All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
Listening to the Spirit
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.
Listening to the Word
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.”
Reflection
The Word of God of this Pentecost’s Sunday, narrates the coming of the Holy Spirit in four different ways, to tell us that He, the breath of God, cannot tolerate patterns.
- In the Gospel, the Spirit comes as a consoling presence, light, and quiet like a breath, like the beating of the heart. On Easter evening, while the doors were closed, Jesus came, stood in their midst. He did not accuse anyone, instead, he reassured that his love for them was still intact.
- In Acts (first reading) the Spirit comes as energy, courage, a thunder that opens doors and windows. While we are busy outlining the boundaries of our groups, “these are my friends: I do not matter the other”, the Spirit breaks down the walls, opens the world in front of us, calls us to go beyond, to reach out, to go to the peripheries.
- According to Paul (the second reading), it comes as a different gift for each person, the beauty and genius of each Christian.
- And a fourth way is the refrain of the psalm: “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth”. The whole earth, nothing, and nobody are excluded by the renewal of the Holy Spirit.
And what about myself? What is the way the Holy Spirit reveals Himself to me? Do I experience his presence in my life? Do I invoke/call upon to the Holy Spirit in my life? I am repeating in my heart two prayers
The first one is: “Come Holy Spirit! Open my heart and my mind and help me to realize my sins.” Sometimes we really are unable to see our sins and their consequences. Sins spoil our relationship with God and with others. Our sins prevent us to build up good and solid friendships with other persons.
The second one is: “Holy Spirit help me to keep my eyes open and widen my mind and my heart so that no one can be a stranger to me.” Jesus says to the apostles: “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” We are called to go and to bring the Good News to all, until the ends of the earth.
As in the beginning, the Creator blew His breath of life on Adam to give him life, so now Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit, donating to the apostles and to us the ONE who gives the ETERNAL LIFE.
Gospel Reflections
Allowing Jesus to Change Us
Who Is Jesus for Me? From Encounter to Mission
