Dear Readers of The Flame,
The turning point in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Story” took place through the “Ghosts”
of Christmas past, present and future. As we approach the holiday
season, I want to briefly reflect on how I have recently seen the Holy Ghost manifest Himself, past, present and future.
The past I want to mention is the recent past. Last month I led a group
of twenty eight pilgrims in the footsteps of St. Paul through Greece
and Turkey. The work of the Holy Spirit was evident from the beginning.
Our initial plane out of Cleveland was cancelled. After some
discussion, and much prayer and singing (I think the breakthrough came
when I was singing “Shout to the North”. From verse three: “by His grace again we’ll FLY!”)
the Holy Spirit performed His first miracle. With a different carrier
and a different route, the twenty six of us coming from Cleveland
landed in Thessaloniki, Greece only 45 minutes later than planned!
Other highlights of this pilgrimage included: celebrating mass at the
house of Mary near Ephesus (western Turkey), renewing our baptismal
promises where St. Lydia, St. Paul’s first convert in Europe, was
baptized (Acts 16:11-15), and standing where St. Paul stood before the
proconsul Gallio in Corinth (Acts 18:12-17).
The Holy Ghost of Christmas present is our helper during these often
stressful times. It is ironic that the days of the year most focused on
Christian truth (Thanksgiving and the nativity of the Son of God) are
also the ones filled the most distractions. The Holy Spirit helps us in
two ways: by giving us a fresh appreciation of the realities we
celebrate as well as the discipline we need to weed out the
distractions of these seasons. Events that may help in this regard
include:
Finally, the Holy Ghost of Christmas future points us to the year 2007.
As I mentioned last month, this year the charismatic renewal as a
movement turns forty. God has poured out his Spirit in wonder-filled
ways so that we can make the Lord Jesus Christ present to our
skeptical, violent and materialistic world. Whether you participate in
any anniversary events or not, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!! Pray that we all “stir
into a flame the gift of God…for God has not given us a spirit of
cowardice but rather one of power and love and self-control. So do not
be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord…” (II Timothy 1:6-8)
In the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
Fr. Bob Franco
PS: The timing of this edition of The Flame
presses me to wish you Christmas greetings well before Advent. However,
though this may be your first Christmas greeting of the season, I
sincerely wish you and your loved ones a most blessed Christmas and
joyous New Year. And thank you for your interest and support of
Catholic Renewal Ministries during this last year.