The Readings
Rev. Charles Strebler • September 23, 2025
The lector proclaims the first and second reading beginning with, “A reading from the Book of N.” Then he or she reads the text for the celebration and ends with, “The Word of the Lord.” The assembly replies, “Thanks be to God.”
In addition to being part of the proclamation/response of the Liturgy of the Word, this exchange is also important because it reminds us of what it is to which we are listening. It isn’t a play by Shakespeare, it isn’t Dante’s Divine Comedy (though I will quote this whenever I get a chance), it isn’t the script to the next Star Wars movie. While all those are worth reading and hearing (unless George Lucas is writing the movie), they are not Scripture. Our Scriptures are inspired texts, that is, their texts are inspired by the Holy Spirit. The way that we understand this is that the scriptures are the words of God in the words of humans. The Christian scriptures are not read from golden tablets using special glasses or dictated to the writer by an angel but are the writing of humans guided by God. Being such, Scriptures are one of the primary ways that God speaks to us. Because they are inspired texts, they are inerrant (free from error) …but only on the topic of faith and morals. Our scriptures are not history books or science books per se. They can speak on those things and often get them right, but if they don’t, it doesn’t negate what God is telling us about faith and morals.
Because they are in the word of humans, not any two will report it in the same way. Think of several people explaining what happened in a car crash, or think of Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon. That’s how we can have four Gospels telling the story of Jesus in different ways.
We are told that the scripture we heard was, “The Word of the Lord.” We say, “Thanks be to God.” To express our acknowledgment of the great thing God has done by speaking to us.
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”—Gilbert K. Chesterton Dear Parishioners: The Christmas season is now over (though there are those who continue the tradition of keeping the season through February 2 nd , The Presentation of the Lord, AKA Candlemas, often by leaving at least one Christmas decoration {often the nativity scene} out!) As the season has come to an end, I want to thank all of those who contributed so significantly to our celebrations of Christmas and the Christmas Season. I’d like to thank the parish staff for their work, but particular commendation goes to Nathan Hetrick, Holy Spirit’s Director of Worship and Music. Nathan worked hard with the musical planning, with the choir and instrumentalists to getting them ready for the Christmas Masses, and leading them during the Masses. Nathan also prepared all the worship aids for Christmas. (I probably should also thank our copy machine for not collapsing from exhaustion!) Directly related to that, thank you to our choir, cantors, and instrumentalists, both parish and visitors. The music of the season greatly enhanced our celebrations. I received many compliments on the music. Also to be complimented are the members of our Art and Environment group, who decorated the church and chapel for both Advent and Christmas. For Christmas, they had to work according the “schedule” (“Some time today.”) of the flower delivery and not their own schedule. You can appreciate the sacrifice this is in the last couple of days before Christmas. They did a beautiful job. Though often less visible, but as needed and appreciated are the sacristans who work behind the scenes. The lectors, servers, Extra-Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and ushers are seen, but sometimes still not appreciated enough, as they seem a regular part of the Liturgy. If I have left anyone out, I apologize, but know all who have a part in enhancing our liturgies are appreciated. Thank you to all our parishioners for your participation in our Christmas celebrations. Thank you also for and welcome to our visitors and “occasional” parishioners. We had 890 people at the 4pm Christmas Mass alone! As I have said before, I do not believe in shaming people for not being present the other weeks, but invite them to return again. I think they may be more likely to do so if they experience uplifting, beautiful liturgies. That is what we had. Thank you to all who put in their efforts to make it so. P.S. I am in Michigan this weekend for my Godson’s son’s baptism and will be heading out on vacation on Monday. I’ll be back for Masses the weekend of January 31/February 1 and will be back in the office on Monday, February 2. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
