For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.>

Alleluia Ping

Please FReepmail me to get on/off the Alleluia Ping List.

From: Acts 2:1-11

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

[1] When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
[2] And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they were sitting. [3] And there appeared to
them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. [4] And
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance.

[5] Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation
under heaven. [6] And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were
bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. [7]
And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are spea-
king Galileans? [8] And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native lan-
guage? [9] Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [10] Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt
and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews
and proselytes, [11] Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own
tongues the mighty works of God.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-13. This account of the Holy Spirit visibly coming down on the disciples who, in
keeping with Jesus’ instructions, had stayed together in Jerusalem, gives limited
information as to the time and place of the event, yet it is full of content. Pente-
cost was one of the three great Jewish feasts for which many Israelites went on
pilgrimage to the Holy City to worship God in the temple. It originated as a har-
vest thanksgiving, with an offering of first-fruits. Later it was given the additional
dimension of commemorating the promulgation of the Law given by God to Mo-
ses on Sinai. The Pentecost celebration was held fifty days after the Passover,
that is, after seven weeks had passed. The material harvest which the Jews ce
lebrated so joyously became, through God’s providence, the symbol of the spi-
ritual harvest which the Apostles began to reap on this day.

2-3. Wind and fire were elements which typically accompanied manifestations of
God in the Old Testament (cf. Ex 3:2; l 3:21-22; 2 Kings 5:24; Ps 104:3). In this
instance, as Chrysostom explains, it would seem that separate tongues of fire
came down on each of them: they were “separated, which means they came from
one and the same source, to show that the Power all comes from the Paraclete”
(”Hom. on Acts”, 4). The wind and the noise must have been so intense that they
caused people to flock to the place. The fire symbolizes the action of the Holy
Spirit who, by enlightening the minds of the disciples, enables them to under-
stand Jesus’s teachings—as Jesus promised at the Last Supper (cf. Jn 16:4-14);
by inflaming their hearts with love he dispels their fear and moves them to preach
boldly. Fire also has a purifying effect, God’s action cleansing the soul of all trace
of sin.

4. Pentecost was not an isolated event in the life of the Church, something over
and done with. “We have the right, the duty and the joy to tell you that Pentecost
is still happening. We can legitimately speak of the ‘lasting value’ of Pentecost.
We know that fifty days after Easter, the Apostles, gathered together in the same
Cenacle as had been used for the first Eucharist and from which they had gone
out to meet the Risen One for the first time, “discover” in themselves the power
of the Holy Spirit who descended upon them, the strength of Him whom the Lord
had promised so often as the outcome of his suffering on the Cross; and streng-
thened in this way, they began to act, that is, to perform their role. [. . .] Thus is
born the “apostolic Church”. But even today—and herein the continuity lies — the
Basilica of St Peter in Rome and every Temple, every Oratory, every place where
the disciples of the Lord gather, is an extension of that original Cenacle” (Bl. John
Paul II, “Homily”, 25 May 1980).

Vatican II (cf. “Ad gentes”, 4) quotes St Augustine’s description of the Holy Spi-
rit as the soul, the source of life, of the Church, which was born on the Cross on
Good Friday and whose birth was announced publicly on the day of Pentecost:
“Today, as you know, the Church was fully born, through the breath of Christ,
the Holy Spirit; and in the Church was born the Word, the witness to and promu-
lgation of salvation in the risen Jesus; and in him who listens to this promulgation
is born faith, and with faith a new life, an awareness of the Christian vocation and
the ability to hear that calling and to follow it by living a genuinely human life, in-
deed a life which is not only human but holy. And to make this divine intervention
effective, today was born the apostolate, the priesthood, the ministry of the Spirit,
the calling to unity, fraternity and peace” (Paul VI, “Address”, 25 May 1969).

“Mary, who conceived Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit, the Love of the living
God, presides over the birth of the Church, on the day of Pentecost, when the
same Holy Spirit comes down on the disciples and gives life to the mystical bo-
dy of Christians in unity and charity” (Paul VI, “Address”, 25 October 1969).

5-11. In his account of the events of Pentecost St Luke distinguishes “devout
men” (v. 5), Jews and proselytes (v. 11). The first-mentioned were people who
were residing in Jerusalem for reasons of study or piety, to be near the only tem-
ple the Jews had. They were Jews—not to be confused with “God-fearing men”,
that is, pagans sympathetic to Judaism, who worshipped the God of the Bible
and who, if they became converts and members of the Jewish religion by being
circumcised and by observing the Mosaic Law, were what were called “prose-
lytes”, whom Luke distinguishes from the “Jews”, that is, those of Jewish race.

People of different races and tongues understand Peter, each in his or her own
language. They can do so thanks to a special grace from the Holy Spirit given
them for the occasion; this is not the same as the gift of “speaking with tongues”
which some of the early Christians had (cf. 1 Cor 14), which allowed them to
praise God and speak to him in a language which they themselves did not
understand.

