June 8, 2014

Pentecost Sunday, Mass during the Day

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

R/ (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R/ Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O Lord!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R/ Alleluia.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R/ Alleluia.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R/ Alleluia.

reading 2 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one 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.

Gospel Jn 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

A Christian Pilgrim

RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

(A biblical refection on the PENTECOST SUNDAY, 8th of June 2014)

Gospel Reading: John 20:19-23

First Reading: Acts 2:1-11; Psalms: Psalm 104:1,24,29-31,34; Second Reading: 1Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13

The Scripture Text
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:19-23 RSV)

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you” (John 20:21)

Today is a great day of rejoicing for the Church. The Holy Spirit has been poured out! Divine life has imparted to human hearts! Ordinary people have been raised up to become privileged daughters and sons of God! Just as Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into the first disciples, so He has done for us. Just as Jesus blessed them with peace for the work that lay before them, even so today He promises peace to all who look to His Spirit for wisdom, strength, and guidance.

Dear Sisters and brothers, do you know that the Holy Spirit lives inside you? He is there, humbly and patiently working every day to give you all the blessings that Jesus won through His death and resurrection. He is there, whispering to your heart words of divine love and speaking to your conscience words of divine wisdom and direction. He is there, planning in your spirit a desire to pray, a hunger for God, and a thirst for His word.

When the disciples began to proclaim the Gospel, they were no different than each one of us. Ordinary women and men, they stepped out with faith in the indwelling Spirit and were constantly amazed at His power working through them and His love flooding their hearts. The same can happen to us today. All God needs is a humble “yes” to His invitation and a teachable heart. He can do so much in those who trust Him.

At Mass today, let Jesus’ promise of peace fill our hearts, We don’t have to be perfect or well educated or strong of character. We just have to be open to the Holy Spirit. Then, He who is in each of us will accomplish greater things than we can ask or imagine. Let us give Him our hearts today, and ask His Sprit to fill us and move us.

PRAYER: Blessed Holy Spirit, come! Stir up faith and hope in me today. Fill me with confidence in Your power and trust in my Father’s love. Come, Holy Spirit, and use me to renew the face of Your Church! Amen.

A Christian Pilgrim

08 Jun

THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TAKES AWAY OUR FEARS AND ENERGIZES OUR LIVES

(A biblical refection on the PENTECOST SUNDAY, 8th of June 2014)

First Reading: Acts 2:1-11; Psalms: Psalm 104:1,24,29-31,34; Second Reading: 1Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; Gospel Reading: John 20:19-23

Dale Carnegie, the author of How to win Friends and Influence People, once remarked that he had heard the “confessions” of thousands of men and women. These people timidly confided that they were “scared to death” to stand in front of an audience to give a speech. Many of these crowd-frightened individuals were otherwise fearless in their beliefs and highly successful in their careers.

Those “confessions” led Carnegie to write another book: On Public Speaking, and moved him to establish courses to help people speak in public without suffering from paralyzing fears. These classes have helped many people and are still very popular today.

The Bible tells us that the apostles suffered a similar fear of facing the public after Jesus had ascended to His Father. For a brief time they floundered in their helplessness to preach to the world, until divine assistance was sent to them.

Pentecost is the day we celebrate the anniversary of the gift of this power from on high, which converted fearful fishermen into courageous preachers and launched them on their world-wide mission.

The liturgical observance of this Spirit-filled day can also be the occasion for renewed encouragement to those of us who are too timid to take a stand for the things we know we should. We are all in need of this divine strength from above, to speak out and live out our convictions.

We don’t want to imitate the shiftless hobo, who was seen wandering aimlessly about town. When asked about his destination, he replied, “No place in particular.” “Well, how do you decide which direction to go at the beginning of the day?” He replied: “I always travel with the wind at my back.”

Many ill winds blow through our world to carry us in their directions, but Pentecost is the wind and-fire from Heaven that pushes us toward the Kingdom.

The sacrament of Confirmation is our personal Pentecost, where we open our lives to divine guidance, lest we become spiritual drifters.

Without the strength of the Spirit, the apostles would have been assigned to a mission impossible. Having received the Spirit, they were now able to accept the victor’s crown of martyrdom and the ultimate affirmation from their Master.

The first step to fulfil our missions in this world is to believe that we can, because the power of the Spirit takes away our fears and energizes our lives. Once freed from our crippling anxieties we can, like the apostles, walk bravely and talk confidently on our journey to the Kingdom.

Source: Rev. James McKarns, GO TELL EVERYONE, Makati, Philippines: St. Paul Publications, 1991, pages 36-37.

Sunday Scripture Study

Pentecost Sunday - Cycle A

June 8, 2014

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer

First Reading: Acts 2:1-11

Psalm: 104:1,24,29-31,34

Second Reading: Romans 8:22-27

Gospel Reading: John 20:19-23

This Sunday’s Gospel is a reading that we just heard on the 2nd Sunday of Easter. For this Pentecost Sunday, therefore, we will instead be looking at the First Reading for this Sunday, taken from the Acts of the Apostles.

The setting is at Jerusalem in the upper room where the Last Supper had been held. It is10 days after the Ascension, at which time Jesus had left them specific instructions (Acts 1:45). About 120 people, including the Blessed Virgin Mary, were present. It is the time of the Jewish feast of Pentecost.

Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks (in Hebrew, Shavout), was one of three major Jewish pilgrim feasts, celebrated seven weeks after Passover (Deuteronomy 16:16). Devout Jews from all over the known world would be in Jerusalem for these two feasts (verses 9-11). Originally a harvest festival where God’s people would offer him the first fruits (best part) of the harvest, it came to be also a commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai on the fiftieth day after the Exodus from Egypt (from the Greek Petekoste, meaning “fiftieth”).

Christians now celebrate Pentecost as the “birthday” of the Church, and a celebration of the giving of the New Law of the Spirit written on the hearts of believers (Jeremiah 31:31-34; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6) as was promised to the Apostles by Our Lord (John 15:26;16:13; 20:22, Luke 24:49).

QUESTIONS:

Even though as Christians, we have “the first fruits of the Spirit” (2nd Reading, verse 23). How is it, then, that we are “groaning within ourselves as we are awaiting adoption” [by God]? How do verses 24 through 26 help to answer this?

What was the original meaning of the Feast of Pentecost for Jews (Deuteronomy 16:9-10)? What theological significance did they add to this feast? Why do you think God chose the Jewish Feast of Pentecost to give the Holy Spirit to the Church? What is the meaning of Pentecost for Christians (Acts 2:32-33; CCC 715)?

How far have these pilgrims come (verses 9-11)? What attracts them to the disciples? Would you respond more like those in verse 12 or those in verse 13? Why?

When have you experienced an empowering from God to witness about Christ? How does being filled with the Spirit relate to bearing witness about Christ?

Have you ever had a strong religious conversion experience? If so, how did your behavior change, and what did your family and friends think about it? What did you think about it?

