October 14, 2019

Day of Renewal Reflections

Looking back on this grace filled day, it is clear the Holy Spirit wanted to bless each person who attended.  Pope St. Pius X parish hosted us in their beautiful Faith Formation room.  They have a great sound and projection system that made the day go extra well. 

In the morning we heard the teaching of Brian Kraut who was once a youth pastor at that parish.  The teaching reminded us that our faith is greatly affected by our relationships with other Christians like ourselves.  Our faith is strengthened by those around us.  God’s actions often come through the men and women we worship with. The closer we come together, the more we will experience God helping us.

In our original planning for this day we did not know that Jesus had a surprise for us. We were invited to attend the Mass with the anointing of the sick.  We had two hours to focus on Jesus and then went into the Mass.  Jesus was ready to bless and we were ready to be blessed.  Several participants in our group later shared the awesome power of the anointing from the priest as if Jesus Himself was anointing them.  We experienced first hand the power of the priesthood.

After Mass we joined together for a delicious lunch and fellowshipped with new and old friends.  Then we had a time of testimony about what the Holy Spirit did at the Women’s Retreat and other recent events.  One testimony that tells us that Jesus knows us and cares about us was that a lady was later talking with her neighbor about the loving actions of Jesus that happened at the Women’s Retreat and invited the neighbor to come to Mass with her.  The neighbor accepted the invitation and after 25 years of staying away from Church went to Confession and Mass!  The angels in heaven must have danced for joy.  The Holy Spirit enables us to go beyond our own comfort zone.  Jesus gets the credit because it’s His actions and not our own ability that change lives.  Also, there were reports of God healing long time physical ailments.  Jesus can make all things new.

It is important to continue growing in faith by attending a weekly prayer meeting that has prayer and praise, and teaching and sharing the gifts of the Holy Spirit taught us by St. Paul.

A special Thank You to the St. Pius X prayer group for inviting us into their parish for this rewarding experience of blessing and learning.  Thanks to everyone who prayed for this day to be successful.