August 18, 2024

Dear Parishioners,

Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, our second reading this week, has a little phrase that really struck me when I prayed over it. He says “sing and play to the Lord in your hearts.” Here’s the whole verse: “And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.”

            It’s really an incredible verse if you spend some time with it. Let me parse it out a bit.

            Do not get drunk on wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. It seems kind of random for Paul to mention getting drunk on wine when he’s talking about spiritual things. But getting drunk was a big deal for people back then, as it is still today. They didn’t have Coors Light or whiskey back then; wine was the main alcoholic beverage, hence Paul mentioning wine specifically. (Substitute food, drugs, impure material, or whatever else if ‘wine’ isn’t your struggle.) Getting drunk is ultimately an escape. It is a self-centered action. We choose what we want to be filled by, and that filler isn’t grounded in love and self-gift. We have a need in our hearts. Paul recognizes this, which is why he encourages us to turn to the Holy Spirit and not to wine to fill that need.

            Address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we find ourselves inebriated with love. We grace the people around us. It doesn’t mean we literally go around singing to people all the time, “I gave my love a cherry…” But it’s as if we were. Think of a lover singing a song to another. This is what Paul means when he tells us to address one another in the form of songs. Praise the person and don’t be angry with them or take from them. Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

            Sing and play to the Lord in your hearts. This is the humdinger. There’s something free, fun, and deeply life-giving when you are all alone and sing out loud. You don’t care if your voice doesn’t sound great. You’re not there to impress or entertain anyone. You are in the moment, totally embodied, and one with the Spirit. When we pray, we should have a similar feeling. Time with God shouldn’t feel forced or boring. It should come naturally from your heart and be what you need, just like whatever song you are singing is a song you enjoy. God likes all forms of music. I would love to hear what kind of music you enjoy–both the actual songs/bands you listen to, and your style of prayer.

Give thanks always. Enough said.

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Thank you to all those who attended last Wednesday evening’s dinner with the Cardinal for the Capital Campaign. We welcomed over 200 people from St. Paul and six other parishes throughout the Archdiocese who are also in the pilot wave of this campaign. The Cardinal spoke about the needs of the Church and why Chicago needs this campaign at this point in time. As I’ve mentioned before, the funds we raise at St. Paul of the Cross will go to support the needs of the Church as well as our local needs, in particular creating more meeting space for our many ministries and bringing our spirituality of the cross outside of our actual church building in the form of outdoor Stations of the Cross. I’ve reached out to many of you already about making a donation–thank you to those who have very generously responded–and I’ll do my best to reach out to as many as possible in the upcoming month or so. Please feel free to reach out to me before I reach out to you if you are ready to make a pledge to the campaign. Thank you again and my prayers are with you.

           This Sunday, August 18th we will have a special Back-to-School Mass at 4pm for our school families. The first day of school for our parish school is this Wednesday, August 21st (pre-K begins the 22nd). Many of the high schoolers and college students returned to school this past week. Our prayers are with you. May it be a grace-filled year.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James