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“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot Dear Parishioners: Most of the world is just entering into 2026, but the Church has been these since the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year 2026. This is a rather apt situation as the Church is ahead of the world. If someone says to me that the Church is not with the times, I will fully agree, saying, “Yes, the Church is not with the times, she is waiting for the times to catch up with her.” The thing about new years is that they are filled with hope and promise. Yes, January is usually filled—at least for me—with, “I hope to lose weight,” and “I promise to exercise.” This new year also makes us look forward to new possibilities. One possibility is that Christ will come. I don’t take it as a probability, but I am ready none-the-less. What will this year be in your faith life? Will this be the year that you pray more? Will this be the year that you serve those in need in a greater way? Will this be the year that you become more active at Holy Spirit Parish? Will this be the year that you learn more about your Catholic faith? Like my weight and exercise, hope and promise, none of these things will happen without us doing something about it. Our growth in faith, like many (most?) of the good things in life do not come to us while idle. We aren’t about resolutions; we are about actions. We need to put in some effort, pray the rosary every day, come to Eucharistic Adoration, attend one of Dr. Hoag’s adult education programs—the new one, Symbolon : The Catholic Faith Explained , starts on Thursday, January 29. I do warn you of what I consider a major pitfall in trying to live the Christian life: thinking that we should immediately achieve the goals we set. It usually doesn’t work that way. We set a goal. We work toward it. We might have more misses than hits at first, but we don’t give up. We keep trying until we start to reach our goal. The important thing is not to give up. We may not be perfect when we greet 2027, but we will be better. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer.”—Pope St. Paul VI Dear Parishioners: I have been talking the last few weeks about the types of prayer, easily remembered as ACTS . After a brief Christmas break, I conclude this series of Pastor’s Columns with a look at the place where all these forms of prayer converge—The Mass. The Mass, the central prayer of the Church, includes all the from of prayer in different places: Adoration : The Collect, the Holy, Holy Holy Contrition : The penitential Rite, especially The Confiteor , the Lamb of God Thanksgiving : The Preface and the Eucharistic Prayer Supplication : The Universal Prayers (AKA, the Petition or General intercessions Though this is not an exhaustive list, it shows the presence of the different types of prayer in the one Mass. Mass stands as the model of our prayer, encouraging us to be mindful to include all the forms of ACTS in out prayer life. Speaking of the Mass, from late 2019 to early 2021, I used the Pastor’s Column to explain the various parts of the Mass. I addressed what we do and why we do it. I covered what Church tells us to do and why I chose from some of the options the Church allows. Now that our parish website, www.hspal.org , has been updated by Crew Spence (I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t for a while!), those articles are available online. You can go to the parish website, find where it says Ministries & Groups and then under that dropdown menu find Liturgy & Worship and then under that title you will find Understanding the Liturgy . For those more savvy to computer parlance, it is: Ministries & Groups > Liturgy & Worship > Understanding the Liturgy . You also can go directly to: https://www.hspal.org/understanding-the-liturgy . Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.’”—Matthew 2:1-2 Dear Parishioners: Those wise men went out in search of Jesus. Though we usually think of them as presenting their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but do we realize that they were given much more, an encounter with their salvation prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory for the people. Amid our gift giving at this time, we are reminded this Christmas of the gift of God given to us in Jesus Christ. Where is the newborn King? is a question asked by everyone. All of us are looking for something more in life, for something greater than ourselves, even if we don’t recognize that we are. Eventually, the things of this world are not enough, do not satisfy, do not give the answers, and so we look beyond them to the One who created them, the One we know as the Babe in the manger. We are invited to take some time out in this season to ask ourselves, Where is the newborn King in my life? Do we recognize Him as the One in whom we find peace on Earth and goodwill to others? Do we see Him as the promised of ages, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Where is the newborn King? He is in the Eucharist, the Scriptures, our service to those in need, and in the people gathered for worship. If you are one of the parish stalwarts, I invite you to deepen your faith. If you are visiting Holy Spirit this Christmas, I hope you’ll be back again. If you haven’t been to Church for a while, I hope you’ll reconnect with your faith. If you are looking for a spiritual home, I hope you find one here. Christmas tells us the answer to the question Where is the newborn King?-- He is here, because He is Emmanuel, God with us. A blessed Christmas to you and yours! Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“Incline your ear, LORD, and answer me,/for I am poor and oppressed./Preserve my life, for I am devoted;/save your servant who trusts in you./You are my God;/be gracious to me, Lord;/to you I call all the day./Gladden the soul of your servant;/to you, Lord, I lift up my soul./Lord, you are good and forgiving,/most merciful to all who call on you./LORD, hear my prayer;/listen to my cry for help./ On the day of my distress I call to you,/for you will answer me.”—Psalm 86:1-7. Dear Parishioners: ACTS. S is for Supplication . This is not a prayer of greeting—that would be, S’up?lication . Supplication prayer is prayer that asks or petitions for something. This kind of prayer is very much misunderstood. I believe many people think prayer of supplication to be a cheap, lazy, selfish, or inferior form of prayer, because we want something and are asking for something to be done for us. I would counter that we use prayer of supplication at Mass with the Universal Prayers. Even the Our Father contains “give us this day our daily bread,” a prayer of supplication. That’s a pretty good placement for a so-called cheap, lazy, selfish, or inferior form of prayer. What I believe is most central to prayers of supplication is that faith that God can do what we ask. God can make a difference. God can change things, even when they seem unchangeable and dire. Prayer of supplication has at its core a trust and faith in God as well as an acknowledgement of His power, providence and majesty. Prayer of supplication is anything but! Prayer of supplication is a perfectly acceptable form of prayer, as long as we are asking for the right things, or better, that our prayer is sincere, that we really mean it, and that what we want will truly benefit ourselves, another, or our greater family, parish, locale, or world. We can ask that we win the lottery or that the Browns win (the lottery might be more probable,) and if the prayer isn’t something that God wants to give to give us—for reasons only He knows—then the prayer will be unanswered, but it is still prayer. There is no bad way to pray, so it’s time—it always is—to get our ACTS together. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;/in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions./Thoroughly wash away my guilt;/and from my sin cleanse me./For I know my transgressions;/my sin is always before me./Against you, you alone have I sinned;/I have done what is evil in your eyes/So that you are just in your word,/and without reproach in your judgment./Behold, I was born in guilt/in sin my mother conceived me./Behold, you desire true sincerity;/and secretly you teach me wisdom/Cleanse me with hyssop,/that I may be pure;/wash me, and I will be whiter than snow./You will let me hear gladness and joy;/the bones you have crushed will rejoice/Turn away your face from my sins;/blot out all my iniquities./A clean heart create for me, God/renew within me a steadfast spirit./Do not drive me from before your face/nor take from me your holy spirit./Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;/uphold me with a willing spirit./I will teach the wicked your ways,/that sinners may return to you./Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,/and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice./Lord, you will open my lips;/and my mouth will proclaim your praise./For you do not desire sacrifice or I would give it;/a burnt offering you would not accept/My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;/a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn./Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;/build up the walls of Jerusalem./Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,/burnt offering and whole offerings;/then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.”—Psalm 51 Dear Parishioners: ACTS. C is for Contrition , prayer of sorrow for our sins and asking for God’s forgiveness. The classic Catholic prayer for this is the Act of Contrition. One of the popular versions of this prayer proclaims, O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. This says something about our sorrow. It is not a sorrow that comes from a fear of punishment, but it is a sorrow that comes from offending the God who has created us, redeemed us, and sustains us. We admit, God is good (all the time) and we are not (at least sometimes.) Prayer of contrition requires us to be honest enough to admit we have failed God and also acknowledges God deserves to receive our sorrow and contrition. In the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church’s prayer, at Night Prayer, an examination of conscience and a prayer of contrition begins the prayer. I encourage everyone to follow this laudable practice to end each day with a prayer of contrition. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“Hallelujah!/Praise God in his holy sanctuary;/give praise in the mighty dome of heaven./Give praise for his mighty deeds,/praise him for his great majesty./Give praise with blasts upon the horn,/praise him with harp and lyre./Give praise with tambourines and dance,/praise him with strings and pipes./Give praise with crashing cymbals,/praise him with sounding cymbals./Let everything that has breath/give praise to the LORD!/Hallelujah!”