Pentecost Sunday

May 24, 2026

The Spirit of God is upon us.

READINGS

First Reading — 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."

Second Reading — 1 Corinthians 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.

Gospel — John 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."

REFLECITONS ON THE READINGS

Unity is not easy. It is not just similarity. Unity doesn’t mean we all pretend all is well. It’s living with, accepting, even enjoying differences. Some differences are too much for friendship or family but we can still value the other and not fight. The past does not disappear. As unity demands tolerance, at times it will demand forgiveness and a wish for healing and freedom. At other times if we are to get along side by side it means reconciliation, and a new relationship. The Spirit in each of us can help unity. Pray for someone you are at odds with—believe that he or she has the Spirit of God like you. It helps! This is some of the Spirit of Pentecost. A great gift of the risen Lord is the forgiveness of our sins. The claim that he could forgive sins was one of the reasons he was brought to death, for only God could forgive. Forgiveness is given day by day in various ways. Through the community of his followers in the church we are given the forgiveness of our sins. We need this gift and the grace of knowing that God is always the God of another chance, never remembering our sins forever. Jesus repeats his greeting, “Peace be with you.” As Jesus wishes the same blessing for me I consider what might come between me and the blessing Jesus offers. Fear caused the disciples to lock the doors. This security did not, however, bring them peace. Closing people out leads them to be seen as a threat and seems at odds with Jesus’ way. In the Book of Genesis God breathes on human beings to bring them life. Now Jesus breathes his Spirit into his disciples to give them new life. They will have power over sin, which otherwise deadens the human heart. Holy Spirit, I welcome you now into my small heart. Let today be ‘the first day of the week’ for me, which means the first day of my renewed creation. Let us celebrate this together. Jesus passed through the locked doors of the house in which the disciples were. His arrival among them was completely unexpected. Did they dread his reproaches, all but the beloved disciple, having abandoned him in his terrible hour of need? Before they could express any remorse, he simply said to them, ‘Peace be with you’. It is an expression of unconditional love. We are called on to show the same unmerited forgiveness in our own lives. Only when we believe ourselves to be forgiven, can we do the same to others. Is there someone I need to forgive this very day? In a gesture of wonderful intimacy, Jesus ‘breathed’ the Holy Spirit into his disciples. The act evokes God’s promise to Ezekiel centuries earlier, to give us hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone. If we refuse to believe ourselves forgiven, how can we forgive others? Today we celebrate Pentecost when the Spirit was given to the disciples. It is the birthday of the Church, the day when the timid and uncertain apostles were transformed into bold preachers of Jesus and his resurrection. The same Spirit is still as active in the Church today, transforming it—and us—into better missionaries. I pray in a special way for the Church, spread throughout the world under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I ask for the grace to grow in love for the Church, which is the body of Christ himself, and of which I am a living part. It is through her that I receive the Word, the Eucharist, forgiveness of sins and so much more. It is the holy bride of Christ, but it is also full of sinners, like myself. I pray for the Church to be open to the Spirit, as it carries out Jesus’ command to be his witness in the world of today. Jesus came to the disciples at the time of their great fear. He came to them although the doors were locked. He comes to me too, wherever I am locked in by fear, and he gives me his peace. I think now of those areas in my life where I am afraid. I imagine Jesus coming and standing before me and saying “Peace be with you”. I stay