Feast of Pentecost Artist He Qi As the saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” Horses can have a mind of their own and be stubborn. So can humans! We often need prodding—motivation—to do something, especially if it’s something we don’t enjoy. When it comes to us humans, motivation plays a huge role in why we do anything and how we do everything. Need is a strong motivator, as is love. This solemnity is really about motivation, the reason why we listen to Jesus and choose to follow him. We followers of Jesus never stand alone. We have each other to motivate ourselves toward faithful action. But even more: we always have the Spirit who dwells within and among us and binds us into one. Through the Holy Spirit we all share in the same risen Life, the same saving mission, the same love. There is strength in numbers. There is motivation in numbers. Our strength is the gift of the Spirit who binds us in love and unity as the one Body of Christ. Our motivation is that with the gift of the Holy Spirit we become one with God’s love in a unique way. We become bigger than ourselves. In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that our love binds us together and to him. Our love motivates us to keep his commandments and word, the measure of our being together in community. Love is a strong motivator. The strength of our love for Jesus is the measure of how well we keep his commandments and word, how well we care for each other. Why and how we keep Jesus’ command¬ments and word is, in the end, keeping him—the divine Word who was sent by the Father. Pentecost is a celebration of both the gift of the Spirit and the effects of that gift—we are sharers in the one Body of Christ who take up Jesus’ mission to preach the Good News of salvation. [Living Liturgy 2013] The Father sent the “Advocate, the Holy Spirit” to teach us “everything.” What is this “everything” we need the Spirit to teach us? Why and how keeping Jesus’ commandments and word is the unconditional condition of loving him. Why and how this love is the wellspring of our relationship to Jesus and his Father in their Spirit. What the Spirit teaches us, in the end, is why we do anything and how we do everything.
Pentecost Sunday We celebrate this Sunday a wondrous and unprecedented gift of God—“the Spirit of truth” given to us. This Spirit of truth God gives is relational. This Spirit of truth changes us—through the Spirit we share a common identity as the Body of Christ and take up a common mission to proclaim the Gospel by the sheer goodness of our lives. The Spirit enables us to live with one another in a new way: with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,” etc. The Spirit propels us to engage with the world in a new way: we “testify” to the “mighty acts of God” through the very way that we live. The truth God gives transforms us and, through us, transforms the world According to this gospel, both the Spirit and the disciples testify to Jesus. What is this testimony? It is the revelation that Jesus is of the Father, is the divine Son. Furthermore, this gospel says that the Spirit glorifies Jesus by testifying. So then do we. What is this glory? It is Jesus himself who is the visible Presence of the Father. Like the Spirit of truth, when we testify we also glorify. This Pentecost commemoration does not simply recall a past event, but celebrates what God is doing within us now. Our daily living is to “testify” to the Spirit of truth who dwells within us. We often think of “truth” in terms of “truths”—dogmas to believe. The gospel leads us to something far more dynamic, relational. The Spirit who dwells in each of us enfleshes within us the “mighty acts of God.” Truth is being faithful to the identity and mission offered us. Truth is what is of God. If we are to be living icons of the Spirit of truth dwelling within us, then the good choices we make daily testify to this divine indwelling. Simply put, Pente¬cost invites us to act like God! Although our testimony is not about ourselves—it is about the risen Jesus as the Son of God present among us and bringing us to salvation—in one respect it truly is about ourselves. Through the indwelling Spirit we are made members of the Body of Christ. We are living icons of the Spirit of truth, and living icons of the risen Jesus who dwells within and among us. If we are to exude the fruits of the Spirit, we must be willing to die to ourselves. We cannot love another if we do not give of ourselves to others. We cannot have joy if we are turned in on ourselves. We cannot have peace if we are distracted by getting and doing only what we want. We cannot have patience if we do not respect the dignity of others. We cannot have gentleness if we do not see the need in others. We cannot have self-control if we don’t put the good of others first. We cannot have any of these fruits if we do not live the wondrous mystery of the Spirit dwelling within us. Come, Holy Spirit! Adapted from Renew International Prayer Time Cycle A </p> <p></p> </div><!