|
|
|
||||||||||
|
Dear Friend, We all have moments in our lives when we feel enthusiastic,
alive and energized by what we are doing or what we are involved in; but we
also have moments when we feel drained out, spiritless and deadbeat. We
cannot be self-energized, at least not for long. But the Spirit of God is
given to us and it can and does bring newness into our lives if we let it
work in us. This spirit is a gift freely given to all who desire and welcome
God into their lives. Have a ‘Come-alive in the Spirit’ weekend! Fr. Jude Botelho |
|||||||||||
|
The story of the coming of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost is packed with theological significance. Just as the giving of the
law on Mt. Sinai marked the birth of the people of God, so the giving of the
Holy Spirit was the beginning of the Church. According to Jewish tradition
the giving of the law was accompanied by a mighty sound which turned to fire
from which issued a voice that proclaimed the law. The same symbol of fire
now acts as the vehicle of the Holy Spirit which brings new life to the
Church. What gives the incident its specific Christian colouring is the fire
and the speaking in tongues. Fire was supposed to be the sign of the last
time, where fire purified and consumed impurities, now the Spirit of Jesus
comes to bring a new fire and a new spirit. Speaking in tongues was meant to
announce a new presence of God, a spontaneous outpouring uttering the praises
of God. Luke’s message here is that on this day the last times begin and the
new age of the Church is alive with the Spirit descending on all peoples to
proclaim salvation till the ends of the earth. In
the second reading Paul speaks to the Corinthians about the variety of gifts
of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are not earned by any deed of ours
nor are they meant solely for ourselves. They are freely bestowed on us and
are meant for the building of the Christian community. The diversity of the
gifts and the extraordinariness of some of them, lead to some factions in the
community. Paul had to remind his listeners that faith itself is the greatest
gift we possess and we cannot acknowledge Jesus as Lord unless we are enabled
by the Spirit. If the gifts of the Spirit divide us we are misusing them. We
have to use and cultivate the gifts of the spirit for the benefit of all. Cultivating the Spirit Though Jesus had foretold that he
would rise from the dead after his death, the disciples were gripped with
fear and locked themselves indoors for fear of the Jews. Into the room of his
trapped people Jesus came with his spirit and stood among them. He breathes
on them the Holy Spirit. As the risen Jesus breathes on them his peace, the
disciples breathe in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is breath they take in on
that first Easter Sunday evening, the breath that gives them all a new
heart. Only in the gift of the Spirit
is fear changed to freedom. Only in the Spirit are the disciples empowered to
understand the past anew and see the future with hope. The Holy Spirit is the
exit from the hopelessness of being locked into a cruel and fearful past. The
Spirit is the exit that leads them out into the streets and marketplaces to
proclaim fearlessly the good news unmindful of the consequences. Through the
disciples of Jesus the Spirit will reach all peoples till the ends of the
earth for all time. For the disciples are commissioned to breathe out the
Spirit just as they had breathed in the Spirit; to share this new spirit with
multitudes of peoples who live in hope. Pentecost, the Greek word for
fiftieth, was a Jewish feast celebrating the covenant God gave to his chosen
people through Moses, fifty days after the Exodus. Now Pentecost becomes a
Christian feast when God renews his covenant, a new covenant through the Spirit
given to all peoples of the earth. Today is a new opportunity given to all to
celebrate the gift of new life. In the Spirit the past is forgiven, our sins
are wiped away and we become a new creation filled with God’s peace and joy.
We not only receive this gift but are called to share this gift of peace, the
forgiveness of sins and joy with all peoples. We can accomplish this mighty
task only in and through His Spirit. “Pentecost, formerly a Jewish harvest festival,
is inseparable from Easter, because it offers us the fruits of Easter; the
trophies conquered in a decisive battle. We realize that, although we have
not yet achieved anything, all has been given us with this fruit which the
flowering of Easter promised: the Spirit of God, aflame with his fire, which
filled the universe and the earth. Pentecost is with the sending of the
supreme Gift, the vindication of the divine folly, of the prodigious
generosity of the Father, of the superabundance of life given to mankind in
an eternal embrace. Pentecost fulfils the prophetic words: ‘you shall be as
Gods’. Far from disregarding the realities of our life here below, the Spirit
both stimulates and encourages, and tells of a future: a new heaven and a new
earth! This is the transfiguration of all things put before us in the closing
chapter of the Apocalypse –all that God had prepared for those whom he loves.
Is not the Spirit this very eternal life, already commenced here below? Let
us then listen to the murmur of this living water saying: ‘Come to the Father’.
In this rising wind let us set sail –to live for God who is man’s destiny.” –
Glenstal Bible Missal Let the Spirit flow The light within I have read somewhere about an old sculptor who had, among
many other pieces of work in his workshop, the model of a beautiful
cathedral. It was covered with the dust of years, and nobody admired it,
although it was an exact model, inside and out, of a fine cathedral. One day
the old attendant placed a light inside the model, and its gleams shone
through the beautiful stained glass windows. Then all stopped to admire its
beauty. The change that was wrought by the light within was marvellous. It is
so with us all. We must have the light within. Anthony Castle in ’Quotes and Anecdotes’ Be filled with the Spirit John Hyde, the American missionary, was popularly called
‘praying Hyde’. He served the Lord in
Punjab and many came to the Lord through his ministry. Here is how the Holy
Spirit worked in his own life. When he boarded the steamer at New York bound
for India, as a missionary, he found in his cabin a letter addressed to him.
It was from a friend and the main purpose of it was “I shall not cease
praying for you, dear John, until you are filled with the Holy Spirit.” John Hyde was hurt and angry. As a
missionary he thought he had already
been filled with the Holy Spirit. He knew the holy life led by his friend and
loved and respected him. He paced up
and down in his cabin with rage in his heart. There was a struggle within him
which continued within him till almost the end of his voyage. Slowly a
conviction came into his heart that his friend was right. He took a decision,
that at any cost he would really be filled with the Holy Spirit. A few days
after his arrival in India, Hyde went out with a missionary to an open-air
service. The missionary spoke about Jesus as the real Saviour from sin. When
he had finished his address, a respectable looking man asked the missionary
whether he himself had been saved from sin.
This question went straight to the heart of John Hyde. He was sure
that if that question had been asked of him, he would not have been able to
speak of his own salvation. When he went to his room, Hyde shut himself in
and pleaded with the Lord to give him victory over all his sins or otherwise
he would go back to America. The Lord heard his penitent prayer and saw his
resolution. As Hyde himself said, “He did deliver me, and I have not had a
doubt of this since. He has given me victory through the Holy Spirit.” Hyde
was able to lead more and more people into the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Daniel Sundararaj in ‘Manna for the Soul’ May we enjoy the gifts of the
Spirit and share them with others! Fr. Jude
Botelho |
|||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Other Sunday Homily Websites Daily Reflections Immaculate Heart Retreat Center Gospel Commentary from Ireland Daily Scripture |
Recent
Sunday Reflections The Ascension of the Lord 04-May. 2008 Sixth Sunday of Easter 27-April. 2008 Fifth Sunday of Easter 20-April. 2008 Fourth
Sunday of Easter 13-April. 2008 Third Sunday of Easter 06-April. 2008 Second Sunday of Easter 30-March. 2008
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
