I didn't realize after announcing that my pastor's column this week would be on the interview of Pope Francis by Norah O'Donnell of CBS News both on "Sixty Minutes" and an hour-long program a week ago, how challenging it would be to do it. There's much that could be said about various aspects of the interview in addition to what was asked, and how the pope responded. I'm just guessing that the pope and/or his aides had little if any input as to what subjects would be brought up and perhaps not a "heads-up" on the questions themselves. It was the agenda of the executives of CBS that might have dictated the topics and questions as it seemed to me to be slanted in a certain way. I'm thinking particularly about the topics of migration and climate control. I thought the pope's responses were not specific about a certain country, and brought out the right of people to migrate, especially in situations of violence and poverty and the call of the Gospel to welcome migrants in a Christ-like way. Of course, there are the rights of countries for a variety of reasons to have conditions and even limits on immigration which have been acknowledged by our American bishops, which the pope either didn't comment on OR the CBS executives did not include it for the viewers to see. This, again, can make any interview slanted and potentially biased when not sharing everything that was said by the one being interviewed. On climate control, the pope admitted that we are past the point of no return as far as man-made actions that have affected and are affecting such things as the warming of the planet's temperatures. The pope did not hold back in saying that it is foolish to not acknowledge the reality of the situation and its negative and long-term bad effects on our planet. To say it is the highly industrialized countries that are practically doing the most damage to the atmosphere and climate is speaking a truth that many (especially some who live in such countries) do not want to acknowledge or even hear. I applaud the pope's responses to some of the questions he was asked as he used the platform to speak on something much broader than was asked, including the issue of the abuse of children. While reiterating the Church's no-tolerance approach to credible instances of clergy abuse (including the full force of the law and Church law which leads to a priest being defrocked as a priest), he also spoke of the terrible scourge in our society in general where abuse is happening within families and by other people in positions of authority and trust like teachers and coaches who are harming our children. Pope Francis holding the first International Day of Children at the Vatican brought out the importance of children in our society which means not only protecting them from harm, but also respecting what they (and the elderly) have to offer to us! More on the Pope's interview in next week's column.

Last weekend, when the Church celebrated Pentecost, I said how challenging I found it in my preparations to preach, since we had a total of 10 scripture passages to choose from for proclamation at Mass (including 8 for the Vigil Mass)! It reminded me how much the bible shares about the Holy Spirit explicitly and implicitly for our reflection which, among other things, can lead us to a deeper union with God through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. There was also the "Pentecost Sequence" that was sung by the congregation at the Masses of Pentecost which tells us even more about the Holy Spirit, including the fact that the Holy Spirit wants to be our friend, our guide, our helper and our comfort whenever we need comfort. The Holy Spirit is God's light that brightens our day whether we are praying, working, playing or resting. The Holy Spirit heals sins wounds (especially in and through the Sacrament of Reconciliation) and gives us the grace that enables us to do good in the name of Jesus Christ. We need the Holy Spirit's presence and power (especially in our times when there is so much division in society AND in the Church) to unite minds and hearts in ways that are good, holy and helpful to as many as possible. The gifts of the Spirit, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord lead us to incorporate God's Way and Will in our lives and blesses us and others whenever we use these gifts. Those who consciously ask for and call on the Holy Spirit will, according to St. Paul (Gal 5:16-25), experience in the fruits of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Whenever people tell me they struggle to be patient in more situations than not, my first response will hopefully always be to encourage them to ask for more of the graces that flow from the Holy Spirit including humility and compassion that will make every encounter better than it would otherwise be.

I wonder how many people would answer yes if I asked them if they pray daily to the Holy Spirit for themselves and others. I hope, after reading some or all I have said in this pastor's column (and pondering it), you will be inclined to pray daily the "O Breathe On Me, Oh Breath Of God" that was in last week's bulletin and/or memorize and pray the entire prayer to the Holy Spirit or at least the first part which says "Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love"!

Though I hesitate to speak for my fellow priests (and hopefully not "about them" unless it is something good), I believe "we" priests are usually not very good at saying "no" when requests are made of us. We are called to serve others in the name of Jesus Christ, and our first inclination is to say yes to people who are asking some-thing of us. Thankfully (most of the time) I don't regret saying yes and hopefully seeing through on whatever I say "yes" to doing, if asked.

When I reflect on our V.I.P. for the month of May, Marian LaVelle, one of the qualities that I most admire and give thanks to God for, is her willingness and tendency to say "yes" to what I and others ask of her and doing it with a smile on her face. It is a blessing to have people around who smile (or even laugh) easily, and who put a smile on others faces, like me whenever Marian says yes to my requests for help. She responded a number of years ago when asked to help Cathy Silk with office duties and was a very welcoming, helpful presence to me and those who came to the office with needs or just to have someone to talk to. She has been serving faithfully as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at Mass and has been known to do this ministry on more than one occasion on a weekend when needed. She serves as a sacristan who comes early to "set up" for Mass and stays after Mass to clean up and put up. She was one of those I could count on to help out in various ways during our weekly outdoor Masses during COVID. She has been a helpful presence and worker at many social activities in the lower hall when asked to do so. She currently serves on the liturgy committee and took over awhile back on the scheduling of gift-bearers for the weekend Masses and is now serving on the Sacred Heart Pastoral Council representing the liturgy commission. She is a valuable member of our 10:00 a.m. Sunday choir and has recently agreed (to the great pleasure of our organist/choir director, Kathleen Kinney) to become a cantor. She has recently trained to start bringing Holy Communion to our parishioners who are shut-in and cannot attend Mass.

In the bio she submitted to help me with this column (though I can honestly say I didn't really need it as I was already aware of the many things Marian has done and continues to do), she made a remark about her participation in our parish ministries and activities that you can see is so true. She said that since the time her husband Don died after a battle with cancer (5 years ago), she made a conscious choice to make this wonderful parish her main focus. Many (including me) have been blessed by it! God bless you, Marian!