-- .entry-content --> <footer class="entry-footer"> <span class="cat-links">Posted in <a href="https://www.ursulinesistersmission.org/category/weekly-reflection/" rel="category tag">Weekly Reflection</a></span> | <span class="tags-links">Tagged <a href="https://www.ursulinesistersmission.org/tag/cost-of-discipleship/" rel="tag">cost of discipleship</a>, <a href="https://www.ursulinesistersmission.org/tag/pentecost/" rel="tag">Pentecost</a></span> </footer><!-- .entry-footer --> </article><!-- #post-## --> <article id="post-8505" class="post-8505 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-weekly-reflection tag-dying-to-self tag-pentecost tag-receive-the-holy-spirit"> <header class="entry-header"><p><br /></p> <h2 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.ursulinesistersmission.org/receive-the-holy-spirit/" rel="bookmark">Receive The Holy Spirit</a></h2> </header><!-- .entry-header --> <div class="entry-content"> <p><a href="http://www.theursulines.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/pentecost-709416.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8506" src="http://www.theursulines.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/pentecost-709416.jpg" alt="pentecost" width="264" height="235" /></a>Pentecost, coming in late May or early June, was likely a very beautiful day, without even a stray cloud in the blue sky. The Festival of Weeks, or Pentecost, was a joyous celebration of the spring harvest. Jewish people from all over Israel and many foreign lands came to Jerusalem. Peter and the rest of the disciples were at the Temple bright and early. The day was probably very still, since Jerusalem summers are not windy. The huge crowd at the Temple by 8 or 9 a.m. expected nothing unusual. But . . . suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting! Then divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.</p> <p>Pentecost didn’t end when the wind died down and the flames evaporated into the air. It went on. It affected a man like Paul, striking him to the ground on the Road to Damascus and blinding him for three days and nights. It gave a man like Peter courage, converting him from betrayer to preacher. The Spirit inspired women like Phoebe to move from silence to bold speech for Christ. What might we learn from these three about the power of the Spirit to transform minds and hearts?</p> <p>Sometimes the Presence of the Spirit is expected only in terms of the extraordinary. However, the Spirit is also manifested in simple daily experiences , for example, forms of service, peace and forgiveness. The Spirit is also manifested in our courage to embrace dying to self!</p> <p>This dying to self can be so simple as taking time to sit down with people we love and trust to talk things out when life seems not to be going well, offering forgiveness to someone who has hurt us, reaching out with a smile or a word to someone who feels tense and fearful. In all of this we deepen our experience of the gift of the Holy Spirit and peace.</p> <p> <br /> <br /> <iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8-XzID3SDPw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>
Pentecost Sunday Pentecost! The celebration of… what? Flames on heads? Speaking in tongues? The blessing of the Spirit on individuals? Although Pentecost was originally a festival celebration of the wheat harvest in ancient Israel, and of the giving of the law which defined Israel as a nation, for Christians it is known as the time when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and is sometimes called the birthday of the church. In that sense, Pentecost, which can also refer to the entire 50 days between the resurrection and the coming of the Spirit, is the celebration of the formation of the church as corporate body. Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to guide his disciples, just before he ascends to heaven, is sealed with the arrival of the Spirit on Pentecost. The Spirit of God has, of course, been present since the beginning of creation, but the event of Pentecost marks the moment when the Spirit works to mediate the presence of the Risen Christ to the church community. Pentecost, then, is more about the corporate body of the church than about the spiritual presence of God to individual believers. The Spirit is now available to guide the church in its mission to bring the Gospel to the world. The effect on the disciples as they receive the Spirit is interesting in this respect. They begin to speak in languages other than their own, with the crowd who gathers hearing the disciples speak in their own language. This is the reversal of what happened with the curse of Babel, which resulted in confusion and lack of understanding between peoples. Rather, at Pentecost, all are made able to understand the message of the Gospel, and are drawn into the church through the power and understanding given by the Spirit. What should this mean for us today, as a people of the Spirit? By this indwelling of the Spirit, we ourselves become advocates of God’s presence for others. It maybe as simple as a reassuring touch or a helping hand. It might be a sacrifice of time in volunteering for a task that needs to be done for the good of all. In all, we are called to die to ourselves in order to be the true presence of Christ for others.