there for a little while, looking at Jesus, hearing his words of peace, feeling calm return to my heart. And Jesus breathes upon me and gives me the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of peace and truth and joy. I can turn to this Spirit for help whenever fear threatens to overwhelm me in my life. Fear of the Jews! What causes me to be afraid? Is faith a source of peace for me? Have I ever found myself in that room with the disciples? and then what happened? He ‘breathed’ on them! Reminiscent of Genesis and God breathing on the chaos. Can I ask him to breathe on my chaos? Can I ask for the gift of his Spirit to fill me with his peace and his light? The disciples recognise Jesus, but he is not the same Jesus they had known; and His first words to them are ‘Peace be with you’. This peace he offers is ultimately a deep and heartfelt awareness of Emmanuel, ‘God with us.’ Have you ever had an experience like the disciples? At a time of crisis and fear have you been made consciously aware of this ‘God with us’? Sit with this memory. Maybe chat with Jesus about that memory and its significance for me in my life. Did an awareness of God with me have any effect on my fear and how I coped with it? Take time today and allow the word ‘Peace’ echo in your mind and heart. Let the word and all it may mean fill your body, and remain within you. It is the constant promise of Jesus to his followers. It is a gift nobody can take from us. Give time each day to receive this gift of God’s Spirit. He gives it without even being asked. As you receive peace form God send this peace in a prayer to those close to you or those who may sorely need prayer today. The disciples are baptised in the Holy Spirit. This is a new birth and a new baptism. The regenerative power of the Spirit makes it possible for us to become children of God. With this new birth, we become a new creation, formed by the same Spirit of God which moved over the world in the opening lines of Genesis, when: “the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” What is it that blinds me to the reality of what I read about Pentecost? What makes me refuse to acknowledge that it can happen to me just as it did to the Apostles? That, within my unworthy self, there is a temple in which the Spirit adores without easing? Lord, is it a fear that, by accepting your greatness at the centre of myself, great things will be asked of me? Is it possible that, in my desire to avoid pain, I also deprive myself of experiencing joy? The risen Jesus penetrates the disciples’ defences, overcomes their fears, and brings them joy. I ask him to pass through all my security systems and liberate me from whatever prevents me from “having life and having it in all its fullness”.Jesus always brings peace and reconciliation. Saint Augustine called peace “the tranquillity of order,” meaning order in my relationships with God, with other people and within myself. Where is there lack of peace in my life? Who do I need to make peace with? Do I make space to experience God’s forgiveness and gift of peace? I ask for his peace so that I may bring others peace. Let me take this time to be still, to wait on the Lord, to realise that Jesus approaches me as he did the disciples, wishing me peace. I hear him say, ‘Peace be with you,’ I notice my reactions, my protests. I see, too, where I am able to receive his gift of God’s Spirit and pray that I may pass these gifts freely to others. When things are not going as we think they should, we too cower behind locked doors. Jesus understands this fear and no amount of door locking on our part will keep him from being present to us. Jesus calls his disciples into mission. We too are to be the Good News in our own place and time. Holy Spirit, I welcome you now into my small heart. Let today be ‘the first day of the week’ for me, which means the first day of my renewed creation. Let us celebrate this together. I listen to Jesus speak to me, “Peace be with you.” I bring before him those aspects of my life most in need of peace and hear him say again, “Peace be with you.” Jesus speaks of peace but shows his hand and his feet: he reminds me that there is a cost to being a presence of peace in the world.

