Pentecost Sunday - Mass during the Day
Lectionary: 63
Reading 1
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
Psalm 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
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.
or:
Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
we are not debtors to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!"
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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."
or:
Jesus said to his disciples:
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.
"Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Those who do not love me do not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
"I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Today we celebrate the Birthday of the Church and the end of the Easter Season. It is also the day that we recognize the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’s Apostles and disciples. Here, they were Strengthened and invigorated by God, so that they could accomplish their mission: spreading the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. They were the first to receive spiritual gifts through the presence of the spirit and, through them, it then spread throughout the world. We have come to understand that the Holy Spirit also dwells inside of us and that we too can receive the same gifts that they received by recognizing the Spirit’s presence and acting upon it. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are all “one Spirit” through our baptism and drink from the same. That means we too are receivers of the Holy Spirit and are receivers of the same gifts that those before us received. What the Spirit does for us and through us is entirely up to us and our relationship with God.
Through the acceptance of Jesus Christ, we are brought into communion with God, guided by His love. Based on our relationship with God and His expectations, the Holy Spirit will manifest itself within us and propel us forward, revealing the gifts to be used to further God’s Divine Plan. Our part in that plan is between us and God. How is this to be revealed to us is again depending on our willingness to listen and react to what God is telling us. This message can be direct and forthcoming or garbled and incomprehensible based on our spiritual condition. There will be times when we might be unwilling to listen or are caught up in our own selfish desires. Learning about what God wants from us and how He wants us to live our lives is a process and takes time. We are dealing with things that are far above what we might have experienced before. To understand God and what He wants from us takes time and effort. Spiritual wellness is the key. The more that we concentrate on our relationship with God, the better it will become, thus the better our life will be.
Through Original Sin, we have a natural tendency to either resist God or ignore Him completely. This reduces His influence to a point that the impact that He can have on our lives can be reduced. It is through the Spirit that we receive revelation and keep contact with God. When we stop struggling against God, then the Spirit can flow freely through us and make a connection that it based on love. That is when we can cry out, “Abba, Father!” in reaction to the feeling of love that only the Father can provide to His children. We will then be motivated to action, based on a want to keep that feeling alive, knowing that it is the right thing to do. Alive in the spirit means we are dead to the body, with this world having little or no influence on us and our actions. This is an act of claiming our birthright of being Children of God.
We all struggle with this understanding of what God can do for us in our lives and how He wants us to live it. When we encounter struggles and feel all sorts of negative emotions, we are resisting the will of God. Flowing with the Spirit and letting it take us to where it wants us to be, puts us right with God and can bring us spiritual ecstasy, propelling us forward into the right direction. Even though there still may be struggles, the Apostle Paul tells us that they are necessary in order to strengthen us. A greater joy can be found when we become victorious over these things.
Physical suffering through illness can serve as the greatest example of this. Cancer is an example where most of us can relate to. It can be argued that most of us know someone who has suffered through this terrible disease, if we haven’t done so ourselves. It is a medical fact that those receiving oftentimes arduous and painful treatment are more successful and their lives drastically extended through spiritual fitness. A good friend of mine, Paul was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and given less than three years to live. He was given, at the most, under three years to live. Paul was a man of great faith kept that faith through that challenging time. What was supposed to be only three years, turned out to be more than fifteen. It was only when he finally decided to stop his treatment that he quickly succumbed and died. Another woman I know faced the same challenge. Recently diagnosed with cancer, she faced the challenge with an understanding that, whatever happened, it was God’s will. She was completely in His hands and enfolded in His embrace. She bounced back from a seemingly hopeless situation and overcame the darkest moments with a smile, knowing that she was loved. Both their sufferings are a testament to God’s love. It is through suffering that we are united with Jesus Christ and are more apt to understand His love and accept whatever we are challenged with in this world.
These sufferings kind of put everything happening to us in perspective. Suffering is everywhere. Opportunities to relieve that suffering are also ever-present. Being God’s instruments, we can be the solution to other people’s suffering and our own if we incorporate God into our lives. Without God, the suffering continues. The Holy Spirit brings God’s love to the forefront of all things, good and bad, where it should be. Acknowledging the Spirit and letting serve its intended purpose within us, ensures a positive result in everything with the fulfillment of God’s will. Resistance leads to failure. Why would we want to resist God in the first place. That is the most extreme arrogance. Instead, let us all be partakers in the love that God is offering us and be benefactors to what is being offered: boundless grace and boundless success.
Deacon Tom
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