Closing Prayer

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 2623, 696, 1287, 715

Those who are led by the Holy Spirit have true ideas; that is why so many ignorant people are wiser than the learned. The Holy Spirit is light and strength. -St. John Vianney

Pentecost -- One Voice from Many

(El Greco)

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit"

The Word for Pentecost: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/060814-day-mass.cfm

Acts 2: 1-11

1 Cor 12: 3b-7, 12-13
Jn 20: 19-23

I grew up in a home with two languages and two cultures: American and East European (Lithuanian). The ebb and flow of daily life and ongoing relationships with relatives, most of whom were also Lithuanian, was what became for me and my siblings and parents, normal. All four of my grandparents were immigrants from Lithuania so my parents were born here as were we, their children. My grandparents spoke a “broken” English but in time we caught on to certain words and phrases in their native tongue.

I know we were all enriched by the experience of a larger world beyond our home in a suburb of Chicago. Our Catholic faith was wrapped up in our common identity. One thing was obvious, though the languages and cultures may be distinctly different neither was seen as a barrier to the other. What united us were a common faith, mutual love, food of course, and an understanding that from the many opinions and perspectives we were still united by faith in the Lord. We could have even said that a good spirit flowed between everyone.

This Sunday we conclude the Easter season with the joyful celebration of Pentecost – the Feast of the Holy Spirit which is the glue or the bond that keeps the many cultures and voices throughout the world united as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

We see this unity spoken of in both our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles and in the second from St. Paul to the Corinthian Christians. In Acts, the crowds are astounded that though they are from many parts of the ancient world, all now hear the Apostles speak of the “mighty acts of God” in their own native tongues. The fire and wind of the Holy Spirit has just come down on the Apostles gathered in prayer and now manifests its power to unite.

St. Paul writes to the Greek Christians about the diversity among them: “different spiritual gifts, different forms of service, different workings” but all are united in one body: “As a body is one though it has many parts . . . so also Christ.” It is the Spirit that breathes upon us the miracle and divine glue of unity. If you’ve ever been to an international gathering of Catholics, such as in St. Peter square at the Vatican, you know how powerful and impressive an experience that is. From many parts, one voice is spoken.

Pope Francis puts is so well in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium - the Joy of the Gospel: "In the diversity of peoples who experience the gift of God, each in accordance with its own culture, the Church expresses her genuine catholicity and shows forth the 'beauty of her varied face." (EG: 116)

On one level, we can rest on our laurels but reality tells us that we constantly have to beware of the potential for sin among us: jealousy, greed, arrogance, criticism, pride, self-righteousness, liberal, conservative, traditionalist, Latin Mass, Mass in the vernacular, Bishop, Priest, Pastor, parishioner, etc. All of these are common lighting rods that at times we know simmer or explode to disturb the unity sown among us.

This ministry or that ministry vies for more priority in financial planning or the parents of children in Catholic School view those in public as just not as “fortunate” as them. A page can likely be filled with the realities of daily ministry in service to the Gospel but none of this is anything new. While the Evil Spirit battles against all that is good and of God, the Holy Spirit is constantly seeking to raise our minds and hearts beyond this world to the next; to keep our lives and hearts fixed on the good things of God. That takes work indeed for the flesh and the spirit often stand opposed.

In the end, this one voice speaks to us through the diversity of members gathered in prayer and worship. We are many households and everyone comes with baggage from their daily lives but as we together seek the common good of all and profess one faith in Jesus as Lord, we are united and we have the power of the Holy Spirit available to us constantly. As Pastor, I see it all the time but the good news about the life giving force of an on fire Christian community is lost on the culture around us if the members do not even believe it themselves.

What are the signs of the Spirit among us? How can we speak with one voice from the many parts that we are?

While the media, the internet, television and the entertainment industry work very hard at gaining the attention of the general population, they are not in the business of marketing the Gospel of Christ. Often, it is the contrary.

Our Christian faith offers us the best that God has offered: the unabashed dignity of every human person from the moment of their conception, the unity of marriage between a man and woman and the holiness of faith centered family life, the assurance that God has shown us the way to his Father’s house, the power to transform society through Charity and forgiveness, and a Church which is his Body, the community where we are fed in Word and Sacrament and raised to a higher level of morality.

While the voice of the Spirit can be frustrated or distracted, it will never be silenced all together. For Jesus desires that we be One and sometimes in the most surprising ways, he reminds us that he has not forgotten that promise. Think of Blessed Mother Teresa, Pope Francis, a young heroic college student who acts without fear to protect others from a raging gunman on campus, a marriage that is healed, a “welcome to our parish” from a friendly Usher on Sunday morning, a generous parish committee who serve food to those less fortunate. The signs of the Spirit breathe around us and make us One in Christ.

O God, who bestow heavenly gifts upon your Church,

safeguard, we pray, the grace you have given,

that the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out upon her

may retain all its force

and that this spiritual food

may gain her abundance of eternal redemption.

(Prayer after Communion for Solemnity)

Vultus Christi

A Sacerdotal Pentecost

Friday, 06 June 2014 19:04

From The Journal of A Priest

A priest shares what was given him in prayer concerning a sacerdotal Pentecost, a Pentecost of priests, a revival of priestly holiness in the Church. I translated the text from the original French. The image shows Saint John the Apostle on Pentecost.

Aujourd’hui, je crois que c’était pendant les mystères glorieux du rosaire, le Seigneur m’a parlé dune Pentecôte sacerdotale, d’une grâce obtenue par l’intercession de la Vierge Marie pour tous les prêtres de l’Église. À tous sera offerte la grâce d’une nouvelle effusion de l’Esprit Saint pour purifier le sacerdoce des impuretés qui l’ont défiguré et pour redonner au sacerdoce un éclat de sainteté tel qu’il n’a jamais eu dans Église depuis le temps des apôtres.

“Today, I think it was during the glorious mysteries of the rosary, the Lord spoke to me of a sacerdotal Pentecost, of a grace obtained by the intercession of the Virgin Mary for all the priests of the Church. To all [priests] will be offered the grace of a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit to purify the priesthood of the impurities that have disfigured it, and to restore to the priesthood a brightness of holiness such as the Church has never had since the times of the Apostles.”

Cette Pentecôte sacerdotale se prépare déjà dans le silence et dans l’adoration du Saint Sacrement. Les prêtres qui aiment Marie et qui sont fidèles à prier leur chapelet seront les premiers à en bénéficier. Leur sacerdoce sera merveilleusement renouvelé et il leur sera donné une abondance de charismes pour vaincre le mal et guérir ceux qui sont sous l’emprise du Mauvais. Il m’est donné de comprendre que l’intercession du Pape Jean-Paul II a aussi joué un rôle en obtenant par Marie cette grâce de la Pentecôte sacerdotale.

“This sacerdotal Pentecost is being prepared already in silence and in the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The priests who love Mary and who are faithful to pray her rosary will be the first ones to benefit from it. Their priesthood will be wonderfully renewed and they will be given an abundance of charisms to vanquish evil and to heal those under the sway of the Evil One. It was given me to understand that the intercession of Pope John Paul II will also have played a role in obtaining through Mary this grace of the Pentecost of Priests.”

