Church of Saint Peter, Monticello NY-Roman Catholic

Church of Saint Peter, Monticello NY-Roman Catholic A Roman Catholic community founded in 1874, located at 10 Liberty St, Monticello NY (845-794-5577) God's blessings! Rev. Bob Porpora, Pastor

Rev.

A Roman Catholic community founded in 1874, the Church is guided by our mission statement ..."We are a welcoming and supportive community, open and receptive to all who desire to share a oneness in faith in Jesus Christ: a community where everyone is recognized as an integral part of the parish. This unity is centered in Christ and celebrated in Eucharistic worship and in prayer. Conscious of our

baptismal commitments, we are dedicated to the spreading of the Gospel message of love which flows from the heart of God. This love offers justice, peace, and understanding to those in our homes, at work, and in service to the spiritual, educational, and social needs of all individuals." John Sheehan, Parochial Vicar

Rev. Stanislaus Ogbonna C.S.Sp., In Residence


Rectory Office Hours: Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Closed Holidays (Se habla Español)

Homily for the Feast of the Most Holy TrinityMay 31,2026I’ll begin today by saying that, pretty much, I don’t know what ...
06/04/2026

Homily for the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
May 31,2026

I’ll begin today by saying that, pretty much, I don’t know what I’m talking about. Some of you might be thinking, “It’s about time he admitted it” While others may be wondering, “So, why am I listening to him?”

Today is an important Feast Day of the Church. It is the one that we most often call to mind, whether we realize it or not because we generally begin our prayers by mentioning it. It is one that we live and are a part of. And it is one that we will never come close to understanding, at least not in this life.

Today is the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. You might think, “That’s not so complicated. I know all about the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. St. Patrick used a simple shamrock, a three-leaf clover to explain it. How difficult could it be?

Actually, nobody knows all about the Trinity. We can’t. The fullness of it is a reality that is completely beyond our comprehension. The mystery of the Eucharist might be easier for us to understand than this is.

But just because we can’t understand something completely doesn’t mean that it can’t be meaningful or useful to us. I don’t have a clue how a cell phone or a computer function, but they still manage to work when I use them, though not really to their full potential because I’m not knowledgeable enough to take full advantage of everything that they have to offer. I really just use the basics.

This can also be true when it comes to God. The more aware of who God is and how He works, the more we can benefit from our relationship with Him. Sadly, we don’t always get as much as we can from God because we allow our lack of knowledge to get in the way.

If there is one word that helps us to understand what the Trinity is about, it would be “relationship” and specifically in how that word relates to family. Those might not be the words that we would initially think of when we think about this topic. Other words like mystery and holy are more likely to come to mind.

But the Trinity is really just that. It is a family relationship. The technical theological terms that are used are more confusing than they are helpful. What we can understand and what matters most, I think, is this: there are three “persons” in this one God, Father, Son and Spirit. We use the word “person” because we don’t have another word in our language to use. It’s not that they are three different people, in the way that we understand it but that they are three “entities” in this one God. And that each one of them “performs” a function, so to speak. The Father is the Creator, the Son, Jesus, is our Savior and the Spirit is there to help and guide us through life.

We don’t need to know exactly how they work in order to benefit from what they can and want to do for us, but the more we do know, the more we are able to appreciate and experience.

Of the three the one that is probably the most confusing to us is the Holy Spirit. We know who Jesus is and we know what He did for us: coming into the world as one of us; teaching and preaching the Gospel message; dying for our sins and rising from the dead to make our salvation and eternal life with Him something that is possible for us. We see images of Him, or at least different artist’s interpretations of His image all around us in statues, pictures and so on. And, of course, He is physically present to us in the Eucharist.

We can understand the idea of the Father, the Creator. We experience Him through all of His creation, the world around us and all that is in it, especially in one another.

But what about the Holy Spirit. His existence is more difficult for us to understand. I guess that by definition, He is something that we can’t see because He is spirit… or can we? If we say that someone has “spirit”, what does that mean? It means that we see something very much “alive” in them. There is an air about them that is appealing and maybe even infectious. They are happy and positive and motivated. When we speak about someone having “spirit”, we don’t ever really associate anything negative with it.

If we raise that to a divine and supernatural level, imagine how positive and powerful it could be. We Catholics are generally a bit more reserved in the way that we worship than some other Christian denominations. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a matter of style and there are many different ways for someone to express their faith.

