Pentecost Sunday

Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD be glad in his works! Pleasing to him be my theme; I will be glad in the LORD.

The Holy Spirit comes into our lives in many ways. He comes in our moment of conception. He comes in our living. He comes in our loving. He comes in our holy thoughts. He comes in our words of peace and compassion. He comes in our works of charity and mercy. He comes to renew our faith in every prayer we pray and every mass we attend. He comes to us through the Blessed Sacrament. He also goes forth with us into the world. He goes forth with us to proclaim the Good News. He goes forth with us to be our companion along the Way. He goes forth with us to guide us to the Truth. He goes forth into our daily world to show us how to live the Life of Christ. He goes for with us to show us how to make our every moment into a good work that brings gladness to God and others.

Are our minds, hearts, souls, and bodies open to the Holy Spirit? What can we do to bring the Holy Spirit into every facet of our lives? How can we embody the gifts of the Holy Spirit and magnify God through our thoughts, words, and works?

O Lord, send your Spirit to us so we might be able to go forth into the world and bear your Good News to all your people.

Amen.

Pentecost Sunday

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.”

Although we might understand the role of God the Father as our Creator and Patriarch and Jesus, the Son of God, as our Savior and Teacher... we don’t always appreciated the role of the Holy Spirit. We know we have been given the Holy Spirit by the Father through Christ, but do not fully comprehend what His Divine Mission is. We hear the words Advocate and Sanctifier, but do not quite understand how central the Holy Spirit is to our lives, especially if we wish to answer God’s call for us to become saints. As our Advocate, the Holy Spirit is called to our side, to remind us of all that God has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us. He reminds us that God is always with us, will never abandon us, and will uphold us in times of trial. As our Sanctifier, the Holy Spirit inspires our consciences, reminds us of the teachings of Christ, and gives us every gift of grace that we need to fulfill our calling as Christians. In light of this, we should make it a point to not only pray to God our Father and Jesus His Beloved Son, but also to the Holy Spirit... the Spirit of Truth and the Love.

Do we seek the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, words, and works? How can we remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is always with us, waiting for us to turn to Him? Are we willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to sanctify us?

O Lord, send us your Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Pentecost Sunday

“Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

When the disciples receive the Holy Spirit, they are given the power to loose and bind sins as well. Jesus could have given them any power, and yet he gives them this one. He gives them the power of forgiveness. God wants us to be forgiven. He wants us to be freed from sins if at all possible. When we receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism and confirm it in the sacrament of Confirmation, we might not receive the power to loose and bind sins as the disciples did (since they also received the indelible character of Christ through the sacrament of Ordination). However, we too are call to be forgiving as God is forgiving.

Who are the people in our lives whom we need to forgive? Who do we need forgiveness from? What’s holding us back from freeing ourselves and others from the bonds of sin?

O Lord, send us your Holy Spirit.

Amen.