May 31, 2026

Dear Parishioners,

Last Sunday on Pentecost I gave another “history of the Catholic Church” homily, this time focusing on the split of western and eastern Christianity (Catholic and Orthodox). I won’t repeat the entire history here, but much of it had to do with the understanding of the Holy Spirit. To put it simply, within the Holy Trinity we believe the Holy Spirit proceeds both from the Father and the Son. That is, the Father loves the Son. The Father pours himself out entirely to the Son, giving the Son all that the Father is. This pouring out is the Holy Spirit. Hence, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The Son, in return, reciprocates this love. The Son pours himself out entirely to the Father, and so the Holy Spirit proceeds also from the Son. This is known as the Filioque (the phrase during the Nicene Creed in Latin for “and the Son”).

If the Holy Spirit didn’t proceed from the Son, it would mean the Son didn’t receive everything from the Father. The Son would be subordinate to the Father (not equal) and the sacramental system and church structure would be undermined, for we believe that grace (the Holy Spirit) flows through the Body of Christ in the sacraments and in the life of the Church.

Back to the history. As the centuries passed, Catholics in eastern Europe and Asia Minor began practicing their faith slightly differently than the Catholics in western Europe. Eastern Catholics spoke Greek in the liturgy, while western Catholics spoke Latin. Eastern churches were a little more decentralized and their art, theology, and style of prayer was more mystical. And the issue of the processions of the Holy Spirit was front and center. Eastern Catholics felt the Holy Spirit only proceeded from the Father and not the Son. They thus rejected the Filioque. This led to the great schism of 1054 when the Orthodox churches were born–churches who no longer submitted to the authority of the pope.

Again, I’m not doing this complex issue justice and way oversimplifying it. I’m more using the issue as an entree to discussing the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity, for this Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. Why is the Filioque so important? Because, among other reasons, some already named above, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t proceed from the Son, then the Holy Spirit doesn’t proceed from us. And if the Holy Spirit doesn’t proceed from us, then we don’t have the fullest form of communion and love with one another. Let me explain.

Again, the Holy Spirit is the love poured out of the Father to the Son, and vice versa. Jesus then pours himself out to us. We are one with him in baptism and this union is deepened in confirmation and in communion and whenever we pray authentically. We are Christians–we imitate Christ. To imitate Christ doesn’t just mean to be a good person. To imitate Christ means, among other things, to pour out specifically the Holy Spirit in love to others. The Filioque means that not only can we receive the Holy Spirit, but that we can send the Spirit out of us to love others.

A few weeks ago in one of these bulletin letters I mentioned how my favorite prayer has become the simple phrase, “Come, Holy Spirit.” I meant that and it is still my favorite prayer. But I can see another prayer we could say is “Go, Holy Spirit.” Go, not as in ‘Go away from me,’ but as in ‘Flow out of me into the hearts of other people.’ Why “Go, Holy Spirit” is such an important prayer is because it is how we experience genuine love. If you really want to love your spouse truly, it will be because of the Holy Spirit flowing out of you. It will not be because you are a good listener or buy your spouse flowers or cook dinner or whatever. If you want to love your neighbor, the poor person you are serving, the person you want to evangelize, it will only be because of the Holy Spirit flowing out of you, and not because of your eloquence or your good looks or your charisma or your wealth. Genuine love comes from the Holy Spirit. Everything else, to paraphrase St. Paul, is a clashing gong or cymbal.

As an aside, this is why social justice without a genuine spiritual life is a farce and ultimately fruitless. We can talk all about serving the poor and caring for those on the margins, but if we ourselves don’t love God truly and don’t really know the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit won’t be flowing out of us towards those needy individuals and we won’t really be serving them. They won’t receive God, and God is what they need more than food or money or inclusion. Our activism, without a genuine prayer life, will just be self-service, an effort to soothe our consciences and play the game of political relevance.

So, yes, “Come, Holy Spirit…Go, Holy Spirit.” How are you doing with those prayers? Are you doing well with “Come, Holy Spirit”? Or are you a “Go, Holy Spirit” kind of person? That is, are you easily able to receive in quiet contemplation the love and peace of the Lord, and rest with Jesus (Come)? Or, are you better at being mindful of others, listening to them and counseling them, giving them what they need to feel loved (Go)? Or have you found the balance and are able to do both (Come…Go)? The ultimate question: Do you have God and are you able to give him away?

You often hear the cheer at sporting events, “Let’s go!” Let’s go Cubs/Sox/etc! Let’s go (as in, ‘get that basehit’, ‘score that touchdown’, ‘make that stop’). Well, let’s go, Holy Spirit! And let’s Come, Holy Spirit!

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Congratulations on a successful school year to all students and teachers at all schools, and enjoy your summer break. I want to particularly thank Mr. Jim White, our school principal, for a fine job in his first year as principal.

We will be hosting another Young Adult Word on the Street this Tuesday, June 2nd at 8pm at the Harp and Fiddle in Park Ridge.

Thank you to all who have contributed to our landscaping project along the side of the church by the “new” Mary statue. This statue was donated by a family in Park Ridge and a group of dedicated parishioner volunteers have been hard at work over the past weeks to beautify the area.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace