The Feast of Pentecost - Year A
Reading I: ACTS 2:1-11
Psalm: 104
Reading II: 1 COR 12:3
B-7, 12-13
Gospel: JN 20:19-23
In the readings of Pentecost Sunday, we see the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus to His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to be with them. We are told that the Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire on top of each one’s head. Fire brings both light and heat. Light helps them to understand what the Lord had been teaching them and heat represents the love Jesus imparts to them and wants them to share with others.
Jesus offers them peace, but not the kind the world gives. His peace
is a deeper peace which remains no matter what the circumstances
of life may bring. He then commissions them: “As the Father has
sent me, so I send you.” Each one is sent with “different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit.” They are called to “different forms of service but the same Lord.”
The portrayal of the coming of the Holy Spirit above shows each disciple receiving the Spirit in accord with his/her own unique personalities. Each will manifest the gift of the Spirit for
the benefit of others and the glory of God in a manner that is only he/she can. What an awesome God we have to create so many
“one-of-a-kind” people.
When I listen to the birds singing each with his own song for the praise of God and the pleasure of His people, I am reminded that each one of us also has a song. This song represents our special qualities and the gifts with which we are to praise and thank our Creator and serve his other children. May we be true to who the Lord called us to be, aided by the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Church has a beautiful song to the Holy Spirit which is called a “Sequence” and read at Mass on Pentecost Sunday: “Come Holy Spirit.”
Sequence — Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Come, Holy Spirit, come!And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.
Spanish Translation of Reflection Above...
La Fiesta de Pentecostés
Jesús les ofrece paz, pero no la clase que el mundo da. Su paz
es una paz más profunda que sigue sin importar las circunstancias De la vida puede traer. Luego los ordena: “Como el Padre me ha enviado, así también yo os envío”. Cada uno es enviado con “diferentes tipos de dones espirituales, pero el mismo Espíritu”. Son llamados a “diferentes formas de servicio, pero el mismo Señor.”
El retrato de la venida del Espíritu Santo arriba muestra a cada discípulo que recibe el Espíritu de acuerdo con sus propias personalidades únicas. Cada uno manifestará el don del Espíritu para el El beneficio de los demás y la gloria de Dios de una manera que sólo él / ella puede. ¡Qué Dios tan maravilloso tenemos que crear tantos “One-of-a-kind” personas.
Cuando escucho a los pájaros cantando cada uno con su propia canción para la alabanza de Dios y el placer de Su pueblo, me recuerdo que cada uno de nosotros también tiene una canción. Esta canción representa nuestras cualidades especiales y los dones con los que estamos para alabar y agradecer a nuestro Creador y servir a sus otros hijos. Que seamos fieles a quienes el Señor nos llamó a ser, ayudados por el Don del Espíritu Santo.
Cuando escucho a los pájaros cantando cada uno con su propia canción para la alabanza de Dios y el placer de Su pueblo, me recuerdo que cada uno de nosotros también tiene una canción. Esta canción representa nuestras cualidades especiales y los dones con los que estamos para alabar y agradecer a nuestro Creador y servir a sus otros hijos. Que seamos fieles a quienes el Señor nos llamó a ser, ayudados por el Don del Espíritu Santo.
La Iglesia tiene un hermoso canto al Espíritu Santo que se llama una “Secuencia” y leído en la Misa del Domingo de Pentecostés: “Ven Espíritu Santo”.
Secuencia - Veni, Sancte Spiritus
¡Ven, Espíritu Santo, ven!Y desde tu hogar celestial
Derramar un rayo de luz divina!
¡Ven, Padre de los pobres!
¡Ven, fuente de toda nuestra tienda!
Ven, dentro de nuestros senos brilla.
Tú, de los consoladores, el mejor;
Usted, el huésped más acogedor del alma; Refresco dulce aquí abajo;
En nuestro trabajo, el descanso más dulce; Agradecido frescor en el calor; Consolación en medio de la aflicción.
Oh bendita Luz divina,
Brille dentro de estos corazones suyos
¡Y nuestro ser íntimo se llena!
Donde no estás, no tenemos nada,
Nada bueno en hechos o pensamientos,
Nada libre de mancha de mal.
