Pentecost Sunday
Mass during the Day
Lectionary: 63
Reading I
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
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 II
Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual
gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
Sequence
Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.
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.”
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Today we celebrate the decent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and Disciples, the precious gift that Jesus Christ promised them. Through our Baptism and Confirmation, we too are receivers of this spirit. In our baptism, we were claimed by Jesus Christ and were given the Sanctifying Grace which is necessary for salvation. We then came forward to receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit and became a Soldier of Jesus Christ, taking upon a new name of our own choosing. This receiving of the Holy Spirit is an acknowledgement of something that is already there. The Holy Spirit cannot do the work it is supposed to if we do not react to its presence. We need to be open to it and submit to the will of God if it is going to influence us. If there is to be any manifestation, as Paul mentioned, we have to remove all barriers to it, offering no resistance. It is through a manifestation that the true nature of the Holy Spirit is revealed. It is what we do with it afterwards that is the real importance. Reacting to this revelation and acknowledging it for what it is, has the capability of opening the floodgates of our soul to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, fortitude, piety, good counsel, and fear of God. Furthermore, the unique talents that we all possess by being unique creations of God will be revealed and we will be moved to use them for God’s purpose and not for our own devices.
The Scripture Readings today offer three distinctive examples of the workings of the Holy Spirit and how we can be moved by its presence. The first, in the Acts of the Apostles, is one that involves wind and fire. It is portrayed as a stunning event that sweeps everyone involved up into a fervor. Jesus’ Apostles and disciples start to proclaim the Gospels, speaking in tongues while all those who are witness to this hear them in their own language. We too can be swept up by the Holy Spirit in an immediate transformative experience. Much like the Apostle Paul on the Road to Damascus, we can have a transformative experience which can impact us for the rest of our lives. We are reminded through this reading that the Love of God has no bounds and can change everyone and everything through its presence. In our brokenness, we tend to limit God while ignoring the fact that God has no limits. He is beyond Natural Law and creation, for He is the Creator and is not subject to that which He brought in existence. This should be remembered when we pray. We are entering into a conversation with our God and He is above all things. The Apostle Paul explains to us that our relationship with the Holy Spirit will be unique to us. Our interaction with and our relationship with it will bring out our best qualities while purifying what is bad through the forgiveness of sins. Finally, we then have Jesus himself giving the Gift of the Holy Spirit to His disciples. It is in the way He gives it that is descriptive of it. He is gentle and intimate, which is also descriptive of our relationship with Him. There is no mighty wind or fire, just a slight breath after offering them peace. The Love of God has the quality of bringing peace into our lives: a mental, physical, and spiritual peace.
It is spoken about often how the Holy Spirit is overlooked in comparison to the other two members of the Trinity. There is only one important day on the Liturgical Calendar that is solely focused on the Holy Spirit. Even though the Sacrament of Confirmation is about the receiving of the Holy Spirit, it is hard to have the right experience when it can be argued that those receiving it don’t fully understand the concept of being loved by God. As the Apostle John said, “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Usually those receiving this Sacrament are far too young to understand the concept of love, let along God’s love. Love is something that matures with time and deepens within a relationship as those involved get to know each other more intimately. It is the same with our relationship with God. There are too many people who do not take the time to know and love God. Things are done more out of obligation than because of love. Thus, these individuals are not open to the Holy Spirit and the gifts promised cannot be experienced.
The Holy Spirit set the Apostles and disciples on fire. They burned with the Love of God and reacted to it in a boundless way. We are encouraged to do the same thing: to love God with abandon, letting the Holy Spirit into our hearts to do the work it is supposed to do: to purify us and to help us to live a purpose driven life with God at its center. This gift is for the taking. Jesus gave it to us to strengthen us and to move us to be closer to Him and the Father. Through the presence and acceptance of the Holy Spirit, we are invited into that Trinitarian relationship and to experience our God up close and personal. As we end the Eastern Season, let us take the fire of God’s love and permit it to ignite our soul.
Deacon Tom
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