Holy Spirit Catholic Church

06/03/2026

Registration forms are available at all three Menominee parishes. Or contact the office to get one emailed to you. [email protected]

06/02/2026

05/26/2026

Holy Spirit Parish Office will close at 12:00 pm this Thursday, May 28th. Apologies for the inconvenience.

05/25/2026

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church—Memorial
Celebrated the Monday after Pentecost

Quote: "Indeed, the Mother standing beneath the cross (cf. Jn 19:25), accepted her Son’s testament of love and welcomed all people in the person of the beloved disciple as sons and daughters to be reborn unto life eternal. She thus became the tender Mother of the Church which Christ begot on the cross handing on the Spirit. Christ, in turn, in the beloved disciple, chose all disciples as ministers of his love towards his Mother, entrusting her to them so that they might welcome her with filial affection." ~From the Decree of the Congregation of Divine Worship adding the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church to the General Roman Calendar

Reflection: Little is said about the most glorious Mother of God in the Scriptures. In many ways, she lived a quiet and hidden life. Since her Assumption into Heaven, the Church has prayerfully pondered her life and role in the mystery of salvation. Little by little, saint after saint and pope after pope have shed greater light upon her singularly unique and glorious role in the Father’s eternal plan. As the Church’s understanding of the Blessed Mother has deepened, new titles and new dogmas have been proclaimed about Mary. In 2018, a new liturgical memorial honored her with the title “Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”

To understand the Blessed Virgin Mary’s role as Mother of the Church, we need to begin with Scripture. As Jesus hung on the Cross, John’s Gospel records that the mother of Jesus and two other women stood before Him, alongside John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. From the Cross, Jesus entrusted His mother to John’s care. “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26–27).

In 1895, in his encyclical on the rosary, Pope Leo XIII wrote about that Gospel passage:

Now in John, as the Church has constantly taught, Christ designated the whole human race, and in the first rank are they who are joined with Him by faith…She was, in very truth, the Mother of the Church, the Teacher and Queen of the Apostles, to whom, besides, she confided no small part of the divine mysteries which she kept in her heart” (Adiutricem #6).

In 1964, Pope Saint Paul VI promulgated the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church). After presenting a complete picture of the mystery of the Church, the final chapter of that constitution presents “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ and the Church.” That chapter highlights her singularly unique and maternal role within the Church. Lumen Gentium did not go so far as to ascribe the title “Mother of the Church” to the Blessed Mother, but it did go into great detail about her maternal role within the Church. Four years later, in a motu proprio letter, Pope Paul VI referenced Lumen Gentium and took it a step further by bestowing upon the Mother of God the title “Mother of the Church.”

…we believe that the Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ’s members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed (Solemni Hac Liturgia #15).

Since that time, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis have continually referred to the Mother of God as the Mother of the Church. What does the title “Mother of the Church” mean? On September 17, 1997, Pope John Paul II defined it this way in a Wednesday catechesis:

The title “Mother of the Church” thus reflects the deep conviction of the Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only the mother of the person of Christ, but also of the faithful. She who is recognized as mother of salvation, life and grace, mother of the saved and mother of the living, is rightly proclaimed Mother of the Church. ( #5).

On March 3, 2018, Pope Francis announced that a new memorial would be added to the General Roman Calendar and celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost Sunday, entitled “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”

In the decree instituting this memorial, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, said:

This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.

It is significant that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, was entrusted to the Church in the person of Saint John the Apostle at the foot of the Cross. From the Cross, the Church was conceived by the outpouring of grace that flowed from Jesus’ Sacred Heart. At Pentecost, our Blessed Mother was present as the Church was born.

Today, the Mother of the Church reigns in Heaven next to her Son; from there, she continues to nurture the Church as a loving mother. She not only intercedes for us but also mediates her Son’s saving grace, making her the ongoing instrument of grace and mother of all.

Because our understanding of the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary has continually unfolded over the centuries, it is fair to say that we do not yet fully understand her glorious role in the Father’s plan of salvation. Some have proposed that she be given the dogmatic titles “Mediatrix of All Grace” and “Co-Redemptrix.” Regardless of what comes next in our ever deepening understanding of the role of the Blessed Mother, we can be certain that those who one day gaze upon the essence of God Himself as he reveals all truth will immediately become aware of the most profound mysteries of Mary’s hidden life.

As we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, know that she is your spiritual mother insofar as you are a member of Christ’s Body, the Church. By giving birth to the Head, she gives birth to the members. As members of that Body, it is essential that we seek spiritual nourishment from the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is our mother and queen. From her, we are born into God’s grace. She is the chosen instrument and mediatrix of grace. Rely upon her motherly intercession and mediation, and entrust yourself more fully to her care.

Most glorious Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to you I entrust myself just as Jesus entrusted John to your care. Receive me as your spiritual child, and nurture me with your Son’s divine grace. Thank you for your “Yes” to the Father’s plan, for your life, and for your continuous “Yes” through time and eternity. May my “Yes” echo yours as I surrender fully to God’s plan. Mother Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Reflection Credit: My Catholic Life!