Some people are filled with the Spirit and it is very evident. They are almost larger than life. But it doesn’t have to show itself in that way. Someone can also be very Spirit filled while at the same time being quiet and serene. God calls each of us in different ways to live our faith and that faith will show itself in different ways, as well. Each of those ways is good and each of those ways can be effective in living and spreading the Gospel message, while helping us to grow deeper in our own faith and relationship with God.

As I said, the Trinity is about relationships, the relationships between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and it is also about the relationship that we have with each of them. St. Paul describes what that relationship should be like in one word: Abba. No, it isn’t the musical group from Sweden that first hit the charts way back in the 1970’s with hits like Mama Mia and Dancing Queen. It is an Aramaic word. Paul says that it means “Father”. That’s not exactly right. Yes, it does mean that, but it is actually a much more personal and intimate word. We would say, “daddy”. This was not the type of relationship that people had or even thought to have with God at the time. Yes, we do see some people in the Old Testament having this type of relationship with God, like Abraham, Noah and Moses. But for most people it was more of a formal thing.

But what Jesus has brought and what God wants is different. It implies the closeness that God wants to have with His people, the type of relationship that He calls us to have with Him…to be able to see Him as “Daddy”.

I also said that the Trinity has to do with the idea of family. They, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the original Holy Family, even before Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

We all know that family can be difficult at times, but more so, our families are great. They mold and form us into the people that we become. Our earthly family, as well as our membership in the family of God, are the foundation of who we are.

Each time we make the sign of the cross, let’s do so mindful of the fact that we are a real part of this great Trinity of persons that we call God, and we are because the Holy Spirit dwells in each one of us.

Let us learn to react to and treat each other mindful of that same fact, realizing that, no matter who it is that we might be talking to or dealing with or are just in the presence of, no matter how difficult they might make things for us or how much we disagree with them about something, that they are someone who God loves and that His Spirit is within them, as well.

And let us look within ourselves to find the Spirit that is there and let Him be visible for all to see and experience in whatever way is best for us to do.

June 7,  2026 Church Bulletin
06/03/2026

June 7, 2026 Church Bulletin

5/31/2026 Church Bulletin
05/27/2026

5/31/2026 Church Bulletin

Homily for the Feast of PentecostMay 24, 2026Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with someone and they are go...
05/27/2026

Homily for the Feast of Pentecost
May 24, 2026

Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with someone and they are going on …and on…and on about something and you keep nodding your head, making a few sounds here and there to let them know that you’re still with them and you have absolutely no idea what it is that they are talking about?

Or maybe you’ve tried to explain something to someone and have gone through whatever it is, very slowly and clearly so that there couldn’t possibly be any misunderstanding, and when you finish they have a look on their face that tells you that, even though they’ve been nodding like the do understand, they haven’t got a clue as to anything that you just said?

Communication can be a tough thing for a number of reasons. First, sometimes language doesn’t make sense. We have idioms like “til the cows come home” and “lend me your ear”, which would seem very odd to someone from another country who wouldn’t necessarily understand that we don’t take such words literally.

Or sometimes people speak in terms that others just don’t understand. They are very smart and either don’t realize that the rest of us don’t understand all of that technical jargon, or they like to show off. I had an accounting teacher in college who was a really nice guy, but he wasn’t a very good teacher. He had the knowledge…but not the ability to share it is a way that helped us to understand it.

Or sometimes it comes down to geography and local dialect. Put a Goomba from da Bronx and a Bubba from Mississippi alone in a room and there might not be a whole lot of meaningful conversation going on. They’re both speaking English, but a completely different version of it. It happens in other languages, as well. One of my aunt’s family spoke a dialect of Italian that nobody else in the family understood.

And yet, the opposite of this can also be true. People who don’t speak the same language sometimes have a natural way of getting past that barrier and find a way to understand each other. People from completely different cultures sometimes find a natural connection. So, maybe Goomba and Bubba can actually hit it off.

In many ways, the Feast of Pentecost that we celebrate today is about communication. In our first reading we have the scene where the Spirit comes down upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire and they begin to speak in different tongues. Well, that doesn’t sound like a good way to get people to communicate, does it? How is that going to unite them? Why would they be speaking in different tongues if Jesus wants them to be one, to be unified?