11. When the Fathers of the Church comment on this passage they frequently
point to the contrast between the confusion of languages that came about at Ba-
bel (cf. Gen 11:1-9)—God’s punishment for man’s pride and infidelity — and the re-
versal of this confusion on the day of Pentecost, thanks to the grace of the Holy
Spirit. The Second Vatican Council stresses the same idea: “Without doubt, the
Holy Spirit was at work in the world before Christ was glorified. On the day of
Pentecost, however, he came down on the disciples that he might remain with
them forever (cf. Jn 14;16); on that day the Church was openly displayed to the
crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was
begun. Finally, on that day was foreshadowed the union of all peoples in the ca-
tholicity of the faith by means of the Church of the New Alliance, a Church which
speaks every language, understands and embraces all tongues in charity, and
thus overcomes the dispersion of Babel” (”Ad Gentes”, 4).

Christians need this gift for their apostolic activity and should ask the Holy Spirit
to give it to them to help them express themselves in such a way that others can
understand their message; to be able so to adapt what they say to suit the out-
look and capacity of their hearers, that they pass Christ’s truth on: “Every gene-
ration of Christians needs to redeem, to sanctify, its own time. To do this, it must
understand and share the desires of other men — their equals — in order to make
known to them, with a ‘gift of tongues’, how they are to respond to the action of
the Holy Spirit, to that permanent outflow of rich treasures that comes from our
Lord’s heart. We Christians are called upon to announce, in our own time, to this
world to which we belong and in which we live, the message — old and at the
same time new — of the Gospel” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 132).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13

Kinds of Spiritual Gifts

[3] Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God
ever says “Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the
Holy Spirit.

[4] Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; [5] and there are varieties
of service, but the same Lord; [6] and there are varieties of working, but it is the
same God who inspires them all in every one. [7] To each is given the manifes-
tation of the Spirit for the common good.

Unity and Variety in the Mystical Body of Christ

[12] For just as the body is one and has many member, and all the members of
the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. [13] For by one Spirit
we were all baptized into one body Jews or Greeks, slaves or free and all were
made to drink of one Spirit.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

3. This provides a general principle for discerning signs of the Holy Spirit — re-
cognition of Christ as Lord. It follows that the gifts of the Holy Spirit can never
go against the teaching of the Church. “Those who have charge over the Church
should judge the genuineness and proper use of these gifts [...], not indeed to ex-
tinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good (cf. Thess
5:12 and 19-21)” (”Lumen Gentium”, 12).

4-7. God is the origin of spiritual gifts. Probably when St Paul speaks of gifts, ser-
vice (ministries), “varieties of working”, he is not referring to graces which are es-
sentially distinct from one another, but to different perspectives from which these
gifts can be viewed, and to their attribution to the Three Divine Persons. Insofar
as they are gratuitously bestowed they are attributed to the Holy Spirit, as he
confirms in v. 11; insofar as they are granted for the benefit and service of the
other members of the Church, they are attributed to Christ the Lord, who came
“not to be served but to serve” (Mk 10:45); and insofar as they are operative and
produce a good effect, they are attributed to God the Father. In this way the va-
rious graces which the members of the Church receive are a living reflection of
God who, being essentially one, in so is a trinity of persons. “The whole Church
has the appearance of a people gathered together by virtue of the unity of the Fa-
ther and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (St Cyprian, “De Dominica Oratione”,
23). Therefore, diversity of gifts and graces is as important as their basic unity,
because all have the same divine origin and the same purpose — the common
good (v. 7): “It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and
ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the
faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of
the Church’s unity. By distributing various kinds of spiritual gifts and ministries
he enriches the Church of Jesus Christ with different functions ‘in order to equip
the saints for the work of service, so as to build up the body of Christ’ (Eph 4:12)”
(Vatican II, “Unitatis Redintegratio”, 2).

12-13. In Greek and Latin literature, society is often compared to a body; even
today we talk of “corporations”, a term which conveys the idea that all the citi-
zens of a particular city are responsible for the common good. St Paul, starting
with this metaphor, adds two important features: 1) he identifies the Church with
Christ: “so it is with Christ” (v. 12); and 2) he says that the Holy Spirit is its life-
principle: “by one Spirit we were all baptized..., and all made to drink of the Spi-
rit” (v. 13). The Magisterium summarizes this teaching by defining the Church as
the “mystical body of Christ”, an expression which “is derived from and is, as it
were, the fair flower of the repeated teaching of Sacred Scripture and the holy
Fathers” (Pius XII, “Mystici Corporis”).