Certains prêtres refuseront cette grâce de la Pentecôte sacerdotale, soit par orgueil, soit par manque de confiance, soit par une absence de foi en la présence réelle du Christ au Saint Sacrement. Cette Pentecôte sacerdotale partira du tabernacle (ou des tabernacles du monde) comme d’un foyer ardent de charité. Les prêtres qui auront été trouvés fidèles à tenir compagnie à Jésus-Hostie se réjouiront. Ils comprendront tout de suite les merveilles qu’il voudra faire en eux et par eux. La Pentecôte sacerdotale rejoindra d’abord les prêtres qui sont de vrais fils de Marie, vivant comme Saint Jean, dans son intimité, tout près de son Cœur immaculé.

“Certain priests will refuse this grace of the sacerdotal Pentecost, out of pride, or a lack of confidence, or an absence of faith in the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. This sacerdotal Pentecost will begin from the tabernacle (or the tabernacles of the world) as from a burning hearth of charity. Priests who will have been found faithful in keeping company with Jesus the Host will rejoice. They will understand straightaway the wonders that He will want to do in them and through them. The sacerdotal Pentecost will affect first of all the priests who are true sons of Mary, living like Saint John, in her intimacy, very close to her Immaculate Heart.”

Vultus Christi

O Divine Spirit

Saturday, 07 June 2014 20:03

Fifth Grade

It was 1962. I was in 5th grade in Saint Francis School when, under the tutelage of the formidable Sister M. Raymond, we began reciting every day in class the prayer composed by Saint John XXIII “for the success of the Ecumenical Council.” Folks were not altogether sure how to pronounce Ecumenical. That took some time. Though we were but ten and eleven years old, we had, I think, a very good idea of what we were saying. The prayer was printed on a glossy holy card bearing an image of the first Pentecost.

Around Mary and Guided by Peter

One mysterious phrase has come back to me again and again over the past fifty years: “Renew in our time Thy wondrous works, as in a new Pentecost, and grant that Holy Church, gathered together in unanimous, more intense prayer, around Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and guided by Peter.” Something about saying these words fascinated me. Little did I know then that one day, over fifty years later, I would live in a monastery under the patronage of Our Lady of the Cenacle.

As It Was

Fifth grade was a hard year for me. I couldn’t grasp long division. Math homework nearly drove me to despair. But music class I loved, and the mysterious phrases of the Pope’s Prayer for the Success of the Ecumenical Council. Here it is, as we said it back then:

Prayer for the Ecumenical Council

O Divine Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of Jesus, Who dost infallibly assist and guide the Church, pour forth the fullness of thy gifts upon the Ecumenical Council.
Kind teacher and Comforter, enlighten the minds of our bishops, who, responding to the invitation of the Sovereign Roman Pontiff, will gather in solemn assembly.
Grant that from this Council there may come forth abundant fruits: that the light and strength of the Gospel may ever more widely influence human society: that new vigour may infuse the Catholic religion and its missionary task; that the Church’s teaching may be better known and Christian morality more widely practiced.
Sweet Guest of our souls, confirm our minds in truth, and dispose our hearts to obedience, so that the decisions of the council may find in us generous acceptance and prompt fulfillment.
We beseech Thee, too, on behalf of those sheep, who no longer belong to the one fold of Jesus Christ, that they also, glorifying as they do in the name of Christian, may finally regain unity under one Shepherd.
Renew in our time Thy wondrous works, as in a new Pentecost, and grant that Holy Church, gathered together in unanimous, more intense prayer, around Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and guided by Peter, may spread the kingdom of the Divine Saviour, which is the kingdom of truth, of justice, of love, and of peace. Amen.

Vultus Christi

Spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum

Saturday, 07 June 2014 20:45

Alleluia!
The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world (Wis 1:7);
every created thing trembles for joy,
every waiting heart recognizes the sound of his voice.
The accent of the Father whispers to children playing in the wind.
“It is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit
that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16).
The breath of God carries far and wide the confession of the Rock:
“This Jesus God raised up,
and of that we are all witnesses,” (Ac 2:29) singing, “Alleluia!”

Today the Holy Spirit is poured over the face of the earth
turning confusion to communion,
gathering in what was scattered,
making clear what was obscure
and teaching all to sing, “Alleluia!”

Hear the Pentecostal concert and rejoice;
voices of Parthians and Medes and Elamites,
voices hailing from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
from Pontus and Asia, from Phrygia and Pamphilia,
from Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene,
voices of Romans, both Jews and proselytes, of Cretans and Arabians
all singing, “Alleluia!”

Those lacking in understanding
find themselves standing under tongues of fire.
Those once dark are illumined from within;
the flame over every head dances its way into every heart
and faces once abashed shine as they have never shone before.
Unveiled now, they “behold the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18)
and in every mouth there is the taste of new wine
and the sound of a new song: “Alleluia!”

Today the Pentecost is fulfilled,
the mystic number counted out,
To the seven times seven of fulfillment filled full
is added the one of superabundance.
This is the fiftieth day akin to the eighth,
the day of “the cup that overflows” (Ps 22:5).

The spatium laetissimum in closing is opened;
the space of the Church’s endless joy,
the vastness of her jubilation:
an immensity of bliss stretching from earth to heaven
and causing all to sing, “Alleluia!”

The dancers having danced their forty-nine steps,
take today the final leap
“Leap!” says the Choreographer of Heaven.
“The Kingdom of Heaven lies open before you.
Leap, while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you.
While you have the light, leap into the light
that you may become children of light
and all together sing, ‘Alleluia!’”

Today the Lord comes down in Fire,
the Spirit who is “Lord and Giver of Life.”
The Upper Room becomes a furnace
– fornax ardens caritatis –
and the Mother and the disciples walk in the midst of the fire (cf. Dan 3:25),
set ablaze yet not consumed (cf. Ex 3:2).

The Lord descends to Sinai’s height;
there Moses stands alone no longer (cf. Ex 19:20)
for the top of the mountain has become the Church
and the Church cannot but sing, “Alleluia!”

Today Life descends into the valley of death.
“I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live,
and I will place you in your own land;
then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken,
and I have done it,” says the Lord (Ez 37:14).
Hear the rattle and clink of bone against bone (cf. Ez 37:7),
the sound of the dead brought back to life,
the sound of everything scattered being reassembled,
the sound of the Spirit at work in every dry and sterile place,
causing all to sing, “Alleluia!”

Today the wine flows freely,
more copious now than when it flowed new into Cana’s wedding cups!
The best wine has been kept for last.
“These men are not drunk, as you suppose,
since it is only the Third Hour of the day” (Ac 2:15).
“All have been made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor 12:13).
This is the hour of sober drunkenness foretold by the prophet Joel.
Laeti bibamus sobriam ebrietatem Spiritus!
Prophesy, sons and daughters!
Young men, see your visions, old men dream your dreams,
menservants and maidservants, open to the sweetness
that like a river rushes into the vale of tears,
and learn to sing the holy table song of all the saints: “Alleluia!”