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

Dear Preachers: I have heard people pray out loud to Jesus. We all have at liturgies and prayer gatherings for special needs: peace, the sick, those in need, etc. I don’t mean those times when we pray in community, but rather the prayers people utter at specific moments in their lives; prayers under duress and in times of testing. For example. I had an aunt who died a slow, painful death from emphysema. More than once, she prayed in misery as she gasped for breath, “How long, O Lord?!” A while ago a boat carrying Libyan refugees capsized in the stormy Mediterranean and 600 people drowned. Someone, moved by what they saw on television moaned, “How long, O Lord?!” Another report of sexual abuse and cover-up in the Church surfaced bankrupting another diocese, and I said the prayer out loud as I heard the news over the car radio, “How long, O Lord?!” We pray that prayer because we feel stuck in the in-between time: between Jesus’ departure from his disciples and his promised return. We want him to come back quickly, especially when life presses in on us or those around us. The disciples gathered with Jesus the moments before he was to leave. They put the prayer in another way, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?” Who could blame them for the impatience their question reflected? They wanted him to wrap things up. Instead, they wouldn’t have him with them as they had, especially during the 40 days after his resurrection. They and we will have to wait till he returns for the completion of his vision for us. Easier said than done. It’s the waiting during that “in-between time” that will test the faith, hope and love of the disciples and us, their descendants, in the faith. The church, right up to the present age, has prayed during times of stress the all-too-familiar prayer, “How long O Lord?!” How long do we have to endure the times our faith is tested by persecution from without and the sinfulness of our own members – ourselves included? Jesus initiated a new age, but we don’t always feel its presence as we wait, wonder and pray. The disciple isn’t named who asked Jesus that question about whether, “at this time,” he was going to “restore the kingdom of Israel.” It doesn’t seem to have been any particular person. Acts says, “They asked him” – it’s a church question. The community of believers asked the question then and it continues to ask it now, “When will you bring your work to completion? How long must we wait for you to do that?” Jesus didn’t give an answer to the disciples’ pressing concerns about when he would return to fulfill their longings. It would happen someday; meanwhile he was leaving. What a dreadful, sinking feeling they must have had in their stomachs! They were being told to continue his mission in his absence. The sense of responsibility they would have felt must have been pressing on them. I was watching a documentary about a team of climbers preparing to scale Everest. The film showed the elaborate preparations they had to go through before they put even one foot forward to begin their climb. They needed special clothing, oxygen tanks, tents, ropes, a communication system, maps, pinions and, of course, an experienced team of Sherpas to guide, protect and teach them how to get up and then down from Everest. The climbers would have to be prepared, as best they could, for the unexpected – which was sure to happen. I suspect that the most valuable asset they would have on the mountain would be those experienced Sherpas. We all could use the help of those stronger, wiser and more experienced than ourselves to help us navigate through our lives as Christians. Jesus was promising help to those first Christians. He knew the responsibilities he was leaving them. He also knew their past records of failures, internal conflicts and, finally, their betrayal. They would need help facing the mountains of opposition and problems the world would put before them. He also knew them well enough to foresee the conflicts and divisions that would develop among them. So, he promised them the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would enable, guide, strengthen and renew them in the many ways they would be called upon to witness to Jesus–“in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” The account of Christ’s Ascension in Acts is the way Luke terminates the post-Easter appearances of Jesus to his disciples. Luke depicts the risen Christ instructing his disciples about God’s kingdom. Now, with his departure, they are to be his witnesses–they will speak and act on his and the kingdom’s behalf. But first they have something to do. They must wait – wait for the Spirit Jesus will send them so that then they can go and announce the new age Christ inaugurated. We are living in the “in-between time” – a moment of pause between Jesus’ first coming and his return. It has been a long pause! There’s the danger in each generation that the waiting church will lose its fervor and enthusiasm for Christ, who can seem a long way off in the distant past. We can get nostalgic about the past. Our churches are not supposed to be memorial places for a long-dead leader. It’s clear from the angel’s message to the disciples staring up at the space left by their departed leader, that we are not just to be Jesus’ fan club which meets regularly to bask in nostalgia. Instead, as Jesus promised, we are gifted with the same powerful Spirit that animated Jesus and sustained him, not only through his preaching and healing ministry, but through his long suffering and death. It is that same Spirit that keeps us from stagnating and being just a curious, antiquated relic from the past. Because of the Spirit people should not say of us, “Aren’t they quaint? Aren’t their beliefs and practices so historic and original!” Thanks to the Spirit, we are called and empowered to be modern witnesses to the living Christ still with us, who is reaching out in a new age to do through us, what he did in his lifetime–preach the gospel, heal the sick and bring people back to God. Remember those mountain climbers who took such care to prepare for their climb of Everest? Jesus takes extra care to furnish his disciples with what they will need when challenged by the sometimes-steep mountains in their lives and ministry. When the time is right he will send them his Spirit. How could these disciples and we possibly go out into the world without being equipped by that Spirit? Luke doesn’t show the Spirit’s coming immediately after Jesus’ departure. Instead, the disciples had to trust his word and wait. That’s the first thing Jesus tells them to do - wait. When we disciples wait on God, we do that in prayer. So, they gathered with Mary and men and women disciples in the upper room, where they waited and they prayed. I a little over a week we will celebrate Pentecost when the promised Spirit was poured out on the gathered disciples. We and the whole church are in constant need for renewal in that Spirit. We may not be sent out into “the whole world” to witness to Jesus; but to places closer to home – to our family, school, job, etc. Still, we are called to bring to those people and places our faith, energized by the Spirit. During the week ahead of us we do again what Jesus instructed his disciples to do – we wait. While we wait we bring to prayer our personal needs for a renewal of faith in the risen Christ. We also pray for those we know who have lost their commitment to our church community, as well as for those whose spirits are battered in any way because of loneliness, poverty, violence, sickness etc. We pray this week, “How long, O Lord?!” And we hear Christ, ever ready to pour out his Spirit on us, respond, “Soon, very soon.”