“So it is with Christ”: “One would have expected him to say, so it is with the
Church, but he does not say that [...]. For, just as the body and the head are one
man, so too Christ and the Church are one, and therefore instead of ‘the Church’
he says ‘Christ”’ (Chrysostom, “Hom. on 1 Cor”, 30, “ad loc”.). This identification
of the Church with Christ is much more than a mere metaphor; it makes the
Church a society which is radically different from any other society: “The complete
Christ is made up of the head and the body, as I am sure you know well. The head
is our Savior himself, who suffered under Pontius Pilate and now, after rising from
the dead, is seated at the right hand of the Father. And his body is the Church.
Not this or that church, but the Church which is to be found all over the world. Nor
is it only that which exists among us today, for also belonging to it are those who
lived before us and those who will live in the future, right up to the end of the world.
All this Church, made up of the assembly of the faithful — for all the faithful are
members of Christ — has Christ as its head, governing his body from heaven. And
although this head is located out of sight of the body, he is, however, joined to it
by love” (St Augustine, “Enarrationes in Psalmos”, 56, 1).

The Church’s remarkable unity derives from the Holy Spirit who not only assem-
bles the faithful into a society but also imbues and vivifies its members, exercising
the same function as the soul does in a physical body: “In order that we might be
unceasingly renewed in him (cf. Eph 4:23), he has shared with us his Spirit who,
being one and the same in head and members, gives life to, unifies and moves the
whole body. Consequently, his work could be compared by the Fathers to the fun-
ction that the principle of life, the soul, fulfils in the human body” (Vatican II, “Lu-
men Gentium”, 7).

“All were made to drink of one Spirit”: given that the Apostle says this immedia-
tely after mentioning Baptism, he seems to be referring to a further outpouring of
the Holy Spirit, possibly in the sacrament of Confirmation. It is not uncommon for
Sacred Scripture to compare the outpouring of the Spirit to drink, indicating that
the effects of his presence are to revive the parched soul; in the Old Testament
the coming of the Holy Spirit is already compared to dew, rain, etc.; and St. John
repeats what our Lord said about “living water” (Jn 7:38; cf. 4:13-14).

Together with the sacraments of Christian initiation, the Eucharist plays a special
role in building up the unity of the body of Christ. “Really sharing in the body of
the Lord in the breaking of the eucharistic bread, we are taken up into communion
with him and with one another. ‘Because the bread is one, we, who are many, are
one body, for we all partake of one bread’ (1 Cor 10:17). In this way all of us are
made members of his body (cf. 1 Cor 12:27), ‘and individual members of one ano-
ther’ (Rom 12:5)” (”Lumen Gentium”, 7).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

[19] On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors shut where
the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and
said to them, “Peace be with you.” [20] When He had said this, He showed them
His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
[21] Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me,
even so I send you.” [22] And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and
said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. [23] If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

19-20. Jesus appears to the Apostles on the evening of the day of which He rose.
He presents Himself in their midst without any need for the doors to be opened,
by using the qualities of His glorified body; but in order to dispel any impression
that He is only a spirit He shows them His hands and His side: there is no lon-
ger any doubt about its being Jesus Himself, about His being truly risen from the
dead. He greets them twice using the words of greeting customary among the
Jews, with the same tenderness as He previously used put into this salutation.
These friendly words dispel the fear and shame the Apostles must have been
feeling at behaving so disloyally during His passion: He has created the normal
atmosphere of intimacy, and now He will endow them with transcendental po-
wers.

21. Pope Leo XIII explained how Christ transferred His own mission to the Apos-
tles: “What did He wish in regard to the Church founded, or about to be founded?
This: to transmit to it the same mission and the same mandate which He had re-
ceived from the Father, that they should be perpetuated. This He clearly resolved
to do: this He actually did. ‘As the Father hath sent Me, even so I send you’ (John
20:21). ‘As Thou didst send Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world’
(John 17:18). [...] When about to ascend into Heaven, He sends His Apostles in
virtue of the same power by which He had been sent from the Father; and He
charges them to spread abroad and propagate His teachings (cf. Matthew 28:18),
so that those obeying the Apostles might be saved, and those disobeying should
perish (cf. Mark 16:16). [...] Hence He commands that the teaching of the Apos-
tles should be religiously accepted and piously kept as if it were His own: ‘He who
hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me’ (Luke 10:16). Wherefore
the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ as He is the ambassador of the Father”
(Leo XIII, “Satis Cognitum”). In this mission the bishops are the successors of
the Apostles: “Christ sent the Apostles as He Himself had been sent by the Fa-
ther, and then through the Apostles made their successors, the bishops, sharers
in His consecration and mission. The function of the bishops’ ministry was han-
ded over in a subordinate degree to priests so that they might be appointed in
the order of the priesthood and be co-workers of the episcopal order for the pro-
per fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted to it by Christ”
(Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 2).

