buffalo journeys

  Today is Pentecost Sunday. Below is chapter 2 of Acts from the Douay-Rheims Bible; it provides the Apostles' account on Pentecost. Our Lord Jesus Christ has ascended to Heaven, but He is still looking after us through the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit continue to guide us on the path of salvation. 1 And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place: 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. 5 Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 And when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, an

image credit: Amazon I used to listen to music all the time but lately not as much. This particular song popped up recently, and it resonated with me. The melody was beautiful, but it was the lyrics that stuck with me. Part of the lyrics are as follows. "I’m just a singer of simple songs, I’m not a real political man … but I know Jesus and I talk to God and I remember this from when I was young … faith, hope, love ... did you dust off that Bible at home … thank God you had somebody to love …" The world stopped turning for many of us on 9/11 and then again during the lockdown in the pandemic. Except, during the pandemic, we were told that church was non-essential. If our faith in God is non-essential, what else is left. Sacraments were denied. So many people died alone. I still think back on this period of time, and it's traumatic. It's been three years since the lockdown, and nothing is quite back to normal. I've seen different commentaries here and there about it

  The Ascension by Cornelis Bloemaert (image from the MET open source project) 1 The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach, 2 Until the day on which, giving commandments by the Holy Ghost to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up. 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of God. 4 And eating together with them, he commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (saith he) by my mouth. 5 For John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. 6 They therefore who were come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 But he said to them: It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power: 8 But you shall receive the

Image from The Immaculata website The Immaculata at St Marys, Kansas was consecrated on May 3,2023. It is the largest church built by the SSPX (Society of Saint Pius X). We watched the consecration online and were grateful to witness such an amazing experience.  We weren’t just impressed by the physical aspect of the church but also by its history and the dedication and perseverance of the faithful. The consecration of the altar was pretty amazing. I have never seen anything like it in my lifetime and probably never will again. The number of Catholic Churches around the world is declining; I wished it was the opposite though. Bishop Fellay’s sermon on the consecration of the church was also inspiring. He spoke about how this consecration is a manifestation of the faithful. He also expressed the sentiment that the current world around us is a nightmare, but this consecration serves as a beacon of hope of our faith.  It is easy to get distracted from the faith these days. It feels as tho

image credit: Amazon.com According to Scott Hahn, he mentioned in one of his podcasts that this movie is one of the better Catholic movies out there about St. Paul. When I heard this, I made a mental note to check this movie out sometimes, and I'm glad that I did. I really enjoyed this movie. I still think about this movie from time to time whenever I hear the readings of St Timothy, a letter from St Paul to St Timothy. This movie takes place towards the end of St. Paul's life when he was in prison at Rome. Jim Caviezel plays the part of St. Luke, who visits Paul in prison. The conversations between Paul and Luke during those visits captures the steadfastness of Paul's faith in Jesus Christ. It also gave the audience a little bit of insight about Luke and his conversion.  In addition, the movie provided a glimpse into the lives of the persecuted Christians and Paul's captors through Luke's interactions with them. Luke stayed with these Christians in hiding, while vi