LUCEM FERRE

SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY TRINITY – A | May 31, 2026 Exodus 34: 4b-6, 8-9, Corinthians 13: 11-13, John 3: 16-18   THE MYSTERY OF THE TABLE Many years ago, a young priest was visiting a family in his parish. He sat on their sofa, in the sitting room, watching the chaos of a busy household. The mother was stirring a pot of soup, the father was helping their youngest with math homework, and the older siblings were playfully arguing about whose turn it was to do the dishes. In the middle of it all, there was laughter, a few sighs of exhaustion, and an undeniable warmth. The priest asked the seven-year-old child, “What is your family?” The boy didn't give a legal definition. He didn't pull out a birth certificate or a dictionary. He looked around the room, smiled, and said, “It’s us. We live here, we love each other, and we share everything.” Today, sisters and brothers, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. For centuries, theologians have filled libraries t...

  FEAST OF PENTECOST – A | May 24, 2026 Acts 2:1-11, Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34, 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12–13, John 20:19-23 THE LOCKED ROOMS OF OUR LIVES Good morning, brothers and sisters, and welcome (again) to this beautiful celebration of the feast of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the Blessed Mother: Pentecost Sunday!    I don’t know if some of you have found yourselves in a room with the doors locked, not to keep others out, but because you were afraid of what was waiting for you outside. Perhaps it was not a physical room.  Maybe it was the locked room of a heavy heart, shuttered by grief after losing someone you loved. Maybe it was the locked room of anxiety, where the future felt so uncertain and threatening that it seemed safer to stay emotionally paralyzed. Or maybe it was the locked room of a damaged relationship, where walls of silence were built to protect oneself from being hurt again. (and I’m sure that each one ...

THE END OF THE BEGINNING We have all stood at a “departure gate” at some point in our lives. Perhaps it was dropping a child off at college, saying goodbye to a friend moving across the country, or standing at the bedside of a loved one passing into eternal life. In those moments, there is a profound sense of “looking up” or “looking away”, a feeling that something central to our world is leaving us behind. Today, as we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, the Apostles are standing at their own departure gate. On the Mount of Olives, they watch as Jesus is “lifted up” until a cloud takes him from their sight. They stand there, necks craned, eyes fixed on the sky, probably feeling a mix of wonder and a crushing sense of abandonment.  But then, two men in white garments ask a question that cuts through their trance: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” (Acts 1:11). The Ascension is not a story about Jesus leaving; it is a story about how He begins to...

NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT The Holy Spirit Novena, also known as the Pentecost Novena, is considered the oldest of all novenas. It draws its origins from Jesus telling his apostles to remain in Jerusalem and await the gift of the Holy Spirit: “ While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for 'the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak. ” Acts 1: 4-5. The Apostles, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and other women, prayed for nine days before receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. On May 4, 1897, Pope Leo XIII proclaimed: “We decree and command that throughout the whole Church, this year and in every subsequent year, a novena shall take place before Pentecost in all parish churches.” Pope John Paul II reiterated Pope Leo’s command for a worldwide Pentecost novena, although the novena can be prayed at any time, not only before Pentecost. Try to go to Mass daily throughout the novena and pray for the outpouring of t...