Eucharistic Adoration that preceded our daily mass on May 1. It was a befitting way to start the first day of May- to honor Mary and make her our        companion.  
 
May 1 was also the memorial of St. Joseph the Worker, the patron saint of the Dominican Province of Nigeria, which I belong to. It would have been a big feast if I lived in a community. But, as providence would have it, six of my Dominican brothers came to Elizabethtown, and we had a community-like feast! We concelebrated mass and went out to Hershey Bistro for lunch. It was one of the happiest days of my life as a religious! But, my joy did not stop with the  camaraderie I shared with my brothers; the joy extended into the rest of the day.
 
My joy grew because of the quality of our Monthly Eucharistic Adoration. The worship of Jesus in songs and silence by many parishioners in attendance was uplifting. I was happy many showed up, as I requested at Sunday masses, and Jesus assured us that we did receive his grace as we left for our respective homes. Then, following Adoration, I joined the Council of Catholic Women (CCW) in praying the rosary again and singing hymns to Mary. I concluded the singing with a Gregorian chanting of Salve Regina. Afterward, I joined the RCIA (OCIA) and ended their mystagogy class with a repeat prayerful chanting of Salve Regina! O, dear Mother Mary, I love you!!
 
I am convinced all of us at St. Peter are "chosen and precious in the sight of God" because of all we do to give glory to Jesus and honor to Mary and Joseph. So let's keep crowning Mary with roses of our beads offered to her in prayer. The crowning of Mary this Sunday bears testimony to our love for Mary; let's keep that love incredibly alive by praying the rosary every day of May! Hail Mary, Full of Grace!!
 
Keep singing Alleluia! "We are an Easter people, and 'Alleluia' is our song!"- St. Augustine of Hippo.
 
In Jesus, through Mary,
 
Fr. Bernard, OP