Solemnity of
Pentecost
Fifty
days after
Easter
In honor of the Holy
Spirit - wear RED to holy Mass
today!
Today
is Pentecost. It is not
merely a reminder of a past event, but a continuation of the Spirit renewing the
face of the earth (Psalm 104:30). Today's Pentecost will not be a shadow of the
first Pentecost, rather the first Pentecost is a shadow of today's Pentecost. God's grace is
abounding all the more (Romans 5:20). The Spirit is not diminishing His work in
our world, but increasing it. It will not be only thousands who come to Jesus
today (Acts 2:41), but millions. The waters of the Spirit become deeper as they
flow further around the world and into history (Ezekiel
47:5).
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
The love of God
has been poured into our hearts through
the Spirit of God dwelling within us, alleluia. - Rom 5:5, cf 8:11
the Spirit of God dwelling within us, alleluia. - Rom 5:5, cf 8:11
-Entrance
antiphon, today's liturgy
"The Church draws
her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily
experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church.
In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfillment of the
promise: “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20),
but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine into the body
and blood of the Lord, she rejoices in this presence with unique
intensity.
Ever since
Pentecost, when the
Church, the People of the New Covenant, began her pilgrim journey towards her
heavenly homeland, the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of her
days, filling them with confident hope." (Introduction, 1)
Encyclical
Letter, Ecclesia de
Eucharistia
Pope
St John Paul II
On the Eucharist in its relationship to the
Church
Pentecost image
above: artist, Jan Joest van Kalker (c 1450-1519)
"We were made to be God's children, it is in our DNA. But this filial relationship was ruined and required the sacrifice of God's only-begotten Son in order to be restored. From the immense gift of love which is Jesus' death on the cross, the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon humanity like a vast torrent of grace. Those who by faith are immersed into this mystery of regeneration are reborn to the fullness of filial life." - Pope Francis, Pentecost homily 2016
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