From Fr. Gary Gummersheimer:

Since the last time I penned a missive for this newsletter several very interesting things have taken place. The first is a two-part interview of the national leadership of Cursillo that aired on EWTN. You can watch what aired on the National Cursillo Web page (www.Cursillo.org) under the “resources” section of the Web page. They reminded us of the importance that Cursillo can and does play in the Church’s call for a “new” evangelization. I would encourage you to go and take a look at it.

The second is that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has called for a Holy Year to be celebrated: an “Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.” This Holy Year will open on 8 December 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and will close on 20 November 2016, the Solemnity of Christ the King.

Pope Francis, in calling this special time in the Church, said: “We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. The word, mercy, reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity; the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us; the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life and the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to a hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness.”

So we have a unique and wonderful time ahead of us in the Church. The Bishops will meet this fall to continue the discussion of the role of the family in society and the Church in this time of strained understanding of what it means to be family and Church.  Let us pray that the gift of the Spirit of God may guide them in their discussions.

We are reminded, time and again, by our Holy Father that the ultimate gift of God’s love and mercy are what calls each of us to be children of God. It is also what calls each of us, in the gift of the Holy Spirit in our initiation, to become the disciples that Christ calls us to be. Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Christ.

As I write this in the week before the Solemnity of Pentecost, my prayer for all of you as we enter this summer season, is that the Spirit of Christ may be with you to guide you and keep you always in the love and mercy of God.

De Colores, Fr. Gary