As we enter the final days of preparation for the Diocesan Synod, it is appropriate to increase our prayers that the Synod be a grace-filled occasion for the whole diocese. In particular we pray that the Holy Spirit be a powerful presence in our discussions, decisions and prayer. It is appropriate to turn to the Spirit especially at this time since the “Holy Spirit is the first to awaken faith in us and to communicate to us the new life, which is to ‘know the Father and the one whom he has sent, Jesus Christ.’ ” (Catechism No. 684)

We pray that the Spirit give us wisdom that we may desire to embrace God’s truth, beauty and goodness and that we may direct our whole life and all our actions for the greater honor and glory of God. We pray that the Holy Spirit give us understanding so that we may know more clearly the mysteries of the faith and be fit and ready to embrace more powerfully the life that the Holy Spirit shares with the Father and the Son. We pray that the Spirit give us counsel so that we may discern error and misconstruction. We pray that the Spirit give us fortitude so that we may be strengthened to carry out God’s will in all things and, in particular, in the work of the Synod. We pray that the Spirit give us knowledge to discover God’s will in all things. We pray that the Spirit give us piety and reverence so that we love God singleheartedly and obey God’s will faithfully. We pray that the Spirit inspire us with fear of the Lord so that the glory of his awe-inspiring majesty may be our heart’s prime desire.

Moreover, we invoke the Holy Spirit, who is the bond of unity between the Father and the Son, to bestow upon all of us a spirit of unity as we work together to discern God’s will for the Diocese of Sacramento. Ultimately, “in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent to announce, bear witness, make present, and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity.” (Catechism, No. 738)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria explains: “All of us who have received one and the same Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit, are in a sense blended together with one another and with God. For if Christ, together with the Father’s and his own Spirit, comes to dwell in each of us, though we are many, still the Spirit is one and undivided. He binds together the spirits of each and every one of us...and makes all appear as one in him. For just as the power of Christ’s sacred flesh unites those in whom it dwells into one body, I think that in the same way the one and undivided Spirit of God, who dwells in all, leads all into spiritual unity.”

As final preparation for the Diocesan Synod, I have asked all parishes to pray a novena to the Holy Spirit beginning on Sunday, Oct. 3. I have also encouraged exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Friday, Oct. 1, the first Friday of October.

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