22-23. The Church has always understood—and has in fact defined—that Jesus
Christ here conferred on the Apostles authority to forgive sins, a power which is
exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. “The Lord then especially instituted the
Sacrament of Penance when, after being risen from the dead, He breathed upon
His disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit...’ The consensus of all the Fa-
thers has always acknowledged that by this action so sublime and words so
clear the power of forgiving and retaining sins was given to the Apostles and
their lawful successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after Baptism”
(Council of Trent, “De Paenitentia”, Chapter 1).

The Sacrament of Penance is the most sublime expression of God’s love and
mercy towards men, described so vividly in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (cf.
Luke 15:11-32). The Lord always awaits us, with His arms wide open, waiting for
us to repent—and then He will forgive us and restore us to the dignity of being His
sons.

The Popes have consistently recommended Christians to have regular recourse
to this Sacrament: “For a constant and speedy advancement in the path of vir-
tue we highly recommend the pious practice of frequent Confession, introduced
by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; for by this means we grow
in a true knowledge of ourselves and in Christian humility, bad habits are uproo-
ted, spiritual negligence and apathy are prevented, the conscience is purified
and the will strengthened, salutary spiritual direction is obtained, and grace is
increased by the efficacy of the Sacrament itself” (Pius XII, “Mystici Corporis”).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

These readings are for the simple form Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast.

EITHER:

First reading

Genesis 11:1-9 ©

Throughout the earth men spoke the same language, with the same vocabulary. Now as they moved eastwards they found a plain in the land of Shinar where they settled. They said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them in the fire.’ (For stone they used bricks, and for mortar they used bitumen). ‘Come,’ they said ‘let us build ourselves a town and a tower with its top reaching heaven. Let us make a name for ourselves, so that we may not be scattered about the whole earth.’

Now the Lord came down to see the town and the tower that the sons of man had built. ‘So they are all a single people with a single language!’ said the Lord. ‘This is but the start of their undertakings! There will be nothing too hard for them to do. Come, let us go down and confuse their language on the spot so that they can no longer understand one another.’ The Lord scattered them thence over the whole face of the earth, and they stopped building the town. It was named Babel therefore, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth. It was from there that the Lord scattered them over the whole face of the earth.

OR:

Alternative First reading

Exodus 19:3-8,16-20 ©

Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel:

‘“You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own, for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.”

‘Those are the words you are to speak to the sons of Israel.’

So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people, putting before them all that the Lord had bidden him. Then all the people answered as one, ‘All that the Lord has said, we will do.’

Now at daybreak on the third day there were peals of thunder on the mountain and lightning flashes, a dense cloud, and a loud trumpet blast, and inside the camp all the people trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the bottom of the mountain. The mountain of Sinai was entirely wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. Like smoke from a furnace the smoke went up, and the whole mountain shook violently. Louder and louder grew the sound of the trumpet. Moses spoke, and God answered him with peals of thunder. The Lord came down on the mountain of Sinai, on the mountain top, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain.

OR:

Alternative First reading

Ezekiel 37:1-14 ©

The hand of the Lord was laid on me, and he carried me away by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley, a valley full of bones. He made me walk up and down among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the ground the whole length of the valley; and they were quite dried up. He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘You know, Lord.’ He said, ‘Prophesy over these bones. Say, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. The Lord says this to these bones: I am now going to make the breath enter you, and you will live. I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will learn that I am the Lord.”’ I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a sound of clattering; and the bones joined together. I looked, and saw that they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, but there was no breath in them. He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, “The Lord says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead; let them live!”’ I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life again and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.

Then he said, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” So prophesy. Say to them, “The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.”’

OR:

Alternative First reading

Joel 3:1-5 ©

Thus says the Lord:

‘I will pour out my spirit on all mankind.

Your sons and daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men see visions.

Even on the slaves, men and women,

will I pour out my spirit in those days.

I will display portents in heaven and on earth,

blood and fire and columns of smoke.’

The sun will be turned into darkness,

and the moon into blood,

before the day of the Lord dawns,

that great and terrible day.

All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved,

for on Mount Zion there will be some who have escaped,

as the Lord has said,

and in Jerusalem some survivors whom the Lord will call.

Psalm

Psalm 103:1-2,24,27-30,35 ©

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Bless the Lord, my soul!

Lord God, how great you are,

clothed in majesty and glory,

wrapped in light as in a robe!

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

How many are your works, O Lord!

In wisdom you have made them all.

The earth is full of your riches.

Bless the Lord, my soul.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

All of these look to you

to give them their food in due season.

You give it, they gather it up:

you open your hand, they have their fill.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

You take back your spirit, they die,

returning to the dust from which they came.

You send forth your spirit, they are created;

and you renew the face of the earth.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Second reading

Romans 8:22-27 ©

From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free. For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were – but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.