—Psalm 150 Dear Parishioners: ACTS. We begin with A, for Adoration. This is the prayer where we praise God not for what He does, but for whom He is. This is probably the form of prayer with which more people are least familiar. We are used to coming to God with requests for something to be granted—even forgiveness. We might come back to God to say thanks. We have to be honest that all those forms of prayer are about us getting something, be it asking or thanking for what we want granted. Adoration is just praising God for being God, Holy, Mighty, Eternal, Ineffable, and all the other attributes of God. This kind of prayer is focused on God with less reference to us. I admit my prejudices, what I find lacking in much “praise music” is that it is often still about what we do for God, “I praise you, God, for you are wonderful.” I admit this kind of music works at adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and festivals of praise but is not good Mass music. Adoration prayer seems less natural to us as human beings, but God deserves this kind of prayer. That is one of the great things about spending time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: We can just sit in awe and wonder. It can be pure adoration of God for being God. This type of prayer doesn’t even require us to say something or anything. We can just be with Him in the Eucharist. Just giving our time and attention to God is a form of prayer; giving God our time says that He is more important than the busyness or idleness of our lives. That is true praise given to God—not for what He does but for whom He is. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“Pray as you can, not as you can't.”—Dom Chapman Dear Parishioners: Last week I answered a question about prayer. I thought this would be a topic worth unpacking, since we are all called to be people of prayer. When talking about prayer we can remember ACTS. This isn’t the book of the Bible, it is an acronym to remember the basic types of prayer. ACTS is: Adoration: Praising God not for what He does, but for whom He is. Contrition: Telling God that we are sorry for our sins. Thanksgiving: Thanking God for what he has done for us and in us in our lives. Supplication: Seeking God’s assistance for ourselves or others. Whether we are doing the public prayer of the Church or our own private prayer, these are the ways or the how we usually pray. ACTS is what we pray. Some commentators hold that all the ACTS should be present each time we pray. I don’t necessarily agree. There are going to be some times that we include all, some times we include only two or three, and some times that we just pray with one type of prayer. It may be that at a particular time in life one or more of the types of prayer seem more appropriate or fitting. Go with what works or is working for you. What is important is that you pray! In future Pastor’s Columns, I will explore each of these types in greater detail. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“The best bit of advice I ever received about how to pray was this: keep it simple, keep it real, keep it up.”―Pete Greig, How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People Dear Parishioners: When I asked for questions to be answered in the Pastor’s Column , I received the following: How do we pray? As an altar boy in my youth, I would accompany the priest when he served mass at the house for the Carmelite nuns. I wondered to myself “do they spend the day saying the Our Father, Hail Mary etc. over and over?” Surely they do more than that. As an adult now I pray daily but sometimes have a hard time on what to say and what I’m praying for or about and usually end up saying an Our Father instead. Am I being selfish to pray “especially” for someone/thing as they are no more deserving as anyone else? There is quite a bit here. Nuns, especially cloistered nuns do spend their days in prayer. The anchor of their prayer is Liturgy of the Hours , which is available to everyone. (The app iBreviary is an easy access to these prayers.) Admittedly, that’s not all they do, they have daily tasks to do, just like everyone else. They have the ability—I would say luxury—to spend more time than the average person in prayer. They also do private prayer, often praying for requested intentions. I imagine other than prescribed prayers, each nun prays as she finds meaningful. We do our best in prayer. Their life is theirs, unless you’re one of them, it is not your life. Most of us have more time on tasks (work, family, school, home) and less time for prayer. A parent with a couple of young children or a person with a full-time job may not have the ability to pray in the way the nuns do, and that’s ok. Still, we all have the ability to find some time for prayer each day, no one is that busy, When you have trouble knowing what to say in prayer, just say what you can and know that God knows what we need and for what we should ask, even if we don’t. As St. Paul writes to the Romans: In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. (8:26) It is not selfish to pray especially for some people, it is not that they are more deserving of God’s help, but they are more important to us. The “especially” prayer is asking for something for everyone but remembering the intentions important to us. I often say that sometimes we need to pray not so that God hears us, but that we hear ourselves. We need to know we are praying for those close to us because it expresses our relationship with them. Again, even if we pray wrongly, which is hard to do, (unless asking for evil on someone or asking God that my team wins—the outcome of a sporting event has little to do with the salvation of ourselves or others), God knows what we truly need. The bottom line is: pray and let God sort it out! Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
