Be Fed By the Spirit

God is not beyond our contact, but someone who loves us and desires a personal relationship with us—and that relationship is made possible through the Holy Spirit. As Fr. Sammie Maletta, our St. John the Evangelist pastor, reminds us, the Holy Spirit never speaks of Himself, but serves as the living conduit of love and communication between the Father and the Son. Theology deepens this understanding by teaching that the Holy Spirit is the personified love that flows eternally between them, drawing us into that same divine communion. The Holy Spirit, then, can help us establish or deepen a personal relationship with God. 

In order to help us grow and truly yield to the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are offering opportunities to be fed by the Holy Spirit beginning with a two-part series that will take place Today, and Tuesday, May 27, from 6pm to 8pm each evening. 

These two Spirit-filled sessions will lay the foundation for MORE – our Pentecost Mission and a new series – Life in The Spirit, both beginning in June! (More to come on those in future blogs!)

• May 20: Talk by Fr. Sammie Maletta 

• May 27: Talk by Fr. Declan McNicholas 

There are still a few more seats available for these evenings that will include: food, music, a talk, and childcare! Click here to register. You are also invited to Mass taking place beforehand at 5:30 p.m. on these two days! All this is happening at SJE, 10701 Olcott Ave., Saint John.

You will even have the opportunity to be philanthropic! Red Pentecost shirts and other items will be sold by our SJE youth in the narthex to support their annual trip to Steubenville, a Catholic conference for teens to grow in relationship with Jesus Christ. 

The goal of these two Be Fed nights is to inspire us to develop and/or strengthen our personal relationships with Jesus Christ, as well as prepare ourselves to celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit during our Pentecost Mission at the beginning June 5, and our Life in The Spirit series that will begin June 16. On two Mondays a month, Parish Partner Jim Hamilton will help us encounter the Holy Spirit through music, prayer, Bible messages, and group discussions.

You will not want to miss these opportunities! Please join us for these extraordinary opportunities for Life in the Spirit! The same Spirit who descended at Pentecost is the one who transforms the simple gifts of bread and wine into the Real Presence of Jesus at every Mass. And just as the disciples were fed by the teachings and presence of Christ, we too are spiritually fed each time we receive the Eucharist. This feeding strengthens us—not only for our personal sanctification, but so we may go out and serve others. The Spirit fills us not to hoard the flame but to become bread for the world, signs of Christ’s love for the hungry, lonely, and broken.

Let us Be Disciples who Make Disciples!

A group of people wearing red shirts stands in church, raising their hands in a gesture of praise and worship.