The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 7:37-39 ©

On the last day and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood there and cried out:

‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to me!

Let the man come and drink who believes in me!’

As scripture says: From his breast shall flow fountains of living water.

He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive; for there was no Spirit as yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

These readings are for the day of the feast itself:

First reading

Acts 2:1-11 ©

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

Psalm

Psalm 103:1,24,29-31,34 ©

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Bless the Lord, my soul!

Lord God, how great you are,

How many are your works, O Lord!

The earth is full of your riches.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

You take back your spirit, they die,

returning to the dust from which they came.

You send forth your spirit, they are created;

and you renew the face of the earth.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

May the glory of the Lord last for ever!

May the Lord rejoice in his works!

May my thoughts be pleasing to him.

I find my joy in the Lord.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Second reading

1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13 ©

No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.

Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

Sequence

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light,

From the clear celestial height

Thy pure beaming radiance give.

Come, thou Father of the poor,

Come with treasures which endure

Come, thou light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best,

Thou, the soul’s delightful guest,

Dost refreshing peace bestow

Thou in toil art comfort sweet

Pleasant coolness in the heat

Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal, light divine,

Visit thou these hearts of thine,

And our inmost being fill:

If thou take thy grace away,

Nothing pure in man will stay

All his good is turned to ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew

On our dryness pour thy 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.

Thou, on us who evermore

Thee confess and thee adore,

With thy sevenfold gifts descend:

Give us comfort when we die

Give us life with thee on high

Give us joys that never end.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 20:19-23 ©

In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.

‘As the Father sent me,

so am I sending you.’

After saying this he breathed on them and said:

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.

For those whose sins you forgive,

they are forgiven;

for those whose sins you retain,

they are retained.’

Pope [Francis] at Pentecost: Newness, harmony and mission
The First Pentecost [Catholic Caucus]
The Priest's Mission as Guide
On the Church’s Birthday, Let’s Pray for Our Priests (Archbishop Charles Chaput) [Catholic Caucus]
On Mary's Maternal Presence at Pentecost (Catholic Caucus)
A Pentecost Monday Lesson: “And Paul VI Wept.”
Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church [Catholic Caucus]
The Holy Spirit and Middlemen

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal
COME HOLY SPIRIT [Ecumenical]
Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts [Devotional]
Did the Apostles Pray the Rosary? (First Novena to the Holy Spirit?) [Catholic Caucus]
It is the Decision of the Holy Spirit and Us….On the Council of Jerusalem...(Catholic Caucus)
The Holy Spirit And Mary (Catholic Caucus)
The Essentials of the Catholic Faith, Part 1: The Apostles’ Creed, “ I Believe in the Holy Spirit”
The Essentials of theCatholic Faith,Part1:Apostles’ Creed:“Conceived-Holy Spirit,Born-Virgin Mary
Benedict XVI's Homily for Solemnity of Pentecost
Pentecost Past and Present

The Purpose of Pentecost: and the New Missionary Age of the Church
Pentecost: the Holy Spirit Comes
Pentecost on Mount Athos (where earthly time is one and the same as the eternal today of heaven)
Pentecost Continues
Vigil of the Pentecost and Whitsunday
THE CHURCH IS ALWAYS IN A STATE OF PENTECOST
Father Cantalamessa on Pentecost - Pontifical Household Preacher on Sunday's Readings
The Ever-Present Pentecost
The Advocate vs. The Accuser (Fr. Euteneuer Column)
Always be followed by your conscience (Rainbow Sashers get ready for Pentecost Sunday)

Pentecost worries Vatican [in the Philippines]
Prayer and Meditation: Pentecost
Pentecost Anticipation: The Catholic Charismatic Renewal and Me
Paul's Teaching on the Holy Spirit
Today's Pentecost! Come, Holy Spirit!
Breath of the Savior
Pentecost: The Descent of the Holy Spirit
PENTECOST - Rite of Kneeling
CATECHISM CC - Pt. 1 - Chap. 3 - I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
CATECHISM CC - Pt 1, Chap 3, ARTICLE 8 "I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT"

Perpetual Novena for the Nation (Ecumenical)

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+

A Prayer for our Free Nation Under God
God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion." These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75.

The devotion consists in the divine worship of the human heart of Christ, which is united to His divinity and which is a symbol of His love for us. The aim of the devotion is to make our Lord king over our hearts by prompting them to return love to Him (especially through an act of consecration by which we offer to the Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that belongs to us) and to make reparation for our ingratitude to God.

INVOCATION

O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART

Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the characteristic note of the piety of Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), Benedictine nun and renowned mystic. She was, in fact, the first great exponent of devotion to the Sacred Heart. In our efforts to honor the Heart of Jesus we have this prayer as a model for our own:
Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, 0 my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.
Saint Gertrude

FOR THE CHURCH

O most holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measure upon Thy holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the holy souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.