It seems to me that that is exactly the point. Even though they are speaking different languages, all of the people there hear and understand them in their own language. It doesn’t matter that they are speaking in different tongues. It doesn’t matter that they are from different places. It doesn’t matter that they have come up with all sorts of ways to differentiate themselves from one another. God created us to be one. He wants us to be one. And that is how He will always see us.

So why does it seem so hard for us to do that with each other? And it starts young, doesn’t it? Some kids bully other kids because they see them as somehow different from themselves. People of different political parties belittle one another rather than calmly discussing their differences. People are rude at sporting events, from the majors on down to the kid’s programs. People hate others in the name of religion. Countries battle over the resources that God has given us because they either refuse to share or are wasteful, whether it’s oil, food, water or whatever else. Fighting and yelling and being rude towards others has almost become a national pastime and something to aspire to so that you can get on a reality TV show.

The list of things that we do to separate ourselves from each other can and unfortunately, probably will go on and on. Why can’t we see each other as God sees us, or at least try to? Why can’t we appreciate our differences and learn from them rather than use them to tear ourselves apart?

Why can’t we speak in “one voice”? And I don’t mean that we have to all agree on absolutely everything but why can’t we speak in “one voice” that is respectful of others, “one voice” that is consistent with God’s voice even if we have different ways of expressing it?

The reason, I think, is simple. We can’t speak with the “one voice” of God if we aren’t listening to the “one voice” of God. If we don’t really listen to His voice we have no hope of speaking it.

In the Gospel today, Jesus gives His Spirit to the Apostles and sends them forth to spread His Word. They go out and do amazing things, so much so that the faith is still here for us 2000 years later.

As we celebrate this Feast of Pentecost, we need to remember that the Spirit wasn’t just given to the Apostles back then and to no one else, since. We receive the Spirit in Baptism and then more fully in Confirmation. He is with us always, to guide us and to help us to, first understand God’s voice in the world and in our lives and then to follow and to preach it, by making our voice His voice and vice versa.

The Spirit is always speaking to us in one way or another: through Scripture, prayer, creation, other people and any other way He chooses to do so.

The question is: are we listening? Or are we just blankly nodding our heads so that He stops and we can go back to whatever it was that we were doing before?

God communicates with us all the time. How intently are we listening?

And we communicate right back at Him, all the time. Unfortunately, too much of what we communicate back is not in line with the voice that we have heard and received.

There are many voices out there these days, speaking to us in many ways, especially through our devices and social media. These voices are bringing us all sorts of negative, disruptive and destructive words and sounds. They continue to help to separate us for God and from each other. And the more we listen to them, the worse things are getting.

There is really only one voice that ultimately matters, God’s voice. On this Feast of Pentecost let us pray for the ability to hear it clearly and often and to follow wherever it might lead us.

Homily for the 7th Sunday of Easter, May 17, 2026What makes you happy? If spring would finally get here…and stick around...
05/18/2026

Homily for the 7th Sunday of Easter, May 17, 2026

What makes you happy? If spring would finally get here…and stick around? A really good meal? Or your team winning the cup/trophy/series/championship.
What makes you joyful? The birth of a child? Reconnecting with an old friend? Feeling truly welcome…or loved...or forgiven?

I think it’s safe to assume that there aren’t too many people, if any at all that would answer “suffering” to either of those questions. “Yeah, I really enjoy suffering. When I banged my knee on that coffee table the other day and that little trickle of blood appeared and started running down my leg, nothing could have wiped that smile off my face.” Or, “People taunting me and insulting me and making me feel really bad about myself and my life brings out a sense of joy in me like nothing else I’ve ever known.”

If we did hear someone say things like that, we might want to slowly move away from them. Not too quick. Wouldn’t want to spook them. It doesn’t make sense. Or does it? Maybe not in those examples, but listen again to these words from our second reading today: “Rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ.” We should rejoice in our suffering. That’s what it says. And, I guess, the more we suffer, the more reason we should have to rejoice.

Sound strange? Maybe, but then again, there could be something to it. Many things that make us happy or joyful have some suffering connected to them. When your team wins the championship there is a lot of happiness to be found but there was also a lot of work that went into it for them and often, many years of waiting and disappointment for the fans who lived by the motto, “There’s always next year.”

A new baby certainly brings great joy, but there’s also a degree of suffering involved: morning sickness and, from what I’ve been told, they don’t usually come out too easily. There’s just a little bit of pain and suffering that comes with the delivery. And of course, then there’s the real suffering that lasts for about 10 years or so…beginning about 13 years after the delivery date.