Cura nuestras heridas, renueva nuestra fuerza; En nuestra sequedad vierta su rocío;
Lave las manchas de culpa lejos:
Dobla el corazón obstinado y la voluntad; Derretir el helado, calentar el frío;
Guíe los pasos que van por mal camino. Sobre los fieles, que adoran
Y confesarte, cada vez más
En tu sepulcro desciende;
Dales recompensa segura a la virtud;
Dadles vuestra salvación, Señor;
Darles alegrías que nunca terminan. Amén. Aleluya.
Thank you, Sr. Annette, for including the Veni, Sancte Spiritus in your post. It is a wonderful reflection; its words bring much comfort and peace. One of the things I remember about Pentecost from my grade school Catechism days is that it is considered the birthday of the Church and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In addition to the fire and light you mention, there was also the audible sound of “strong driving wind which filled the entire house.” Wind has a purifying effect as it drives away smog and heavily polluted air. Spirit’s cleansing winds are profoundly needed in our world today to purify the toxins lodged in our minds and hearts. Even believers carry seeds of distrust and ill-will toward their fellow men. “It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring about the cleansing that purifies our hearts by faith” (Dr. Tom Hermiz).
ReplyDeleteThe Holy Spirit was poured upon the first followers of Christ empowering them for their mission and gathering them together as a Church. Rev. Lowell Grisham writes, “It was a unifying Spirit that crossed the artificial boundaries of language, race and culture. People could speak and be understood; strangers heard one another; communion happened. The Spirit breathes peace. Here’s what seems to happen when people allow this divine Spirit to energize them. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control. We call that the ‘fruit of the Spirit.’ It’s a description of the qualities of Jesus, That’s who we are and whom we are to become.”
The Holy Spirit is God’s way of staying close to us. Today’s gospel relates that Jesus breathed on his disciples and stated, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit is God breathing within us- the most personal and intimate of activities. Pentecost celebrates this love.
Pat C., ASBS
Thank you, Sister, for the inspiring references to the Holy Spirit. The concept of "one-of-a-kind" people seems to present almost unlimited possibilities for consideration.
ReplyDeleteThe following selections are from a homily delivered by Pope Francis:
"As the Father has sent me, even so I send you... Receive the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:21-22). The gift of the Spirit on the evening of the Resurrection took place once again on the Day of Pentecost, intensified this time by extraordinary outward signs. On the evening of Easter Jesus appeared to the apostles and breathed on them his Spirit. (CF Jn. 20:22); on the morning of Pentecost the outpouring occurred in a resounding way, like a wind which shook the place the apostles were in, filling their minds and hearts. They received a new strength so great that they were able to proclaim Christ's Resurrection in different languages: 'They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues
as the Spirit gave them utterance.' (Acts 2:4). Together with them was Mary - the Mother of Jesus, the first disciple, and the Mother of the nascent church. With her peace and her smile, she accompanied the joyful young Bride - the Church of Jesus."
"The world needs men and women who are not closed in on themselves, but filled with the Holy Spirit. Closing oneself off from the Holy Spirit means not only a lack of freedom; it is a sin. There are many ways one can close oneself off from the Holy Spirit: by selfishness for one's own gain; by rigid legalism - seen in the attitude of the doctors of the law to whom Jesus referred as 'hypocrites'; by neglect of what Jesus taught; by living the Christian life not as a service to others, but out of the pursuit of personal interest; and in so many other ways.' "
"The world needs the courage, hope, faith and perseverance of Christ's followers. The world needs the fruits of the Holy spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal: 5:22). The gift of the Holy Spirit has been bestowed upon the Church and upon each one of us, so that we may live lives of genuine faith and active charity; that we may sow the seeds of reconciliation and peace. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit and his many gifts, may we be able uncompromisingly to battle against sin and corruption, devoting ourselves with patient perseverance to the works of justice and peace."
Pope Francis
St. Peter's Basilica
May 24, 2015
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Cardinal Mercier's Prayer to the Holy Spirit:
O Holy Spirit, Soul of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me. Tell me what I ought to do and command me to do it. I promise to be submissive to everything that you permit to happen to me. Only show me what is your will."
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