Today the Spirit gives utterance to those at a loss for words.
Today the Spirit gives breath to the breathless,
health to the sick,
wholeness to the broken,
peace to every troubled heart
and a song that rises irrepressible: “Alleluia1”

Today there is coolness in the heat,
solace in the midst of grieving,
dew poured out on every dryness,
water washing guilt away,
and a voice “like the sound of many waters” (Rev 1:15),
intoning in the presence of his Father, “Alleluia!”

Today the stubborn, bending sin’s old stiffness, give into grace.
Today the restless, turning, churning, find repose in the heart of the Lamb.
Today the frozen are thawed by the Spirit’s gentle flame
and those in the grip of a long chill meet the warmth of the Father’s embrace
and in the Spirit begin to sing, “Alleluia!”

Today locked doors mean nothing.
Keys are useless, bolts hold nothing closed.
“Let him enter the King of Glory” (Ps 23:7)!
Today fear runs frightened, exorcised by the Wounded One,
the Prince of Peace.
“Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered:
and let them that hate him flee from before his face” (Ps 67:2).
Behold, he stands in the midst of his own.
He breathes on us and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22).
“Open wide your mouth and I will fill it” (Ps 80:1).
“Receive at last the kiss of my mouth (Ct 1:2),
‘my love, my dove, my perfect one’ (Ct 5:2),
my Church, my Body and my Bride;
and sing your song unceasingly: ‘Alleluia!’”

Vultus Christi

Abandonment and the Grace of Pentecost

Saturday, 07 June 2014 20:48

Image of Mother Mectilde courtesy of the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration of Warsaw, Poland

In this conference, Mother Mectilde instructs us on the feast and grace of Pentecost. I first translated this text in 2011.

God’s Gift to Us

The Holy Spirit is the fruit of the coming of the Son of God into the world, the fruit of His sufferings and of His labours. In order for us to receive Him, it was necessary that the Son of God suffer all His great sorrows; moreover, had He not asked the Holy Spirit for us, we would not have received Him. The Holy Spirit is, therefore, God’s Gift to us. Like a powerful King who seeks among the good things of His kingdom, what is most precious to make of it a gift to the person dearest to him, even so does the Eternal Father. Possessing nothing greater than His Holy Spirit, He gives Him to men in recompense for the suffering of His Son.

How Great a Gift

This festival is, then, most important, and so the entire Church disposes herself for it with a very particular devotion. What then must one do in so as to to receive Him well and partake of His fruits? Two things are needed to know how great a gift is the Holy Spirit and what is needed to keep Him. These will be the two points of my instruction and the subject of your reflection.

Light, Strength, Fire

The Holy Spirit is, first of all, the light that illumines us in our darkness; strength in our weakness; fire in our coldness. We know by experience how much we have need of all these things, since we are so immersed in shadows that we see not even a single ray of light, and nearly always we know not what we are doing and where we are going. So weak are we that we are unable to carry out even those things that we know God expects of us. So cold are we towards God, so little fervour do we have and so low are our feelings. that we are ashamed of ourselves. See then how great is our need to receive the Holy Spirit. But what must we do to keep the Holy Spirit? Listen to what the Apostle Saint Paul says: “My brothers, above all else I pray you and recommend that you be very attentive not to grieve the Holy Spirit.” (Eph 4:30) And how can we grieve Him? Let us listen to what He Himself says to the Spouse: “Open to me, my sister,” “Open to me my sister, my spouse.” (Ct 5:2)

A Great Will and Ardent Desires

The Holy Spirit is always at the door of our heart: let us be very careful not to shut Him out, because this grieves Him. In the little time that remains we must train ourselves to have a great will and ardent desires to receive Him; this will be how we open the door to Him. But this is not enough. It is necessary also to remove the obstacles that may keep Him for entering. And how? By emptying ourselves of the spirit of the world and of ourselves, because two things opposed to each other cannot subsist together; what is black can never become so white as to have nothing of blackness left. So it is with us. Our soul will never be so bright that all the blackness of sin will have gone out of it. But we must empty ourselves if we would be filled with the Holy Spirit; in fact, he who would fill a vessel must empty it first.

Humility, Submission, Abandonment

And finally, what must we do to receive the fruits of the Holy Spirit and have Him abide in us? Three things. The first is humility. Our Lord, in fact, when He was asked on whom He would make His Spirit rest, answered, upon one who is humble. Let us therefore abandon all the thoughts that turn to our own interests, to our self-love, and to our own judgment; this is necessary if the we want the Spirit to live in us. The second thing is a perfect submission to all that He wants of us. And the third; the one that is highest, the most excellent, and unfailing, is abandonment. If He wills that we be in health or in sickness, we must will it; in joy or in sorrow, in labour or in rest, in suffering or in enjoyment, we must will it.

Ask and Receive

In the end, we must necessarily burn with this fire of the Spirit in this world here below, so as not to burn eternally in the fire of hell. Make your choice: It is God who has said it. Let us not cease from asking Him [for the Holy Spirit] also because God says that if a child asks his father for something, this will never be refused him. And therefore, it is assured that we will be heard:and it is this that I wish for you with all my heart. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Mother Mectilde du Saint-Sacrement (1614-1698)

Vultus Christi

Whitsunday

Saturday, 07 June 2014 20:50

A Pentecost Meditation

Alleluia!
Today the Breath of the Lord has invaded the cosmos and filled it!
Life spills out of the Cenacle
and, like a torrent of wine,
courses through the streets of Jerusalem.
God arises and His enemies are scattered;
those that hate Him flee before his face,
and those that love Him sing: Alleluia!

Today He who came down to see Babel’s tower
and confused the speech of the proud
visits the Upper Room.
He unties the tongues of the humble
and unites into one holy people those long divided by sin.
Amazed at what she sees and hears,
the Church intones her birthday song: Alleluia!

Today He who on Sinai descended in fire,
causing rocks to quake and peaks to pale,
descends upon Jerusalem;
tongues of fire dance over the heads of those
who, cloistered in the Cenacle, waited to meet their God
and at His coming, they cry out: Alleluia!

Today the valley of dry bones
begins to stir, to rattle, and to reverberate.
Behold, I will cause the Spirit to enter you,
and you shall live:
and they lived and stood upon their feet,
an exceeding great host
singing: Alleluia!

Today the Cenacle sealed like tomb
opens, a joyful Mother’s fruitful womb.
None was ever born of the Spirit
who did not take his birth from her,
and each, claiming from her the springs of his life,
calls her forever glorious, repeating: Alleluia!

Today the Holy Ghost is poured out in superabundance;
today sons and daughters prophesy;
today old men dream dreams and young men see visions;
today menservants and maidservants
join the choir to chant with one many-tongued voice: Alleluia!

