Pentecost Sunday Cycle C
05/15/2013
May 19, 2013
My reflection and comments are based on the Mass Readings during the Day
Review the Reading for the Mass during Day...Sunday
Listen to the Readings for the Mass during the Day...Sunday
See below for the Vigil Mass
Vigil Readings for Mass on Saturday
Review the Readings for the Vigil Mass...Saturday
Listen to the Readings for the Vigil Mass Saturday
We know that Pentecost means fifty, 50 days after Easter, in which we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, the birthday of the church.
The gospel tells us that Jesus appears to the disciples on Sunday after the resurrection and He says, "Peace be with you".
At first they are terrified.
For sure the Holy Spirit can bring peace in those moments we are stressed,uncomfortable, or even afraid. But, do we take the time in those moments to ask for the Holy Spirit?
The Spirt can give us strength and comfort to help us really trust that what we are going through is part of our journey to eternal life. The Apostle came to understand the importance of the effects or gifts of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised them and each of us.
In this reading from the Gospel we hear that the Holy Spirit comes to give us peace, and to remind us that we, along with the disciples Jesus appeared to, are sent out into the world on a daily basis to make God present for others
The first reading gives us a description of how we normally think of Pentecost with wind and tongues of fire, and must at first, been a somewhat frightening or maybe even a little terrifying experience.
Perhaps it is in those moments when we are uncomfortable that we can encounter the Holy Spirit.
We know that this experience changed the apostles and the disciples for their entire lives.
From that day forward, they were dedicated to one purpose and one purpose only, and that was to bring the Good News, God's great unconditional mercy, compassion, and love, to the world.
Nothing has changed for us today. We are called by God to make him present for other people too.
In the second reading we hear about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We have each been given gifts by the Holy Spirit and we are to use these gifts in the service of others.
Sometimes we think that our gifts are so unimportant that we failed to use them. There are moments we are called to use the gifts such as...
being a good listener, having compassion and mercy, being able to forgive and forget, being able to go out of our way for others, or perhaps even just saying a quick blessing prayer for the person that we see walking on the street as we drive by them in our car.
We have to be careful and not think that these little gifts don't really seem to matter, but they really do. The disciples could have been tempted to think that their little gifts couldn't possibly change the world, and yet we know that they did.Those little gifts, that we have, can also change the world years from now.
So what are we waiting for?
We have received the gifts of the Spirit .
We need to use those gifts, even those that seem ordinary and simple, in the world today.
Courage!!!
Use the Gifts Given
My Reflections Made in the Past
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