Surrender to His Love

Dear Friend,

Last week, a spiritual high point for me came in Saint Joseph Church in Carpinteria on Sunday evening. I was standing, singing, and praying with hundreds of Catholic faithful from Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara as we celebrated the Rite of Election led by Bishop Szkredka. Our focus of course was on the catechumens (100+) who will be baptized in our parish churches on the Easter Vigil, the night of April 19. Participating with our own catechumens from St. Barbara - Lisa, Jack, and Andrew – and with their sponsors and the OCIA team leaders, Phil Phillips and Michael Rubio -- I could feel the hope, faith, and love the gathering made present for us all in the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Preaching on the temptations, Bishop Szkredka told us that Jesus’s positive directives speak directly to catechumens: 1.) God’s word incarnate, in Jesus – central to which is Eucharist – feeds life beyond the physical and into the spiritual; 2) that we serve the Lord God alone; all idols are left behind, especially as we gather for worship at Mass; and 3) that we do not test, manipulate or try to control God in superstitions of any form.  

This, in sum, is our initiation into divine life and it continues this Sunday as we move from the desert to the mountaintop. Transfiguration is the call to listen and observe in order to follow. Jesus isn’t whipping us into shape; he’s leading us to God through a wonder and beauty that moves us past sin and division. Only surrender to His love can break the chains that bind us. The witness of Moses and Elijah tell us as much, and they no doubt were there last Sunday at Saint Joseph’s, pointing us to freedom as “pilgrims of hope”!

Gratefully,

Father Dan, Pastor