Today the Virgin whom the Holy Ghost covered with His shadow
is wrapped in Love and crowned in flame.
Today the Woman who interceded at Cana
tastes New Wine, for the Hour has come.
Today the Mother who stood watching by the Tree
remembers the stream of water and of blood
and filled with sweetness, cries: Alleluia!

Today the Holy Ghost helps us in our weakness
and we who do not know to pray as we ought,
pray in a way that is wonderful and new;
for now the Advocate, the Divine Comforter Himself intercedes for us
with sighs too deep for words.
In the valley of the shadow of death
there rises the canticle of life: Alleluia!

Today, for the poor there is a Father,
for the destitute a Treasury,
for hearts grown dark an inblazing of brightness.
Today, for those who weep there comes the Best of Comforters,
for the lonely, there arrives a gentle Guest,
for the worn and weary there is a refreshment so sweet
that even they begin to sing: Alleluia!

Today, for workers there is repose,
for those scorched in the heat of discord, refreshment,
for those brought low by too great a weight of sorrow, solace,
and for those with tears to shed,
a chalice ready to receive them.
Today there is no one who cannot say: Alleluia!

Today, even where there is nothing good
Goodness elects to dwell;
and where there is nothing holy
Holiness makes a tabernacle,
so that the broken, the sad, and the powerless
find their voices to sing: Alleluia!

Today, there is a balm for every wound,
a dew sprinkled over every dryness;
a cleansing water for every stain.
Today, the stubborn heart learns to bend
and the stiff spine learns to bow.
In the twinkling of an eye the frozen are thawed
and icy hearts warmed through and through,
making them declare as never before: Alleluia!

Today there are Seven Gifts
lavishly given for each according to his need:
Wisdom for the foolish,
Understanding for the dull,
Counsel for the hesitant,
Fortitude for the weak,
Piety for the feckless,
and Fear of the Lord for those who have forgotten to adore,
saying humbly: Alleluia!

Today for sinners there is forgiveness,
for the stranger a home,
for the hungry a Holy Table,
for the thirsty a river of living water,
and for every mouth the long-awaited Kiss.
Today heaven is poured over the face of the earth,
while the children of men in amazement sing: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Vultus Christi

A Gift for Each Day

Sunday, 08 June 2014 12:15

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost

What are the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost? The Catechism names them: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. It is customary to associate each day of the Octave of Pentecost with one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

Pentecost Sunday: Wisdom
Monday: Understanding
Tuesday: Counsel
Wednesday: Fortitude
Thursday: Knowledge
Friday: Piety
Saturday: Fear of the Lord

The seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost are rooted in the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The three theological virtues come directly from God and are ordered directly to union with God; they give us the capacity to live as children of the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, that is, in a state of grace. The Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost allow us to express the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity in daily life; they make us docile in following divine inspirations. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost flower in the faithful soul and mature into the Holy Ghost’s Twelve Fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, forbearance, gentleness, faith, courtesy, temperateness, and purity.

Pentecost Sunday: The Gift of Wisdom

The Gift of Wisdom gives a taste for the things that will make us truly happy. The wise person is one who consistently and habitually chooses the things that will make him happy, not with a fleeting, deceptive happiness, but with the happiness that comes from being in right relationship with God. Saint Paul, graced with wisdom, says, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). The Gift of Wisdom is that by which one “sets nothing before the love of Christ” (RB 4:21). One graced with wisdom knows what will make him happy because he has tasted it; he sings with the psalmist, “O taste and see that the Lord is sweet; blessed is the man who hopes in him” (Ps 33:8).

The Gift of Wisdom makes one take delight in the companionship of the saints, in the example of their lives, and in their writings. The saints are wisdom’s children. A proverb says, “Tell me with whom you keep company, and I will tell you who you are.” The wise Christian never tires of reading the lives of the saints; he prays before their images, kneels humbly before their relics, and, in their company, discovers wisdom’s secrets.

One who lacks wisdom makes foolish choices. There will be disorder in his priorities: an inability to put first things first. One who lacks wisdom will have little or no taste for the things of God, for things holy, heavenly, and divine. He will forever be looking elsewhere for happiness. The unwise person lacks stability. In his search for happiness he knocks at all the wrong doors, passing by the one door open to receive him: the pierced Heart of Christ.

Pentecost Monday: The Gift of Understanding

The Gift of Understanding opens the mind and heart to the splendour of the truth. One graced with understanding is at home in an adoring silence. One graced with understanding will be open to God, receptive to the truth and, for that reason, always full of wonderment and ready to adore.

The Gift of Understanding is the undoing of pride. The prideful person clings to his own perceptions and resists growth, saying, “I know what I know, and what I know is enough for me.” One lacking the gift of understanding is literally unintelligent, that is to say, he cannot read the deeper meaning of events and circumstances. He approaches the Word of God superficially and skims on the surface of the Sacred Liturgy instead of plunging into its depths.

The Gift of Understanding pushes one to one’s knees in the presence of God. The Gift of Understanding also makes one compassionate toward others. Understanding the ways of God is the beginning of understanding the human person created in His image and likeness. Understanding produces joy, the joy of discovering the glory of God “shining in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6), and the joy of perceiving that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of God, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).

Pentecost Tuesday: The Gift of Counsel

The Gift of Counsel enables one to make choices in harmony with the providence of the Father, the mind of Christ, and the leadings of the Holy Ghost. With the Gift of Counsel one walks securely and serenely, know that it is possible at every moment to consult the best of Counselors, “soul’s sweet Guest.” The Virgin Mary, associated with the Holy Spirit in all His works, is the Mother of Good Counsel. She is present to us in our perplexities, close to us when we stand at life’s crossroads. “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5) is the word of loving encouragement she addresses to the disciples of her Son.

One without the gift of counsel suffers an endless succession of false starts and goes from one spiritual calamity to another. He acts hastily, is easily manipulated, and makes decisions under the sway of emotions, especially fear. One graced with the Gift of Counsel, on the other hand, will be serene, calm, and full of trust that God’s kindly light will lead him one step at a time.

Pentecost Wednesday: The Gift of Fortitude

The Gift of Fortitude makes one distrust oneself and place all one’s trust in the strength that comes from the grace of Christ. “Separated from me, “ says Our Lord, “you have no power to do anything” (Jn 15:5). He does not say, “Separated from me you can do something,” or “you can do a little bit.” It is the grace of Christ that makes all the difference. The words of Our Lord to Saint Paul give the measure of the Gift of Fortitude: “My grace is enough for thee; my strength finds its full scope in thy weakness (2 Cor 12:9). Saint Paul, taking the word of the Lord to heart, declares: “Nothing is beyond my powers, thanks to the strength God gives me” (Ph 4:13).

It is in the martyrs that we see the most striking illustration of the Gift of Fortitude. The Preface of the Mass of Holy Martyrs sings: “You make strength perfect in weakness, and you strengthen our feeble powers, that they might bear witness to you.” Children give yet another illustration of the Gift of Fortitude, as striking as it is touching. I am thinking, in particular, of Saint Agnes, Saint Maria Goretti, the Blessed Children of Fatima, Francisco and Jacinta, the Servant of God Nennolina, and Ireland’s own Little Nellie Organ.

