"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all." This is how I start Mass every time. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

This weekend we celebrate Pentecost. Throughout the Easter season we proclaim, “He is risen. He is risen, indeed. Alleluia!” We conclude the Easter Season with Pentecost. As we “breathe in” and “breathe out” God's Pentecost spirit in our midst, we can pause as another busy year in our parish community begins to slow down a bit. Yes, parishes often follow the “school year” for activities and “programs.” I hope it has been a fulfilling and enriching year for you. And as we approach summer – which begins in a few weeks – and summer's slower pace – I pray that we can experience God’s presence in nature, in our families, friends, and community.

We celebrate the Ascension of our Lord this Sunday. We began the Season of Easter six weeks ago with the announcement of the angels and our risen Lord to Mary Magdalene to tell the disciples to go to Galilee to see Jesus. Today's Gospel marks the moment when Jesus speaks to His disciples at Galilee.

I'd like to focus on our Second Reading from 1 Peter for this Sixth Sunday of Easter. Peter begins with the powerful instruction, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." Think of our heart like a throne room. Who, or what, is enthroned there? Do we enthrone Christ as King in all areas of our life? Perhaps there is one or more areas where we struggle to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts.

On this Fifth Sunday of Easter, we hear how the number of disciples continues to grow in the early Church. This is wonderful news, but it presents a new problem: the Apostles are becoming too preoccupied with "serving at table" administering the goods of the Church which is taking away from their time to pray and proclaim the word of God! They propose choosing seven reputable men appointed to administer the goods of the Church to the needy so that God's Word may continue to be spread and the Church continue to grow.