05/24/2026

Solemnity of Pentecost

Quote: "When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim."~Acts 2:1–4

Reflection: Today, we celebrate the most glorious Solemnity of Pentecost, the promised Gift of the Father and the Son to Jesus’ disciples. After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared to His disciples for forty days. During those appearances, He offered them proof of His resurrection, continued to teach them, and reminded them of all He had revealed to them about His death and Resurrection, preparing them for the next step of their mission. “While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for ‘the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit’” (Acts 1:4–5).

During the ten days after Jesus’ Ascension, the eleven Apostles gathered together in the upper room with the mother of Jesus and many other disciples, totaling 120 in all. The gathering place was most likely the same place that the Apostles ate the Passover meal, the first Eucharist, with Jesus. As they met, the first order of business was to choose a successor to Judas. They cast lots, and Matthias was chosen to be one of the Twelve.

On the fiftieth day after Jesus’ Resurrection, ten days after His Ascension, the 120 disciples were once again gathered in the upper room when they experienced something beyond their imagination. From the sky came a noise like a strong driving wind. It filled the room they were in. Tongues, as of fire, fell upon all gathered, and they were given the gift of tongues, which enabled them to speak in different languages—by the power of the Holy Spirit—to the diverse groups of people in Jerusalem. This is what Jesus had promised them, and suddenly they understood as they received the Gift of God.

After receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples went out into the community of Jerusalem and began to boldly proclaim the Gospel to all. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were shocked and confused. Some accused the disciples of being drunk and scoffed at them. Some, however, quickly believed. Peter then stood up and gave a stirring and powerful sermon that presented the whole mystery of salvation. He spoke of Jesus as the Savior and the need to repent and be baptized. “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day” (Acts 2:41). The new followers then devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to the celebration of the Eucharist. A strong Christian community was formed in Jerusalem.

As the community continued to grow, learn the teachings of the Apostles, and receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, miracles took place. Peter and John cured a blind man. Soon, there were 5,000 converts to Christ who were filled with the Holy Spirit. More miracles took place at the hands of all of the Apostles, people from the surrounding villages came and were converted, and the new believers lived as one, sharing their food and resources with others.

Soon the members of the Sanhedrin became concerned. They thought they had stopped Jesus, but they saw that the Apostles were converting thousands. The Apostles were arrested and jailed, but an angel let them out in the night, and they appeared in the Temple the next day, continuing to preach and heal. The bewildered Sanhedrin members did not know what to do. They hoped that the new excitement would soon subside and everything would go back to normal—but it didn’t.

Recognizing the need to better care for the poor with the money and provisions the thousands of disciples held in common, the Apostles appointed seven men to be deacons for the task, so that the Apostles could continue to preach, heal, and offer the sacraments. Shortly afterward, blood was shed. Stephen, one of the newly ordained deacons, was martyred. “On that day, there broke out a severe persecution of the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1).

The above illustrates the role of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost was the birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit’s mission was to form the Church and empower each baptized member of Christ’s body to fulfill his or her specific duty. Some were to preach, some cared for the poor, some shed their blood for their faith, and others were to be sent to other towns and villages. The scattering of the community of the believers in Jerusalem was clearly permitted by the Holy Spirit as a way of expanding the Church beyond Jerusalem. The newly converted and empowered disciples traveled far and wide to expand the newborn Church that grew at a rapid pace as the new Body of Christ matured and fulfilled its mission.

In the years and centuries ahead, the Holy Spirit continued to form the Church. The Apostles were inspired to write what is today the New Testament so that future believers would have firsthand accounts of the Gospel. From there, the successors to the Apostles, in union with the successor of Saint Peter, helped to form the Sacred Tradition, which is the ongoing deepening revelation of the Word of God to address new questions that arose. Jesus’ promise to Peter and his successors that He would give to him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, so that he and his successors could bind and loose on earth as it is in Heaven, evolved and helped the Church to mature. The Holy Spirit enabled the growing communities to continue to take nourishment through the Sacraments. The believers were empowered to pray and to enter into a personal relationship with Him Who rose and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Other believers were filled with charisms needed to build up the Church. The Gospel continued to be preached to the ends of the earth, and the people of God were drawn into lives of profound holiness and union with God. This is all effected by the Gift of the Holy Spirit first given at Pentecost and continually given today.

In addition to building up the Church and enabling it to fulfill its divine mission, the Holy Spirit also sanctifies every individual believer, especially through the bestowal of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord…They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations” ( #1831). Additionally, the Holy Spirit instills twelve fruits: “The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: ‘charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity’” ( #1832). These graces are first given in Baptism and perfected in Confirmation. Each baptized and confirmed member of Christ has the potential to fully realize these graces so as to grow in holiness and fulfill their divine mission.

As we celebrate the great Solemnity of Pentecost, call on the Holy Spirit in your life. Too often we receive Baptism and Confirmation with a closed mind and heart. We fail to allow the Holy Spirit to become fully active in our lives. Pray to the Holy Spirit today, and open yourself more fully to all that God wishes to bestow upon you so that you will become holy and a more active member of His Body, the Church.

Reflection Credit: My Catholic Life!

05/23/2026

On the eve of Pentecost, let us pray: Come, Holy Spirit!