One graced with the Gift of Fortitude goes along steadily; he is not intimidated by the apparent force of evil. He faces challenges, weaknesses, temptations, trials, and setbacks with equanimity and courage, knowing that no matter what befalls him the power of Christ is stronger, and the power of Christ is his, communicated to the weak by the Holy Ghost, especially in the Most Holy Eucharist: the food and drink of the strong.

Pentecost Thursday: The Gift of Knowledge

“How deep is the mine of God’s wisdom, of his knowledge; how inscrutable are his judgments, how undiscoverable his ways! Who has ever understood the Lord’s thoughts, or been his counsellor?” (Rom 11:33-34). The Gift of Knowledge is a way of seeing to the core of things. It is insight into situations and persons. It is a light projected onto the Word of God or, again, a light projected from the Word of God into the heart. It is that occasional pulling back of the corner of the veil that gives one just a fleeting glance into the inscrutable mysteries of God.

The Gift of Knowledge produces a quiet joy in the soul, a delight in the truth, a desire for union with the Beloved. In this way, the Gift of Knowledge is directly related to the development of the twelfth fruit of the Holy Ghost: chastity.

The Gift of Knowledge allows one to sort things out in the light of God; it obliges one to a closer conformity with His designs. With knowledge comes responsibility. With knowledge also comes a deeper capacity for compassion. The Gift of Knowledge does not make one an arrogant know-it-all. It makes one meek and lowly of heart. Above all it fills the soul with admiration, making one sing, Quam magnificata sunt opera tua, Domine! “How great are thy works, O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom” (Ps 103:24). The more one uses the Gift of Knowledge, the lower one descends into adoration.

Friday: The Gift of Piety

Pietas is a word wonderfully rich in meaning and full of nuances. It is notoriously difficult to translate. In the end one settles for “piety,” and then tries to unpack some of the meaning of the word. Piety has to do with the relations between a father and his child, and between a child and his father. People will sometimes say of a certain man, “He is utterly devoted to his children”; this is paternal piety. People will sometimes say of a son, “He is utterly devoted to his father”; this is filial piety.

Before we can begin to understand anything of the filial piety we owe God, we have to reflect on the paternal piety of God toward us. God relates to us not as a master to his slave, but as the most tender of fathers to his child. “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 1:11–13). God is utterly devoted to each of His children by adoption.

We in turn are bound to offer God the dutiful obedience of loving children: piety is the expression in daily life of filial devotedness to the Heavenly Father. The Gift of Piety strengthens the virtue of religion, making us zealous for the worship of God and eager to put all that we are and do into the hands of Christ the Priest to be offered to the Father in His Sacrifice. Piety is the gift by which everything in life is ordered ad Patrem, toward the Father. One might say that the Gift of Piety unites the soul to the inner dispositions of Christ revealed throughout the Fourth Gospel: “He who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him” (Jn 8:29). To my mind, the Church’s Doctor Pietatis ought to be Ireland’s best known Benedictine, Blessed Columba Marmion.

The Gift of Piety delivers one from that oppressive sense of obligation that makes all things burdensome and tedious. One lacking the Gift of Piety has no zeal for prayer. Both private and liturgical prayer are carried out in a perfunctory manner, often with one eye on the clock. One contents oneself with doing the bare minimum. One short on piety asks, “How little can I get away with doing and still fulfill the letter of the law?” One graced with the Gift of Piety asks: “How much can do to show my Father that I love him, that I am attached to him, and that all my joy is in the service of His majesty.”

Saturday: The Gift of Fear of the Lord

The Gift of Fear of the Lord is the antidote to pride and the beginning of the humility by which the soul arrives at union with God. In Chapter Seven of the Holy Rule Saint Benedict says: “The first degree of humility then, is that a man always have the fear of God before his eyes, shunning all forgetfulness, and that he be ever mindful of all that God hath commanded.” The Gift of Holy Fear fills one with the utmost reverence for God and for all that pertains to his service. It makes one recoil from occasions of sin and desire a burning purity of heart for the worship of God “in the beauty of holiness” (Ps 95:9).

One deficient in fear of the Lord is careless in His service, easily flirts with temptation, and takes stupid risks, walking a tight rope over the abyss of sin. One lacking fear of God approaches holy things casually and treats lightly of what is sacred. American culture, especially suburban American culture, fosters a casual approach to all things, including the worship of the Divine Majesty. The past forty years have witnessed an incremental loss of reverence in our churches.

The Gift of the Fear of the Lord causes us to shun carelessness in His service. Fear of the Lord is far removed from anything resembling a morbid and self-centred scrupulosity; it is marked by joy in the Holy Ghost and fosters a holy boldness in the presence of the Father. One graced with Fear of the Lord knows that, hidden in the secret of the Face of Christ and assumed into His filial and priestly prayer to the Father, there is nothing to fear.

Fear of the Lord colours the way we carry out the Sacred Liturgy; it inspires a loving attention even to the smallest details. It constitutes a kind of enclosure around the Holy of Holies lest we fall into an attitude of casual familiarity and into the soulless routine that is the death of true devotion. Fear of the Lord imbues us with a holy awe and with that quality of “Eucharistic amazement” which Saint John Paul II sought to reawaken in the Church during his Year of the Eucharist. Finally, the Gift of Fear of the Lord associates us with the angels who, with veiled faces, tremble and ceaselessly cry out: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Is 6:3).

Regnum Christi

The Power of the Spirit
2014-06-08

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

John 20: 19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Introductory Prayer: Today, Lord, we celebrate the gift of your Holy Spirit to the Church, which you won for us through your patient suffering on the cross. I believe and trust in his power to make me a better apostle of your Kingdom, to bring fervor where I have grown tepid, to instill detachment where I have become too indulgent, and to perfect the innocence of my baptism, which leaves my soul more pure and worthy to serve and honor you each day.

Petition: Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart with your grace and enkindle in me the fire of your love.

1. The Doors Were Locked: What is it that makes a disciple of Christ stop cold in the path of conversion and commitment? Cloaked underneath our spiritual inertia and lack of zeal are not so much our personal defects or our lack of human virtue as blindness to the dynamic power of the Crucified and Risen Lord. We can leave our self-made prisons only by opening our hearts to a faith in Christ that is total: total trust (in spite of the confusion of the present and uncertainty of the future), total hope (by breaking away from having to see the ideal in ourselves before we will act), and total divine confidence (in setting aside the sins of others and our personal failures that keep us stuck in myopic visions of life). Christ comes through bolted doors again today to ask us to unlock them with a real experience of the Risen Lord in the power of the Spirit.

