Some of us were put a little off-balance as we observed Memorial Day nearly as early as it can be in the calendar. The observance of Memorial Day seemed to make May a short month, and then, yet, we get to have another Sunday in May this weekend. I'm hoping that each of us have taken some moments on Memorial Day to truly consider what we are memorializing. Now, more than ever, we need to be mindful of the principles of our country and continue to be aware and faithful to the Constitution of these United States of America. In turn, we are also aware of the sacrifices of many to defend these liberties; whether their sacrifice to serve our nation was voluntary or otherwise. In any case, many young men and women were exposed to violence to human life which we could never be prepared for. The reminder of Memorial Day observances causes us to intensify our prayers for peace and justice for all people.

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Pentecost, a Time to Say Yes to the Work of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives.

Scholars tell us that the first Pentecost took place during the Jewish Feast of Weeks. This was a festival at which the first fruits of the harvest were offered to God in thanksgiving. But on this particular day, instead of giving our first fruits to God, he gave his first fruit—the Holy Spirit—to us.

And what an amazing gift the Spirit has been! It is his power that has kept the church on track, despite human sinfulness, for two millennia. It is his grace that has strengthened us, revealed Jesus to us, moved us to serve, and convinced us that Jesus will indeed come back to bring heaven down to earth. To put it quite simply, Pentecost is all about the fact that Almighty God has come to live in human hearts, making ordinary people into extraordinary saints.

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Many of you considered, and maybe even contributed, to the recent United States Postal Service Food Drive. You will be interested to know that our parish cluster benefits most directly from local generosity. The donations given through the Fountain City Post Office are given directly to the Food Pantry located in the Parish Life Center at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. A reminder that the Immaculate Conception Food Pantry is open weekly on Thursdays from 4 until 5 in the afternoon. Typically 2-6 different households visit each week to benefit from the Food Pantry. The Immaculate Conception Food Pantry is supported solely by local donations and food drives. And, a quick distinction, our parish cluster also hosts a monthly Mobile Food Pantry on the first Tuesday of each month. The 45-65 households who benefit from the Mobile Food Pantry receive food from Feed My People Food Bank in Eau Claire. Now, back to the USPS Food Drive: a quick estimate of the weight of the food donated to our local food pantry is right around 1,900 pounds of food. All of that food was donated to our local Food Pantry. Thanks to the residents in the Fountain City for their generosity to help end hunger.

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Each and every one of us has been in a position where we have known something sensitive about another or we were quizzed on sensitive information about ourselves. Take income for example, when we discover how much money someone makes, we are really tempted to and often disclose that information to other people; we typically feel like our knowledge is power. On the other hand, when someone inquires with us about our income, we do a really good job deflecting the question and have a sense that our income is none of their business. As sensitive as monetary income may be, we quickly realize that each one of us is guilty of speaking about other people’s sensitive information which transcends far beyond money.

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