DEACON TOM ANTHONY

Saturday, June 8, 2019







Pentecost Sunday - Mass during the Day   
Lectionary: 63

Reading 1 Acts 2:1-11

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

or: Rom 8:8-17

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 Jn 20:19-23

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

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."

My Brothers and Sisters,

 Today we celebrate the Birthday of the Church when Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire upon His Apostles and Disciples, commissioning them to go out and spread the Good News of the Gospels, forgive sins, cast out demons, and heal the sick. What an exciting and invigorating day. We are all encouraged as God’s children to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit within all of us and understand the limitless potential that we all have because of the presence of God’s Love. We are no different than the Apostles and disciples that day. We are of no less importance than them. Through our relationship with Jesus we are commissioned to do the same work as His earlier followers and bring the Good News of Salvation to the entire world through our thoughts, actions, and deeds. Our lives are not our own. We belong to Jesus and He wants us to go out and bring His other children back to Him so that we all can experience God together in His creation in a great celebration to is to last an eternity.

Pentecost can serve as a time of renewal for all of us; a time to recommit to our values and Christian way of life. As the Easter Season ends we can go forward remembering that we are children of the Resurrection and of the Light which is Jesus Christ. Paul’s Letter today reminds us that the Spirit of God dwells within us and because of that we are alive in the spirit. This means that we are in tune with God and in right relationship with Him. When we are in that state and are receptive to what God is telling us then we will be able to experience this life the way that God intended us to. This will open up new experiences to us and a new understanding of what God truly wants for us. We become conduits of His message and are susceptible to a transformative experience through His presence.

Being alive in the spirit frees us from the burdens of the flesh and a life which is defined by an end which is finite. God brings us beyond the material world and into the spiritual world which has no limits or boundaries. The spirit is boundless because it is completely of God with no influence of man. It is pure and perfect; good and loving. Pentecost can be used as a springboard to bring us closer to God. This day asks us to concentrate on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and the fear of God. When we are aware of the presence of God in our lives these gifts naturally flow forth as a result. They heal us, strengthen us, and keep us safe from the threats of evil in this world and bring us closer to God for these gifts are gifts of love. These are given freely so that we may benefit and then pass them on to others as they receive the Holy Spirit through us. We are working with God for our benefit and for all of those who interact with us.

As we continue to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit and are enveloped in God’s Love there will be a time when we realize that we won’t know where we end and God begins. This is a wonderful state of being which we are all encouraged to strive for by exploring our relationship with God. The deeper that we go the more we will understand and experience. Each moment becomes an opportunity that can either be used for us to increase or can be wasted by distractions and the taking back of our will in favor of abandoning that which is God’s will. The more that we experience the spirit in ourselves the more it will increase while that which is physical in nature will decrease and we will become closer to the Holy Spirit with no distractions or impediments. There will be only pure love. The love of God. What more is really needed?

Deacon Tom




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