2. Peace Be With You: It is vital to examine our “peace” and see if it truly speaks of the peace of the Upper Room. Substitute “satisfaction” for the word “peace,” and see where our hearts have tried to find consolation this past week. Then substitute the word “fulfillment.” This is the peace that Christ brings through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some passing satisfactions are part of life, and we can be grateful for them. When we seek them for their own sake, however, we can easily drown out the life of the Spirit, who comes to bring us deep peace and fulfillment in life. Pentecost must convince us above all about prayer and the order of life that permit us to have constant contact with sources of grace and divine inspiration.

3. Receive the Holy Spirit: In the sacrament of penance, we are forgiven our sins through the action of the Holy Spirit, who makes the actions of Christ present through the priest. We believe that mercy founds hope and change in our soul. Why, then, do we not believe that this same grace from the Holy Spirit can make us heroic saints, victorious in trial, patient in difficult relationships and more effective as apostles? Christ assures us that his power will never leave us, so we have no reason to “slip into neutral” after a few bad incidents in our life. Rather, the Holy Spirit’s goal moves us from mercy to transformation into Christ, permitting us spiritually to carry and reveal his wounds to an unbelieving world.

Conversation with Christ: Oh, Jesus, I will trust more in the power of your Holy Spirit to change me than in my own efforts. I will depend on you in that face-to-face encounter I need to have with you every day. Let the sources of divine grace become my true food, and may I move away from feeding my soul on passing pleasures and vain ambitions.

Resolution: This week, I will write down daily all the lights and inspirations of the Holy Spirit I receive, and I will try to act on them with promptness, confidence and generosity.

Baptism by Fire

Dr. Mark Giszczak

June 8, 2014
Pentecost
First Reading: Acts 2:1-11
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/060814-day-mass.cfm

When we hear Jesus encourage his disciples to go evangelize, often we get discouraged. We reflect on our weakness, our failures, our many unsuccessful attempts to proclaim the word. We fear being rejected, ignored, or persecuted. Sometimes our words fall on deaf ears. When we experience the power of God’s love and want to share it with others, our efforts are frequently frustrated. In today’s celebration of Pentecost, however, God offers us a reality far greater than our own attempts. He offers us the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim his message of good news and invite others to share in the victory of Jesus.

Context

Pentecost was a Jewish feast before it became a Christian one. It was celebrated fifty days or seven weeks after the feast of Passover and was called the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot (Hebrew for “weeks”). Similarly, Christians celebrate Pentecost fifty days after Easter. The word “Pentecost” simply means “fiftieth.” The Jewish feast entailed special grain offerings and animal sacrifices tied to the grain harvest (Lev 23:15-22). The feast also came to commemorate the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai and Jewish men would come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast together. That is why Acts tells us that Jews from every nation had come to Jerusalem for the feast.

A Fiery Prayer Meeting

While Acts 2:1 only tells us that “all” were together in “one place,” we can extrapolate from 1:12-14 that the one place is the upper room and the people present are the apostles, the women disciples of Jesus, and Mary the mother of Jesus. Traditional icons of Pentecost show Mary in the middle of the apostles when the fire from heaven descends. The disciples encountered the Father in all their prayer and Scripture reading. They had come to know the Son as he walked the earth, but now they are visited by the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Previously, the Holy Spirit was manifested as a dove (Mark 1:10), but now he comes as a “rushing violent wind” (my translation) and as fire. The sign of wind matches the words for spirit in Hebrew (ruah) and Greek (pneuma), which can be translated as “breath, wind, or spirit.” Jesus even teaches that “the wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Wind is a deliciously approprite symbol for the Holy Spirit who empowers, impels, inspires, and yet cannot be restricted or captured.

The tongues of fire, which came to rest on the disciples, are the fulfillment of John the Baptist’s prophecy about Jesus, that he would “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt 3:11 RSV). Frequently, fire serves as a powerful metaphor for God’s working in the soul. Fire is strong, destructive, beautiful, terrifying, and mysterious. These connotations explain the description of God as a “devouring fire” (Deut 4:24) and his appearance to Moses in the burning bush story. Now, at Pentecost, God reveals himself in the sign of heavenly fire to pour out his power on his disciples so that they might become true witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Speaking in Tongues

While on a few occasions early in Luke’s gospel an individual is filled with the Spirit (Luke 1:41; 1:67), now a large group of people are all filled. The sign which accompanies their being filled with the Holy Spirit is speaking in “other tongues,” that is, languages which they do not understand. Notably, this sign repeatedly comes with the Holy Spirit’s descent (Acts 10:46; 19:6). In addition, the apostles preach to the crowds in their own language, but are heard by the crowds in many different languages. (Stories from the lives of the saints like St. Anthony and St. Vincent Ferrer show that this preaching gift was not a one-time event but continues in the life of the Church.) These two manifestations of tongues seem to be the two sides of the same coin. Some interpreters see in the second manifestation an undoing of the Tower of Babel episode. In that story, the Lord introduced language confusion to divide man, but now he brings miraculous language understanding to unite him in the reception of the gospel.

The gospel message is the key. Here God comes in power, not to show off and merely impress people, but to convince them of the truth and relevance of the gospel. The gospel, the good news of the kingdom of God is the key. God wants us to hear and receive the message far more than we could ever even desire it. He wants us more than we want him. And in this truth, we can see how and why God offers these powerful signs on the day of Pentecost. He wants to offer all of those men who have come to Jerusalem to worship him an invitation to a deeper relationship, a new covenant, richly fulfilled in the death and resurrection of his Son. It is a message that demans an immediate response.

The Spirit comes to “convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). His power is far more effective in convicting hearts, changing minds, turning lives upside down with love than our arguments, efforts, programs and words will ever be. The apostles offer themselves as willing conduits of the fiery power of God and many hearts are opened to the gospel by the Spirit’s power. Human words and arguments are not enough. But when people encounter the power of God and the person of Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, their hearts can come aflame with love.

Pentecost Changes Everything!

Kathleen Beckman

In an article entitled, “The Glory of the Church”, Pierre-Marie Dumont, publisher of the popular Magnificat writes, “…At Pentecost, the Apostles underwent a kind of baptism. Like Catechumens, they have cast off their old clothes to be robed anew in white.” The reference to being robed in white reminds us of Christ’s Transfiguration at Tabor, “And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white” (Lk 9:29). We can see a parallel between Christ’s transfiguration at Tabor and the Church’s transformation at Pentecost. The latter is an everlasting gift of God and perennial transfiguration.

The grace of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, radically changes everything! The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, and perpetuates our sacramental baptism as a river of grace. Saint John Paul II expressed this on 30 May 1998 in Rome:

Whenever the Spirit intervenes, he leaves people astonished. He brings about events of amazing newness; he radically changes persons and history. …It is not only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the people, leads them and enriches them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11), he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank…He makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church” (Lumen gentium.12).

Pope John Paul II invited all ecclesial movements to Rome for the 1998 celebration of Pentecost events and I was present for this historical meeting. The half million people gathered in St. Peter’s Square heard these words from the lips of the Polish pontiff:

Today, I would like to cry out to all of you gathered here in St. Peter’s Square and to all Christians: Open yourselves docilely to the gifts of the Spirit! Accept gratefully and obediently the charisms which the Spirit never ceases to bestow on us! Do not forget that every charism is given for the common good, that is, for the benefit of the whole Church.