A PRAYER OF TRUST

O God, who didst in wondrous manner reveal to the virgin, Margaret Mary, the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart, grant that loving Thee, after her example, in all things and above all things, we may in Thy Heart find our abiding home.
Roman Missal

ACT OF LOVE

Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It for ever. Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart, which cease not even while I sleep, may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart will never cease to be there. Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do and be graciously pleased to repair all m] wrong-doing; so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Cardinal Merry del Val

MEMORARE TO THE SACRED HEART
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought its mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushed beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests. Amen.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Only for Love: The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood [Catholic Caucus]

Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART, 10-19-09
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today
The Biblical Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [Ecumenical]
Heart to Heart (Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion) [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
(June) The Month of the Sacred Heart {Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
The Heart of the World (On the Sacred Heart of Jesus) (Catholic Caucus)
The Sacred Heart Is The Holy Eucharist(Catholic Caucus)
The Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge

Importance of Devotion to the Sacred Heart
An Awesome Homily on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Father Edmond Kline
Catholic Prayer and Devotion: June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Devotions: Sacred Heart of Jesus
Pope Urges Jesuits to Spread Sacred Heart Devotion
Homilies preached by Father Altier on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Meditation and Devotion: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Daily Recomendation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus powerful prayer!
The Sacred Heart and the Eucharist
The Love of the Sacred Heart

On the Sacred Heart - "We Adore God's Love of Humanity"
HAURIETIS AQUAS (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart) - Encyclical by Pope Pius XII
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sacred Heart a Feast of God's Love, Says John Paul II
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Symbol of Combativity and the Restoration of Christendom
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus-The Early Church, Middle Ages up to St. Margaret Mary
See this Heart
‘God Will Act and Will Reign’
About Devotion To The Sacred Heart:The Story Of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Rediscover Feast of Sacred Heart, John Paul II Tells Youth

"Behold this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth."

- Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary

Our Lord also made 12 promises to St. Margaret Mary for those that are devoted to His Sacred Heart.

I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
I will give peace in their families.
I will console them in all their troubles.
They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.

June 2014 Year A
Pope's Intentions
Universal: That the unemployed may receive support and find the work they need to live in dignity.

For Evangelization: That Europe may rediscover its Christian roots through the witness of believers.

Daily Gospel Commentary

Pentecost Sunday - Solemnity - Year A

Commentary of the day
Pope Francis
Apostolic Exhortation « Evangelii Gaudium / The Joy of the Gospel » § 259-261 (trad. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana rev.)

« We hear them speaking in their own tongues of the mighty acts of God » (Ac 2,11)

Spirit-filled evangelizers means evangelizers fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, the Spirit made the apostles go forth from themselves and turned them into heralds of God’s wondrous deeds, capable of speaking to each person in his or her own language. The Holy Spirit also grants the courage to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with boldness (parrhesía) in every time and place, even when it meets with opposition. Let us call upon him today, firmly rooted in prayer, for without prayer all our activity risks being fruitless and our message empty. Jesus wants evangelizers who proclaim the good news not only with words, but above all by a life transfigured by God’s presence...

Whenever we say that something is “spirited”, it usually refers to some interior impulse which encourages, motivates, nourishes and gives meaning to our individual and communal activity. Spirit-filled evangelization is not the same as a set of tasks dutifully carried out despite one’s own personal inclinations and wishes. How I long to find the right words to stir up enthusiasm for a new chapter of evangelization full of fervour, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love and attraction! Yet I realize that no words of encouragement will be enough unless the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts. A spirit-filled evangelization is one guided by the Holy Spirit, for he is the soul of the Church called to proclaim the Gospel... I once more invoke the Holy Spirit. I implore him to come and renew the Church, to stir and impel her to go forth boldly to evangelize all peoples.

The 7 Gifts of the Holy Ghost
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Fortitude
Knowledge
Piety
Fear of the Lord

Class of Gifts of the Holy Ghost known as Charismata

Gift of speaking with wisdom
Gift of speaking with knowledge
Faith
Grace of healing
Gift of miracles
Gift of prophecy
Gift of discerning spirits
Gift of tongues (i.e., xenolalia, the ability to speak foreign languages unknown by natural reason)
Gift of interpreting speeches

The 12 Fruits of the Holy Ghost
Charity
Joy
Peace
Patience
Benignity
Goodness
Longanimity
Mildness
Faith
Modesty
Continency
Chastity

Zenit.org

Sunday Homily: Receive the Holy Spirit

Pentecost Sunday

Rome, June 06, 2014 (Zenit.org) Fr. Jason Mitchell LC | 499 hits

--

Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 21, 34
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23

Throughout the season of Easter, we have seen how the Gospel spread from Jerusalem to Samaria to Asia and to Rome. This was part of God's providential plan. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that on the day of Pentecost, there were some visitors from Rome present (Acts 2:10); it ends when Saint Paul reaches the capital of the Roman Empire and proclaims the Gospel there (Acts 28:30-31). "Thus the journey of the Word of God which began in Jerusalem reached its destination, because Rome represents the entire world and therefore embodies Luke's idea of catholicity. The universal Church is brought into being, the Catholic Church, which is the extension of the Chosen People and makes its history and mission her own" (Pope Benedict XVI, 11 May 2008).

