June 2025
HABEMUS PAPAM In the month of June we celebrate Father's Day and the Church celebrates the solemnity of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church, which is made up of all of us; on that day, in year 33AD,120 people were gathered. Last month, the Holy Spirit acted in the Church’s Conclave where 133 Cardinals gathered to name the Successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV, who keeps Pope Francis’ legacy close to his heart. I was deeply affected by the impact of Pope Francis’ departure. But as a man of Faith, I am glad to know that he is now happy in Heaven, free from pain and suffering though I am still emotional about his absence as a friend and father figure to me. However, receiving his shoes, the ones that I cleaned, as a gift the last time I was with him was like inheriting a Mission. His noticeable worn-out shoes symbolize what the Apostle Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans (Rom 10:15), referring to the prophet Isaiah in chapter 52, verse 7 “… as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news; of those who announce peace!” The shoes symbolize the Mission of a Church that goes forth, a Samaritan Church that stops to see the wounded who suffer along the road of life, this Mission will continue. These days we celebrate Father's Day. In addition to wishing many blessings to all men who are fathers, I also ask you to never to drift away from Jesus, so that we may always carry out our mission as fathers which will bring us much peace and happiness. Sooner or later, we will reap what we have sown and see the Glory of God manifested in our family and children. Jesus never stopped talking about His Father, about how much He Loved Him. They are so close that they are one. How beautiful it is to know and believe that we all have a Father who Loves us so much that He sent His only Son so that whoever believes in Him may not be lost but have Eternal Life (John 3:16). Today, the world is constantly looking for physical strength to achieve its goals but our greatest strength as Christians is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. That is why the Church reminds us every year of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and what Jesus said to the Apostles at that times is available to each of us continuously, that when He came upon them—that Dynamis (a word of Greek origin meaning “dynamite”)—they would “receive the [dynamite] power of the Holy Spirit and be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). To be a Church that goes forth and bears witness of what Jesus means to them, to speak to others about the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ our Savior,…