Dear Fellow Parishioners:

I love all sorts of dogs. Mixed breeds and pure breeds alike. The incredible diversity of colors, shapes, sizes, barks, mannerisms, owners, and personalities of various dogs. I like the diversity of other animals as well, but today I’m a bit focused on my fellow canines. The splendid assortment of dogs speaks to me about the richness of creation. God must certainly love variety. What speaks to you about the diversity of God’s good creation?

This past year I allowed the RCIA groups (adults studying the Catholic faith) to meet in my parlor in the rectory. Listening to the discussions, I learned a lot about the feast of Pentecost. It seems to me that humans have a similar understanding of Pentecost as I have of diversity of my fellow dogs. The great feast of Pentecost (May 19^th) commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit at the completion of our Easter celebration. On the first Pentecost, the apostles received the gifts of the Spirit to proclaim the good news to the whole world. The power of the Holy Spirit connects people from different races, languages, and cultures to form one family united through Baptism. Our church interior will be decorated in Pentecost red to represent the fire of the Holy Spirit. You can celebrate by wearing red as well.

I feel so blessed to see and celebrate an incredible diversity of fellow dogs. I hope you feel equally blessed by being in an incredibly diverse family of Christians.

BOL (bark out loud),
Sweetheart