Pentecost Sunday - 'Receive the Holy Spirit . . .'
Submitted by FatherSean on Fri, 05/21/2010 - 19:25.
Pentecost, El Greco (painted 1596-1600)
Readings
New American Bible (Philippines, USA) Vigil Mass; Sunday Mass
Jerusalem Bible (Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, Scotland) Vigil and Sunday Masses
Gospel, Sunday Mass (NAB)
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.”
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The Humble, Yet Powerful Beginning of a New Age
Biblical Reflection for Solemnity of Pentecost C
By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
TORONTO, MAY 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- We know the story well (Acts 2:1-10) -- it is the dawn of the day of Pentecost and the followers of Jesus are gathered to wait and pray. This new day begins with an explosion of sounds from heaven, and a violent wind. The story is reminiscent of the mighty wind that hovered over the waters in the Genesis creation story. What was first heard was then seen -- tongues like fire (2:3). The first gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of speech in different languages.
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Blowin' in the Wind
Gregory Murphy OP
The Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of God, poured out upon us to make us holy, is curiously self-effacing. Trying to describe the Spirit is like trying to catch the wind. It is much easier to point to the effects of the Spirit than to say who it is.
Both St Luke and St John wrestle with this, giving us two pictures of the Spirit's work, which is part of the one great saving act of God in the mystery of Easter. Christians celebrate Pentecost as the end of a fifty-day Easter season, which includes the Resurrection and the glorification (or Ascension) of the Lord Jesus, and the new life of the sons and daughters of God communicated by the Lord by the sending of his Spirit.
Yet the description given us by Luke is sparse: there is a noise, 'like a wind', that fills the house; and there appeared to the disciples tongues 'like fire'. The rest of the reading from Acts describes how the Spirit-filled disciples were perceived by others. Luke is pointing to the spiritual transformation and empowerment of the disciples by using familiar images of God's coming and action: the loud sound recalls God speaking to Moses in thunder at Sinai; the wind God's coming to Elijah and Elijah's ascension; the fire that does not destroy recalls God's calling Moses aside at the burning bush - Pentecost originated from a harvest feast, but eventually came to celebrate the giving of the Law on Sinai; and the Law, which makes humans pure before God, was symbolised by fire.
- 373 reads
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