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Dear Brothers and Sisters: A few days ago, I was reading a critical comment from a friend regarding the motto: "If you want to, you can." It is a fact that not everything in life depends on willpower. There are many internal and external factors that prevent us from achieving everything we might desire, and this, at times, becomes a source of frustration.
 
Voluntarism is incompatible with faith. Anyone who believes that everything lies within their own hands—and depends solely on their own effort—will find it difficult to believe in a God who manifests Himself in weakness and walks alongside the most humble.
 
As Christians, we must not forget that we believe in a God who loved us first—a God who, rather than rewarding us for our efforts, freely bestows His gifts upon us to accompany us on our journey.
 
Today is Pentecost: the Feast of the Spirit; a commemoration of God’s power breaking into the lives of Jesus’ followers to dispel their fears and fill them with hope. Today is a day to ask for strength and counsel, to ask for wisdom and understanding—a day to acknowledge our need for God. Today is a day to embrace God’s grace and contemplate His mystery; to inoculate ourselves against self-sufficiency and pride; and to approach life as a mission to be fulfilled—a mission in which we constantly need to experience the closeness, forgiveness, and peace that flow from God.
 
Indeed, we cannot always achieve everything we desire; for this very reason, we are invited to welcome—and to renew within ourselves—the power of the Spirit, who fills us with His gifts and His peace, and who transforms us into His witnesses amidst the people.
 
Happy Sunday!
 
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