Life involves suffering. It’s just a fact. We might look at some people and think that their lives are great and they never have any problems at all. We might also think that that is completely unfair, especially because it’s often the people that we think don’t deserve it that seem to have it the easiest.

But the truth is, such a life doesn’t really exist. Some people may handle things better or maybe they hide them better than most, but everyone has things that they struggle with in life. And to be honest, that’s actually not such a bad thing.

Sure, nobody likes to suffer...and that’s understandable, but we do need to find and see the good that can come from the suffering that we have to endure in our lives, those things that are of our own doing and those that we didn’t really have any control over at all.

Jesus Himself suffered. How much more proof do we need than that to show us that everyone has to deal with it? And, we know that His suffering brought about some pretty good things, like the forgiveness of our sins and the possibility of our salvation. Notice that I say possibility, not promise because we have something to do with that. His suffering and death make it possible but our own lives determine whether or not that possibility becomes a reality. And, His suffering also shows us the power and the extent of God’s love for us. Could there possibly be anything that is more important than that?

The verse that I read a few moments ago was actually incomplete. There is a second part to it. It says, “Rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ”, and then, “so that when His glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.” Suffering and glory go together.

Through our own suffering we share in the glory of Jesus, a glory that we can see clearly now, after the resurrection, but that wasn’t so obvious to the Apostles and other disciples at the time, at least not initially. They didn’t watch Jesus being beaten and think, “Boy, something really good is going to happen because of this.” And, they didn’t watch Him die and believe that everything was going to be OK, even great because of it. They thought this was the worst possible thing ever.

They didn’t think that any of it was good and they didn’t see any glory in all of the pain and suffering that Jesus endured. But just because they couldn’t recognize it at the moment didn’t mean that it wasn’t there. It was.

We can’t always see things so clearly when we are going through the difficulties of life. Sure, it can be more obvious to us when it’s someone else that is dealing with it, and we can be pretty sure what the best move is for them.

But we can’t always see so straight when we’re in the middle of it. Though, even if we can’t see it there is usually something there, something that will benefit us or maybe that will benefit someone else in some way. Maybe not right at that moment, but at some point. There is something to be learned, something that will help us in another situation that will come later on, something that will make us stronger, more understanding, more compassionate or forgiving, maybe more willing to give someone else a second chance some day in the future since we know how hard this was for us.

The suffering that Jesus endured, or better said, the sufferings that Jesus took on for us, gives meaning and purpose to our own suffering, If we are able to unite ours with His and see the good that is there or that will come because of it.

And the greatest suffering that we can endure is that which comes from our faithfulness to Jesus. If we do it right, it will be there. If we are truly faithful to God, we will suffer at some point because of it. So much of the world is either ignorant of or opposed to the things that God wants for and from us. If we stand up for those things, we will most likely experience some form of suffering because of them because so much of the world is too worried about being politically correct rather than living what is true. But we can’t back down just because it will be hard. Jesus accepted and took on His suffering for a greater good and so should we.

As we watch the news these days, with all that is happening in the world, those consequences are getting scarier by the day. But that just makes it all that much more important for us to do so.

Our sufferings can be very evident some of the time, but more often I think, we try to hide them. Maybe we don’t want people to worry about us or we might be embarrassed or for whatever other reason, we try to keep our sufferings secret. And that’s OK, to a point. We certainly don’t have to let everyone know our business but even Jesus had help when Simon carried the cross. There’s no shame in getting help with our suffering, even if it’s just an ear to listen or a shoulder to lean on.

What makes you happy? What makes you joyful? We all have many blessings in our lives but let’s also remember to be a little happy about and to rejoice in our sufferings. Yes, they are difficult but they’re also important and will help us in some way, if we let Jesus carry them with us.

Homily for the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, May 14, 2026When I was ordained, Cardinal O’Connor did something that...
05/15/2026

Homily for the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, May 14, 2026

When I was ordained, Cardinal O’Connor did something that he didn’t normally do. He gave his homily “ex cathedra”, that is that he gave it sitting in his chair, and facing us, those to be ordained, instead of preaching from the pulpit or from the front of the altar. Why? It symbolically said that what he was going to say was very important. Many of the priests that were there that day said that his words were really magnificent. By speaking from his chair, he stressed the importance of what he was going to say.
When any President of the United States speaks nationally, he will sometimes do so from the Oval Office, rather than from the podium used for press conferences. Again, this stresses the importance of his words.