True charisms cannot but aim at the encounter with Christ in the sacraments. The ecclesial realities to which you belong have helped you to rediscover your baptismal vocation, to appreciate the gifts of the Spirit received at Confirmation, to entrust yourselves to God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of Reconciliation and to recognize the Eucharist as the source and summit of all Christian life. Thanks to this powerful ecclesial experience, wonderful Christian families have come into being which are open to life, true “domestic churches”, and many vocations to the ministerial priesthood and religious life have blossomed, as well as new forms of lay life inspired by the evangelical counsels. You have learned in the movements and new communities, that faith is not abstract talk, nor vague religious sentiment, but new life in Christ instilled by the Holy Spirit.

Today from this upper room at St. Peter’s Square, a great prayer rises: Come, Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of the earth! Come with your seven gifts! Come, Spirit of Life, Spirit of Communion and Love! The Church and the world need you. Come, Holy Spirit, and make ever more fruitful the charisms you have bestowed on us. Give us new strength and missionary zeal to these sons and daughters of yours who have gathered here. Open their hearts; renew their Christian commitment in the world. Make them courageous messengers of the Gospel, witness to the risen Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior of man. Strengthen their love and their fidelity to the Church.

Let us turn our gaze to Mary, Christ’s first disciple, Spouse of the Holy Spirit and Mother of the Church, who was with the Apostles at the first Pentecost, so that she will help us to learn from her fidelity to the voice of the Spirit.

Today from this square, Christ says to each of you: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). He is counting on every one of you, and so is the Church.

Dear English-speaking friends, on the vigil of this great feast of Pentecost, I pray that the Holy Spirit will increase the flame of his love in your hearts so that you may be ever more effective in bringing the Gospel message to the world of the new millennium. The Church needs your commitment and your love!

In that Tabor moment and Pentecost event, the Holy Spirit intervened and stirred up the fire of divine love that moves us to bear joyful witness to Christ. The Holy Spirit radically changes everything as an Orthodox bishop once articulated in the following way:

Without the Holy Spirit: God is far away, Christ stays in the past, the Gospel is a dead letter, the Church is simply an organization, authority a matter of domination, mission a matter of propaganda, liturgy no more than an evocation, Christian living a slave morality.

But with the Holy Spirit: the cosmos is resurrected and groans with the birth pangs of the Kingdom, the risen Christ is there, the Gospel is the power of life, the Church shows the life of the Trinity, authority is a liberating service, mission is a Pentecost, the liturgy is both memorial and anticipation, human action is deified.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, following the example of his friend and predecessor, again invited the ecclesial movements to Rome for the celebration of Pentecost events. I was present among four hundred thousand people in St. Peter’s Square. Memorable and profound were Pope Benedict’s words also:

We want the true, great freedom, the freedom of heirs, the freedom of children of God. In this world, so full of fictitious forms of freedom that destroy the environment and the human being, let us learn true freedom by the power of the Holy Spirit; to build the school of freedom; to show others by our lives that we are free and how beautiful it is to be truly free with the true freedom of God’s children.

The Holy Spirit gives believers a superior vision of the world, of life, of history, and makes them custodians of the hope that never disappoints.

Let us pray to God the Father, therefore, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that the celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost may be like an ardent flame and a blustering wind for Christian life and for the mission of the whole Church.

Years before attending the above-mentioned1998 Pentecost events in Rome, I read my first book on the person of the Holy Spirit entitled, The Sanctifier by Archbishop Martinez. When I finished reading the book I was moved to kneel down and pray that Archbishop Martinez would become my spiritual father so that I might make the Third Person of the Holy Trinity more known and loved. The Archbishop’s explanation of the espousal of Mary and the Holy Spirit thoroughly convinced me that devotion to the Holy Spirit is essential.

Cardinal Mercier articulates the secret of sanctity and our great need for the Holy Spirit in the renowned prayer:

I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Every day for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to all the noises of the world in order to enter into yourself. Then, in the sanctuary of your baptized soul (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him: O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that you desire of me and to accept all that you permit to happen to me. Let me only know your will.

If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely, and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and you will arrive at the Gate of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.

On this Solemnity of Pentecost may the Holy Spirit intervene in our lives and leave us astonished as he brings about events of amazing newness and radically changes persons and history. Veni Creator Spiritus!

Lessons from the Raspberries

Pastor’s Column

Pentecost Sunday

June 8, 2014

Here in the Willamette Valley we are blessed with the perfect climate to grow berries of all kinds. Fortunately, I have been blessed with an abundance of raspberry bushes (now just starting to ripen) that grow with profusion in front of the rectory. There is so much we can learn from the Holy Spirit when simply reflecting on a raspberry bush.

If the raspberry canes are not pruned, they will not produce. Once a cane has produced fruit, it will subsequently produce only leaves. To bear fruit, the cane must be clipped down to encourage new growth and thus more fruit. In the same way, the Holy Spirit will periodically attempt to prune us of non-bearing canes in our lives that produce no lasting fruit, but only leaves. Of course, we often resist this process of pruning because it can be painful, and thus are attached to our leaves, but the purpose of our existence is to be fruitful in the Spirit.

Sometimes the fruit is hidden. An inexperienced fruit picker will often go for the obvious berries and miss many of the others that lie hidden just underneath the leaves. Like so many things in life, changing one’s perspective will often result in seeing the hidden fruitfulness in a situation. With berries, by simply stooping low to the ground and looking up (or holding up the branches), many hidden treasures will reveal themselves. In the same way, some of the greatest graces we have, our best fruitfulness or those of others, are often hidden from sight. These take the form of sacrifices we make for others that many do not see (such as what parents do).

A frost will send the plant into hibernation. When the winter of suffering comes into our lives, we may think our lives are not worth living or we are not very fruitful. In fact, spring is coming when the plant will leap back to life! In the same way, the season of testing in our lives need not be the end of us. The Holy Spirit will keep us alive through these difficulties to bear fruit once again.

Raspberries need water and fertilizer to produce much fruit. While this may be an obvious observation when it applies to plants, why is it that we don’t realize that is also applies to ourselves? Can a Christian survive and produce much fruit without water and fertilizer? Prayer and spiritual nourishment are essential for growth in our lives! For example, if all my spiritual nourishment comes from the mass media, my spiritual life may be deformed. If I do not take time to pray, the well springs of the Spirit may begin to run dry.

What are the signs of fruitfulness or a lack of it? Saint Paul gives us a handy list in Galatians 5 where he says that we can recognize the Spirit’s presence by the presence of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness and self-control. The lack of these “fruits of the Spirit” in our lives is an indication that the Holy Spirit may have some work to do! Let us pray that we will yield to the Holy Spirit more and more and thus to bear much fruit.

Father Gary

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