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral Raleigh, NC

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened.”—Ephesians 1:18

I find myself wondering if American Christians understand that Palestinian Christians, numbering about 134,000 people in the Holy Land (45,000 in the West Bank), are being robbed of their land (by an illegal occupation that has gone on for years), their religious liberties, their freedom to travel, and their freedom to build lives of dignity. Here is a little history lesson from: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/maps.htmlHistorically, the land of Palestine was populated by a people known as the Palestinians. Palestinians have always been religiously diverse with the Muslim majority maintaining friendly relations with their Christian, Jewish, and Druze brethren. At the turn of the 20th Century, a new Jewish nationalist ideology called Zionism was developing to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine. During this time, increasing numbers of Jewish Europeans immigrated to Palestine, causing the Jewish population to grow from a tiny minority to 35% of the population. In 1947, the United Nations partitioned Historic Palestine, giving 55% to the Jewish population and 45% to the Palestinian population. The indigenous Palestinians rejected the division of the land on which they had lived and farmed for centuries. At the time of partition, the Jewish population owned less than 6% of Palestine. In 1948 Israel declared its “independence,” but chose not to name its borders. Between the time of partition and the declaration of Israel, the newly formed Jewish state had depopulated (through massacres, expulsion orders, and fear tactics) over 400 villages and made refugees of at least 726,000 Palestinians. In 1967, Israel occupied the remaining 22% of historic Palestine: the West Bank and Gaza. Since then, Israel has transferred many of its citizens to Jewish “settlements,” (colonies, which are illegal according to the fourth Geneva Convention). Today 40% of the West Bank is off-limits to Palestinians, as they are not allowed to live in Israeli settlements, drive on Israeli-only roads connecting these settlements, or even live or travel through “security zones,” surrounding the settlements. Catholics and people of other faiths are praying and working for a just peace where dignity, reconciliation, and peace prevail. Join us for an educational event Wednesday, May 20 at 7PM in the Parish Center on the situation in the Holy Land and its impact on Christians and learn how we must frame it within our Catholic social teaching framework and the context of the kerygma. This will be facilitated by Deacon Joshua Klickman, Sherry Kilgus-Kramer, and Deacon Dave Wulff.

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel reading: “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.’

Reflection: Pentecost is not simply the celebration of a past event; it is an identity to be lived. The risen Christ still enters our guarded spaces, still speaks peace, still breathes his Spirit upon us, and still sends his Church into the world. We may not be perfect, but through the gift of the Holy Spirit we are empowered so that fear does not leave us locked away as frightened disciples.

So, we ask ourselves:

• For us modern disciples:

  • What gift of the Spirit have I received?

  • How am I using that gift to strengthen the Church and serve others?

  • Do our communities reflect unity amid diversity, or division and rivalry?

Postcards to Death Row Inmates

“The use of the death penalty cannot really be mended. It should be ended.”—Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick

Inmates on death row are the most forgotten people in the prison system. Each week I post in this space several inmates’ names and addresses. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of them to let them know we have not forgotten them. If you like, tell them you heard about them through North Carolina’s, “People of Faith Against the Death Penalty.” If the inmate responds you might consider becoming pen pals.

Please write to:

• Randy L. Atkins #0012311 (On death row since 12/8/93)

• Terry L. Ball #0017060 (2/3/94)

• Frank J. Chambers #0071799 (3/10/94)

Central Prison, 1300 Western Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27606

For more information on the Catholic position on the death penalty go to the webpage of the Catholic Mobilizing Network: http://www.catholicsmobilizing.org/

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

Give me, O God, stillness and attentiveness so that I may be receptive to the movement of Your Spirit within me. Keep me from fear; reassure me when I falter. Look into my small heart and make it bigger so as to encompass all that you love--the earth itself in all its beauty and those who dwell in it, in all their beauty. Help me, inspired by Your Spirit, to radiate the joy of Your gospel to all those I meet along life’s way.

Companions for the Journey

Adapted from Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Today we round off more than seven weeks of celebrating the Paschal Mystery: Passion and Death – Resurrection – Ascension, Exaltation – Coming of the Holy Spirit. Although in the liturgy it is spread over seven weeks, all the elements are actually there on the cross on Good Friday. At the moment of death Jesus passes to life, is exalted to the Father and breathes forth his Spirit. Today is also the birthday of the Church. What is the Church? The Church is basically that community and complex of communities spread all over the world which is continuing the visible presence of God and his work by living openly in the Spirit of Jesus and offering its experience of knowing Christ to the world. “The Word was made flesh and lived among us”.These words apply not only to Jesus but to all those who are now the visible Body of the Risen Jesus. It is for each of us, individually and in community, to incarnate the Word of God in our world.