Praying Pentecost As we prepare to celebrate the feast of Pentecost, we offer the following for your prayer and reflection. Part of the legacy of Pentecost is prayer. The prayers of people like you keep the church alive. Do you believe in the power of your prayers? I hope you do, because it is God’s power living in this church. It is restoring people to health, it is meeting people in their moment of need. Prayer is working right here. Spirit of Christ, stir me; Spirit of Christ, move me; Spirit of Christ, fill me; Spirit of Christ, seal me. Create in me a fountain of virtues. Seal my soul as Your own, that Your reflection in me may be a light for all to see. Amen Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy; Act in me O Holy Spirit that my works, too, may be holy; Draw my heart O Holy Spirit that I love but what is holy; Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend that is holy; Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy. St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) We light a candle and enjoy the flickering light the fragrance and warmth it creates. But without the spark that ignites there will be no flame Without the wax the source of power the wick will not burn. Without the flame there will be no fragrance no warmth, no light. And so with us, Lord You are the catalyst that ignites us and the fuel that sustains us. You fill us with your fragrance as you enter our lives. You empower us to carry your flame in our hearts To be the fragrance, warmth and light of your love in this dark world. Here’s a widget with songs you can choose from each day to set the mood for prayer. Pentecost by Therese Rich, OSU on Grooveshark Lord Take me where you want me to go, Let me meet who you want me to meet Tell me what you want me to say, and keep me out of your way. -The Rev. Mychal Judge O.F.M.
Receive the Holy Spirit Some of us can remember a time when locking doors was simply not something people did. neighborhoods were communities that looked out for each other. Strangers coming into the midst were noted. But beyond this there was a trust and companionship that marked the atmosphere and locking doors seemed unnecessary. Today our neighborhoods tend to be marked by fear. Fear has become a way of life for some of us. But fear is nothing new. In today’s gospel, we find the disciples in a locked room because they were afraid. Fear marks a serious breakdown in relationships. Forgiveness marks a serious attempt to rebuild relationships. It is no surprise, then, that Jesus bestows on this fearful group the gift of peace, the Holy Spirit, then sends them out on a mission of forgiveness. Twice Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” Peace is indicative of the presence of the Spirit in those whose lives are characterized by forgiveness. Peace is the way we witness to healed relationships within us and the larger community. This forgiveness is about building right relationships, about allowing the peace of Christ to replace fears that stifle our conbecting to one another. The risen Christ breathes into us the Spirit-this capacity to firgive-and sends us into the world to unleash this Spirit. Every day is a Pentecost.
Pentecost Pentecost! The celebration of… what? Flames on heads? Speaking in tongues? The blessing of the Spirit on individuals? Although Pentecost was originally a festival celebration of the wheat harvest in ancient Israel, and of the giving of the law which defined Israel as a nation, for Christians it is known as the time when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and is sometimes called the birthday of the church. In that sense, Pentecost, which can also refer to the entire 50 days between the resurrection and the coming of the Spirit, is the celebration of the formation of the church as corporate body. Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to guide his disciples, just before he ascends to heaven, is sealed with the arrival of the Spirit on Pentecost. The Spirit of God has, of course, been present since the beginning of creation, but the event of Pentecost marks the moment when the Spirit works to mediate the presence of the Risen Christ to the church community. Pentecost, then, is more about the corporate body of the church than about the spiritual presence of God to individual believers. The Spirit is now available to guide the church in its mission to bring the Gospel to the world. The effect on the disciples as they receive the Spirit is interesting in this respect. They begin to speak in languages other than their own, with the crowd who gathers hearing the disciples speak in their own language. This is the reversal of what happened with the curse of Babel, which resulted in confusion and lack of understanding between peoples. Rather, at Pentecost, all are made able to understand the message of the Gospel, and are drawn into the church through the power and understanding given by the Spirit. What should this mean for us today, as a people of the Spirit? By this indwelling of the Spirit, we ourselves become advocates of God’s presence for others. It maybe as simple as a reassuring touch or a helping hand. It might be a sacrifice of time in volunteering for a task that needs to be done for the good of all. In all, we are called to die to ourselves in order to be the true presence of Christ for others.