Day of Grace

Ordinations. New graduates, weddings and newly weds. June is a month during which the Church experiences a tremendous outpouring of grace and new vitality – how appropriate that we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost during this time! Although (unlike in the movie The Sound of Music) we do not have weddings in our monastery chapel, or see men ordained to the priesthood from the Mass choir, the joy of this ‘new creation’ extends to all members of Christ’s Body who pray for the building up of the Church! Without a doubt, although the evidence that God’s grace is needed in every part of the world, a glance at our own hearts can suffice to produce a sincere invocation – Come Holy Spirit!!! Just briefly considering the situation of the first disciples prior to the descent of the Spirit, one can easily identify with their need for the coming of the Advocate. As in yesterday’s Gospel where Peter is asked by Jesus: ‘Do you love me?’, what could one answer, sitting there by the sea, seeing Him with His forever-wounded hands, with one’s utter failure fresh in mind? Peter’s sincere answer is beautiful beyond doubt. His response coupled with his own recognition of personal weakness suffices to reassure us two millennia later that nothing is beyond God’s grace. God accepts us where we are and by the Holy Spirit, transforms this clay into temples of His grace – His very life!