Pentecost day—Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives us one account, perhaps the most familiar one, of how the mission of Christ was transferred to his followers. The scene is full of biblical imagery. There was a sound “like the rush of a violent wind”. In Greek the words used here for “wind” and “Spirit” are very similar. The whole house was filled with the very Spirit of God. Then “divided tongues, as of fire” were seen resting on each person present. Fire, again, speaks of the presence of God himself. God spoke to Moses from out of a burning bush. As the Israelites wandered through the desert on their way to the Promised Land, a pillar of cloud accompanied them by day, and a pillar of fire by night. God was with his people. The fire here was in the form of tongues, as if to say that each one present was being given the gift and power to speak in the name of God. And in fact:…all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Amazement—Because it was the Jewish feast of Pentecost, the city of Jerusalem was filled with pilgrim Jews from all over the Mediterranean area. They were amazed to hear the disciples speaking to them in their own languages. How is it that we hear, each of us, in our own language? In our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power. In the Book of Genesis, men tried to build a tower to reach right up to heaven. For such arrogance, they were punished by being made to speak in different languages. No longer able to communicate, they could not finish their project. Now the time of the Tower of Babel is reversed. The disciples have a message which is offered to and can be understood by people everywhere. People are being called to be united again as brothers and sisters under one common Father, revealed to them by his Son Jesus Christ.

A different account—The Gospel from John presents us with a different account of the coming of the Spirit. It is Easter Sunday. The disciples are locked into the house, terrified of the authorities coming to take them away as collaborators with the recently executed Jesus. Suddenly the same Jesus is there among them and greets them: Peace with you… It is both a wish and a statement. Where Jesus is there is peace. The presence of Jesus in our lives always brings peace and removes our anxieties and fears. He shows them his hands and side to prove it is himself: the one who died on the cross and the one who is now alive. Then he gives them their mission: ”As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Their mission and his are exactly the same. Our mission and his are exactly the same. He then breathes on them. As God breathed on the earth and created the first human being. In Christ, we become a new creation. The breathing also symbolizes the Spirit of God and of Jesus. So he says,  Receive the Holy Spirit. With the giving of the Spirit comes also the authority to speak and act in the name of Jesus. If you forgive sins, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. This is not just a reference to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the power to forgive sin. Forgiving sin, reconciling people with God is the very core of the work of Christ and the Christian mission. The disciples are now the Body of Christ, the ongoing visible presence of Christ in the world. This Body will experience injuries and wounds and disease. It will wander at times far from God. It will need healing and forgiveness and reconciliation. It will also try to bring the same healing and reconciliation to a broken world.

A body with many parts—Finally, the Second Reading speaks of the effect of the Spirit on the Christian community. The Church and each community within it reflects unity and diversity. We are not called to uniformity. We are not clones of Christ or each other. Unity presumes diversity and a variety of gifts and talents and responsibilities. So, on the one hand, we are called to be deeply united in our faith in Christ and in our love for each other. At the same time, each one of us has a unique gift. It is through this gift or gifts that we serve and build up the community. They are not just for ourselves, or for our families and friends.To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. We are like a body. Each body has many members, each with its own particular function, yet they all are ordered to one purpose – the good functioning of the body as a whole. So it is with the Christian community, which is the Body of Christ. Each member is to be aware of his or her particular gift. This gift indicates the role the member has to play in building up the whole Body, the whole community. Today let us ask God to send his Spirit into our hearts. Filled with that Spirit, may we each individually make our contribution to the community to which we belong. And, as a community, may we give clear and unmistakable witness to the Truth and Love of God, revealed to us in Jesus our Lord. Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow:

Reflection Questions:

Check the page which says EC Scripture for Pentecost A (the First Reading and the Gospel for Pentecost A.) Which reading for today’s Pentecost liturgy do I prefer? Why?

The disciples were in a locked room because of fear. In what ways has fear kept me locked off from others?

Jesus repeated his greeting:”Peace be with you”. Peace demands tolerance and forgiveness. Which is harder for me?