Pentecost has a special relationship with the Covenant of Sinai, but it will be helpful to look at the other Old Testament covenants to understand some of the other aspects of the mystery we celebrate today.

The first covenant between God and man was the Covenant of Creation. The Holy Spirit hovered over the waters and on the sixth day of creation, the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Today, we read in the Gospel that Jesus breathes on the Apostles and gives them the breath of God in a new and greater way. In a sense, Pentecost is the mystery of the New Creation. What was lost through sin is regained in a new and greater way - in a way that can never be lost again.

The second Covenant was made with Noah. A dove is present in the story of Noah and at the anointing of Jesus Christ at the Jordan. The flood is a re-creation event and prefigures the waters of Baptism through which we are saved. The dove signals a new beginning for the world after the flood and a new beginning for the People of God. The Spirit hovers over the waters again and sanctifies them: just as the Ark was the instrument of salvation for the family of Noah, the Church is the instrument of salvation for people of God. The dove is a sign of deliverance from the storm, a sign of hope. The Holy Spirit does not simply lead one family out of the Ark, but the whole world to heaven.

Pentecost also reverses the confusion of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11): not only does it transforms the confusion of sin into the communion of love and mercy, but it overcomes the vain attempt of man to make a bridge to heaven through pride and sees God the Holy Spirit descend from heaven and set humble hearts aflame with love.

The Covenant with Abraham promised nationhood (land), a great name (dynasty), and a worldwide blessing. The coming of the Holy Spirit and the New Covenant signals the extension of the kingdom of God throughout the world, a kingdom through which all nations will be blessed. Abraham is our father, not because we descend from him according to bloodlines, but because we share in his faith.

For Israel, the Feast of Pentecost commemorated the Sinai Covenant, when God gave the people the gift of the Law. The wind and the fire recall that Covenant and help us understand Pentecost as a new Sinai, as the feast of the New Covenant. Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Covenant made with Israel is extended to all nations.

On the Plains of Moab (in the Book of Deuteronomy), Israel again enters into a covenant with God. It is a lesser covenant given because of Israel's hardness of heart. The law of Deuteronomy "was meant to show Israel its weakness so that it would acknowledge its inability to achieve holiness on its own, but rather needed God's help" (M. Barber,Singing in the Reign, 50). With the coming of the Holy Spirit we are strengthened and given courage and fortitude. The New Law of love is not difficult to follow once we allow the Holy Spirit into our lives.

In the covenant with David, God promises a dynasty to David, an everlasting throne and a royal house. One of David's heirs will build a house for the Lord. As well, God promises that he will give divine sonship to David's offspring. We see, first of all, that after the Ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit corrects any nationalistic, earthly views of the kingdom and lifts the eyes of the disciples to the universal, heavenly Kingdom of God. Second, the Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The New Temple is Christ's risen body and the Spirit is like the soul of the Mystical Body, the source of its life, of its unity in diversity, and of the riches of its gifts and charisms (CCC, 809). The union between Christ's Spirit and his Mystical Body is fully manifest on the day of Pentecost. Finally, the gift of the Spirit makes us adopted sons and daughters of God.

The prophets promised a New Covenant. Ezekiel, for example, promised that, through this new covenant, God would put a new heart and a new spirit in man: "I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances" (Ezekiel 36:27). On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fills the hearts of the disciples and writes the new law of charity on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).

In brief, the Holy Spirit makes us a new creation, saves us from death and gives us hope, brings us into communion, bestows the blessings of the new covenant upon us, writes the new law on our hearts, facilitates our fulfillment of the new law and strengthens us, and gives us divine life and enriches us. The fulfillment of the Old Testament covenants helps us see that God is always faithful and always merciful. He knows that we are weak and that without him we can do nothing. In the age of the Church, then, the Spirit "helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words" (Romans 8:26).

Arlington Catholic Herald

GOSPEL COMMENTARY JN 20:19-23

Ideologies

FR. JERRY J. POKORSKY

An ideology is an “idea” or system, devised by man and, if possible, imposed on society by elites. Communism, socialism, capitalism, libertarianism, tribalism, nationalism, racism and even multiculturalism are patterns from the minds of men, proposed and promoted as templates for happiness in this life. Of course, there are many other ideologies. If left to the conclusion of their inner logic, however, every ideological social system is ultimately self-destructive because they all tend to be utopian, failing to take into account man’s fallen nature, a state that can only be healed by God’s grace. On the feast of Pentecost, the celebration of the descent of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church, it is instructive to consider the nature of the mission of Christ and His church and ask: Is Catholicism an alternative ideology?