A parent might have a particular chair that they use when speaking to their children about serious things. It may not even be intentional, but when they speak about important things, they do so in a particular room and that’s the chair that is used. A child could get used to that being “the problem chair” or the opposite could also be true. Maybe there is a certain place in the home that is associated with the good things that happen. The dinner table can certainly be the focus of many happy family celebrations.

God seems to like to do things “up high”. He often uses mountains as the place where important things take place: The giving of the 10 Commandments, The Transfiguration, The Sermon on the Mount, just to name a few.

Maybe, like us, God is a bit of a creature of habit and likes to do things in certain ways, like the people who have to sit in the same spot in church every week and God help some visitor who gets there before them and takes their seat. God likes mountains. And why not? They are among the largest and most majestic things that He created.

But, it’s more than that. When God speaks or does something from a mountain, like the Oval Office and the Bishop’s chair, we can assume that it is going to be something important.

Matthew tells us, “The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.” This is the end of Matthew’s Gospel, so these might have been the last words that Jesus said to them. Last words can also be very important things.

This is the hand off. Jesus has spent the last three years preparing them for this and now it is time. Are they ready? They probably don’t think so, but we know that Jesus isn’t going to leave them all on their own. He will give them His Spirit to help them with everything that they are going to have to do.

What is their initial reaction? “They worshiped, but they doubted.” That’s a pretty good description. But exactly what was it that they doubted? Did they doubt that He had risen? I don’t think so. According to the other Gospels, this isn’t the first time that they have seen Jesus after the Resurrection. Yes, there is probably some confusion over everything that has happened, but I think that their confusion, their doubt is about themselves, not Jesus. They’re worried about what is going to happen next, about what they are going to have to do. Are they up to the task at hand?

And then Jesus tells them what that is, what they are going to be doing. He says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

That’s a pretty tall order. Think about what must have been going through their minds. “Is He kidding? Doesn’t He remember all the times I made a mistake? How am I supposed to remember everything that He said? What if I tell people the wrong things? He can’t really think that we’re, that I’m ready for this.”

But they were ready. Jesus said, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” And through Him, to them. And then, to squash any doubts that they had just a little bit more, He says, “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” And so, off they go.

How often are we like those disciples standing there that day? We worship, but we doubt. We’re not sure that we’re up for the task at hand. I happen to think that that can actually be a good thing. When we become over confident and think that we’ve got it all together and that we couldn’t possibly make any mistakes, the trouble can begin. It’s OK to doubt ourselves because then we will examine the situation more. If we think that we can do it all on our own, we won’t look for or allow Jesus to help and guide us.

If we’re really looking to mess things up, all we have to do is try to do it all alone. But we don’t need to. Jesus has given us His Spirit just like He did for them. He is with us, always until the end of the age. But we have to avail ourselves of it.

Like the Apostles and other early disciples, we have the same mission, to make disciples of all the nations and teach the importance of observing all that God has commanded. Our new Archbishop, speaks about this Gospel passage in a pastoral letter that he wrote saying that we have to “be disciples…that make disciples”.

We don’t need a degree in theology to do this. Of course, some basic knowledge of the Faith is important and helpful, and we should work on improving that but more importantly, we need to feel the desire for God in ourselves, see the desire for God in others and use the first to fill the second…and vice versa. We need to be on the receiving end of things at times, as well. That’s how we grow and deepen our own faith. If all we do is give and never take, never fill up or recharge, we’re going to wind up running out of gas at some point.

Jesus could have told them this anywhere, but He sends them to the mountain to hear it because it is that important. Matthew ends His Gospel with it because what more is there to say after this?

Live your faith and share your faith and Jesus will be there to help us to do both, until the end of time.

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2026There are words in the English language that sound the same but are spe...
05/15/2026

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2026

There are words in the English language that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. We call them Homophones.
There’s “night” as in the end of the day and “knight” as in the guy who likes to joust.

We have “altar” that we celebrate Mass on and “alter” meaning to change something.

Then there’s “hole” which is empty, but add a “w” to the beginning of it becomes full because now it’s “whole”.

And there are: navel and naval; mourning and morning; him and hymn; preys, prays and praise.

How about “ewes”, a female sheep, “use”, as in to use something…and “Youse”, as in “dose guys from da Bronx.”