Fr. William Bausch said that Jesus Imposed the “Spirit of Second Chances” on them, sending them out to impart to others the spirit of God’s love and forgiveness. Do I look on the Spirit that way?
To whom am I called to go out and extend love and forgiveness?

What if this passage is less about the clerical notion of the priest’s ability to forgive sins, but instead is about our own ability to work with the Holy Spirit in forgiving others?
Whose sins do I need to forgive?
What sort of sins would I consider “unforgivable” and thus, retained?
Do I think Jesus would refuse to free anyone of his or her sins?

How does my church extend peace to sinners or to those who disagree with our teachings?

What is the difference between seeing and recognizing?
What is the difference between hearing and understanding?
Where can I do better in each?

What might it mean to “renew the face of the earth” today?

Do I ever pray to the Holy Spirit?
Where does the Spirit figure in my spiritual life?

Have there been experiences in my life through which the Spirit was speaking to me?
Did I listen?

How do I expect to hear the Lord’s voice?

What do I regard as my spiritual gifts?
How do I use them?

What gifts of the Spirit do I see in this community?

How might the church be more effective in the process of enculturation?
What dangers might enculturation pose?

Has some person in my life been a source of inspiration and/or courage for me?

What do I see as my mission to the world at large right this moment?
In the future?

Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

Adapted from Sacred Space 2023, a service of the Irish Jesuits: I pray, Lord, in a special way for the church spread throughout the world under the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. I ask for the grace to grow in love for the Church of which I am a living part. I ask Your Spirit for patience and understanding when I think the Church is changing too swiftly or not changing fast enough. Please guide the Church in being open to the Spirit as it moves through the process of synodality, in order that we all may be witnesses to Your love, Jesus, in the world.

For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization: Taken from the gospel for today’s session…Receive the Holy Spirit

Meditations:
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: Read today’s responsorial psalm which is Psalm 104. Using Lectio Divina, pray this scripture hymn. Which words or phrases speak out to you? Sit with them and savor the meaning for you. Is God speaking to you these beautiful words? What works can you do to reflect the role of the Spirit in your life? How can you help the glory of the Lord endure forever? Then speak to God, using your own words and from your heart, about how you want to respond to the gift of the Spirit in your life.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking questions: (Adapted from The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality, by Father Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I)

We need to be on fire again,
for our hope is no longer an easy hope.
We live in a culture of despair
within which Pentecost can no longer be taken for granted.
Hence we must take upon ourselves the burden of the times and refuse to make the Holy Spirit a piece of private property
but a spirit that matters. —Mary Jo Leddy

Rolheiser asks us to examine the following questions and relate them to the presence of the Spirit in our lives:

• What should I be doing?

• To whom should I be listening?

• Must I get involved in this or can I choose to ignore it?

• What is important?

• What are the pillars upon which I build my spiritual life?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Memory: Someone who had been through hardship and endured, sought forgiveness and it was granted said: “There are moments in life when God lifts you up and gives you moments of ecstatic clarity… there are moments that give all of our crosses meaning and revealed their goodness. The Spirit has ruled again.” (Fr. William Bausch in From No to YES) Think back on instances in your life when you have been given a second chance; think of a time when you have given someone else the gift of forgiveness. Try to look at your present circumstances be thankful for the chances to start anew, try to forgive yourself for mistakes you have made, and extend a non-judgmental hand to another.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read Acts 2: 1-6. Imagine that you are one of the twelve apostles whom Jesus left behind. What have you been doing since Jesus’ death? What are you feeling about keeping the group of believers together? Has a natural leader emerged? What are your immediate plans for spreading the Good News? Suddenly you hear a sudden wind growing stronger and stronger in volume until it seems there is only noise in the house you are in, and then you see the fire (fire!) hovering over the room, appearing to split into individual tongues of flame and seeming to come to rest over the heads of your companions. Has anything like this ever happened to you before? Were you expecting this? Are you afraid? How does it feel to speak in tongues? Do you feel any different now that you have been filled with the Spirit of God? Return to the present and reflect on any times in your life in which you have felt extraordinary strength from the Spirit to do God’s will. Talk to God about your response to this outpouring of love from the Spirit.

Poetic Reflection

Read the following poem by Denise Levertov. Does it capture for you how we are protected by the Spirit, the Sustainer of Life?

The Avowal

As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them;
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.

Music Reflection

Listen to “Veni Sancti Spiritus” from the Taize community. Let it lift you up.