Communism is a political and economic system devised to achieve human happiness through an alleged inevitable movement to a classless society, and a perfectly effective “dictatorship of the proletariat.” The problem, of course, is that the ideal of a classless society is never achieved even as millions are slaughtered by dictators to fit the demands of the Marxist socialist template.

Similarly, Nazism is a system promoting the supremacy of one nation and one race, with all human activity in its service. By the subordination of human freedom in the service of the state, the state is free to define the imperfect and even subhuman elements diluting the ethnic purity of the master race. Variations of Nazism and racism underlie modern pro-choice and population control industries. The one defines unborn babies as subhuman and thus candidates for destruction at the individual level; the other eliminates huge segments of generations and races at the whim of the wealthy and powerful.

Capitalism (and its variant libertarianism) is an economic system accentuating the primacy of the means of production and free market forces. As ideologies go, capitalism at first glance seems to disperse the tendency towards centralized power by means of fruitful competition. When it’s running well, there is general economic success, even as some businesses necessarily fail. But questions of business ethics — good and evil — remain even as capitalists insist that market forces will inevitably correct its excesses. While it is true that greedy capitalists may eventually fail in the marketplace, there is abundant evidence they may not. Without the seeds of virtue — as we all-too-frequently see — capitalism easily devolves into competition that is not particularly friendly (a long-forgotten term) but is, rather, viciously cutthroat. Paradoxically, successful capitalists often seek an alliance with the political power of big government to protect their positions in the marketplace. Happiness for this ideology is not limited to mere economic success; it includes the elimination of competitors and unrestrained profit and political power for some, and exploitation and economic dependency for others. And it gives rise to another ideology, consumerism, the “bread and circuses” of a lethargic populace.

Since the evil of racism, tribalism and nationalism is clear to see, i.e., the presumed supremacy of one’s ethnic or national heritage, a modern secular remedy, multiculturalism, is promoted, calling for an ultimately incoherent celebration of diversity while attempting to promote the equal dignity of every culture. But the multiculturalism ideology (as opposed to the Catholic concept of inculturation, whereby the faith recognizes and elevates all that is good in a given culture) collapses under its basic assumption. Not all cultures are equal, because every culture embraces varying degrees of good and evil. Some cultures have become cesspools of evil. But the political correctness that multiculturalism demands prevents us from pointing out the obvious. The highly advanced ancient Aztec civilization is a case in point. Who among us would celebrate the Aztec practice of human sacrifice even as we admire the architectural wonder of their pyramids, monuments to their mass murder?

Catholicism is often viewed as just one more ideology, an imposition of an ideal system from the outside. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus is a person, not an ideology. Christ is not a dictator, and His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Despite all expectations to the contrary, He imposed no political or economic system upon His followers. He insists His followers are His “friends,” not “slaves” (John 15:15). He teaches us to love as He loves (John 15:9), in freedom not in domination. The incarnation and Mary’s free response to the angel Gabriel reveal there is no forced compliance between incompatibles; only reconciliation and revelation. God and man are reconciled in His Person. Hence, to know Jesus means to begin to enter into the mystery of one’s self and others.

But even the life of Christ — His cross, resurrection and ascension into heaven — is incomplete without Pentecost. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and Mary. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). The Holy Spirit also transformed them. They were no longer selfish and timid, but men of great courage and faith. In the sacrament of confirmation, we likewise become "sharers in the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4) and, hence, sharers in the divine mission. The transformative and liberating power of the Holy Spirit over our souls must be sharply distinguished from the often coercive and punitive powers of our rulers.

There is, of course, a need for legitimate if flawed social structures — and the church recognizes this need in her social teachings — but the church hesitates to be a proponent of entire systems, lest the essential mission of the church (“My kingdom is not of this world”) be derailed. The catholic faith is a universal faith ultimately revealed by Christ and animated by the Holy Spirit received on Pentecost and in the sacraments, nourishing us on our way. The faith transcends all human activities and ideologies, critiques them all and calls forth a conversion to Christ in freedom. Indeed, the teaching of Christ through His church is really a revelation of what it means to be fully human: Man is a child of God, created in the Divine image, called to virtue in this life and the everlasting happiness of heaven in the next.

Though we may seem to be mere pawns of ideologues, experimented upon in one utopian scheme or another, Christians are called to be the leaven or the yeast of goodness within the context of every human economic or political system (cf. Mt. 13:33). Not an ideological imposition, but a divine calling and mission.

Fr. Pokorsky is pastor of St. Michael Church in Annandale.