This is not something peculiar to the English language. Most, maybe all languages, have these. When I was in Italy, I learned one that actually pertains to our Gospel passage today. Those two words are “avocado” and “avvocato”. The first one, is the same as it is in English, a fruit that is used to make guacamole. But the second one, we would translate as, a “lawyer”. That might sound strange, but our word, “Advocate” comes from the same root word.

An advocate is someone who “supports or speaks in favor of something; someone who acts or intercedes on behalf of another; or someone who pleads another’s case in a legal forum.”

Jesus says, “I will ask the Father and He will send you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.” Why would He say another Advocate? It can only be because there has already been one. And there was. Jesus, Himself, was the first one. He came on our behalf.

The word translated as “Advocate” comes from the Greek word, “paracletos”. There are a number of meanings for this word including: beseech, encourage and comfort. If we look at it in the sense of a lawyer, Jesus is saying that He is sending us a defense attorney, someone to guide and direct us, to help us to defend ourselves, to defend our faith and even to defend our God.

However, if someone is going to be our advocate and we expect that they are going to do it well, there’s something that we need to do, first. We have to be honest with them. If we are hiding something or if we’re not truthful about the facts, it will be very difficult to build a defense.

Jesus gave His Spirit to His disciples do just that, .to watch over them, to lead and guide them, to help them to defend themselves when they need to. And He gives us that same Spirit for those same reasons. He wants to be our Advocate, and He wants us to be His, as well. Because He defends us, we are able to defend Him.

In the second reading, Peter tells us, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.”

It’s not enough to just say that we believe, that we have faith, that we hope in all of the things that God has promised. We have to have an idea as to why we believe, why we have hope. “Because that’s what my parents taught me” is a start, when we’re young, but as we grow and mature, so should our faith and our understanding of it.

Jesus gives us His Spirit to help us to do that. But He also places a condition on this gift. He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate.”

If your child is reckless with the car and doesn’t follow the rules, you’ll restrict their driving privileges or maybe take them away completely. And if we continue to disregard the traffic laws, the state will do the same to us.

If we continue to do things in a way other than the way our boss wants them done, and he isn’t agreeable to that, we might be looking for new employment.

If we’re playing a game, of any sort with someone, sports or otherwise, and they cheat all the time, we’re probably not going to want to continue that activity with them.

There are different codes of conduct for the things that we do in life, different expectations. We don’t or at least we shouldn’t act the same way at work or school that we would at a party.

We don’t treat people that we’ve just met with the same familiarity that we do with people that we’ve known for a long time and care about.

We don’t treat trivial things and serious things with the same degree of importance.

Jesus wants to give us His Spirit and all that comes with it, but it comes with a responsibility and we have to be willing to live up to that if we want to fully participate in the gift. Of course, we’re all going to fall short at times, but when we do, we have to resole to begin again and try to do better the next time.

The teachings and commandments that God has given us are not there to restrict us but rather, to allow us to more fully experience life the way that God wants us to.

I read something that said “Obedience is an act of love, not an act of submissive duty.” Most people don’t seem to like the word, “obedience”, unless they’re on the receiving end of it, of course. Our obedience to God’s word gives us so much more than what we think that we’re giving up. If we can see being obedient to God as an act of love on our part, not because we have to but because we want to, because we know that it is truly what is best and the we will receive good things, God’s grace by doing so, then we will be able to receive the Spirit more fully since we are opening ourselves up to do so.

Jesus adds: “I will not leave you orphans.” He is never far from us because He is always with us in His Spirit. It’s great that He uses that word to explain what He means, orphans. That word brings with it certain connotations, whether they are true or not. An orphan is alone. An orphan is someone who has no one that they can count on. An orphan is very vulnerable.

Jesus says that we are not orphans because we are not alone. He is with us. We do have someone that we can count on. His Spirit will guide and direct us. We don’t have to feel vulnerable because our strength comes from Him, through His love for us and our love for Him.

He is our advocate, as is the Spirit. They are our defenders and our support. They are always there and they don’t charge by the hour. There are no set office hours, no appointment is necessary. All we have to do is give a call because they’re always available.

Address

10 Liberty Street
Monticello, NY
12701

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 2pm
Tuesday 9am - 2pm
Wednesday 9am - 2pm
Thursday 9am - 2pm
Friday 9am - 2pm

Telephone

+18457945577

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