Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Pentecost


Pentecost
predmore.blogspot.com | predmoresj@yahoo.com |617.510.9673
June 9, 2019
Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3-13; John 20:10-23


Scripture presents us with two thoroughly different versions of Pentecost and we wonder how these accounts can be so unlike the other. The famous version that everyone remembers is the one in the Acts of the Apostles when the Disciples gather after nine days of prayer as they await the descent of the Holy Spirit. A strong wind blows among the people, tongues of fire appear above their heads, and people of different languages and dialects converse with one another unmistakably. The people are united despite their apparent differences. This event occurs during a Jewish agricultural feast that celebrates the first fruits of the harvest, which occurs fifty days after Passover. The Evangelist Luke ties this moment to the last of the earthly appearances of Jesus as he ascends to the Father in heaven, and this new period is marked by an increase of prayer.

The second account is from the Fourth Gospel because Pentecost occurs on the Day of the Resurrection. The Ascension is not needed because Jesus and the Father are already one, and Pentecost happens as Jesus breathes his Spirit onto his Disciples and blesses them with peace. This account is less dramatic than the Acts version, but which one happened? Which version do we believe? Is it better that we just look at the meaning of Pentecost rather than try to figure out the historic details?

Our vocation is to be people of prayer in the places where the world is in pain. Our prayers mirror the stance of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross whose arms are stretched outward to hold the pain of the world and also the love of God even though his arms cannot contain either. We are to take the same posture with arms held out unable to grasp the roots of pain and suffering and unable to hold onto God’s mercy, but our stance of openness to the Spirit keeps us praying for both. We speak inarticulately, sometimes groaning or not knowing what we pray for, but we recognize the pain and we ask the Spirit to lessen the world’s suffering. Sometimes our groaning mirrors that of the crucified Jesus as he searches for God’s tenderness and compassion.

Ignatius of Loyola often asks retreatants to pray for courage and energy because it comes from the Spirit, who helps us to announce redemption to the world. Our lives are to be symbols and signposts to others to let them know they have salvation accessible to them when their world is marked by fear, exploitation, and suspicion. The peace that Jesus gives takes away that fear and fills it with hope and healing. The world knows its brokenness and incompletion, and it needs to hear words that lead them to greater love and trust in God. Our Christian lives can be seen as Spirit-filled and shaped by Christ as people who love the world the way God loves the world.

Our symbolic acts that tell others about our faith are seen in the small, but significant actions that reveal our attitudes and beliefs. These small actions tell a larger story about Christ who resides within our souls. They reveal whether our souls are at peace and in balance. They reveal whether we see and love the world the way God sees and loves the world. They reveal whether the Spirit resides in our hearts and guides our way forward. They release others from sin and undue burdens so as to live in the freedom God holds out for us. They reveal that we share in Christ’s victory where all is on the way to being reconciled and joined as one. Pentecost means that God has made a home within us. Our God is very near.
        
Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 
Monday: (Genesis 3) After Adam had eaten of the tree, the Lord God called to him and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself."

Tuesday: (Acts 11) While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.

Wednesday: (2 Corinthians 3) Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit for anything as coming from us; rather, our qualification comes from God, who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

Thursday: (2 Corinthians 3) Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged. And even though our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled for those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Friday (2 Corinthians 4) So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, AI believed, therefore I spoke," we too believe and therefore speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence.

Saturday (2 Corinthians 5) The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Gospel: 
Monday: (John 19) When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Tuesday: (Matthew 5) Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

Wednesday (Matthew 5) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.

Thursday (Matthew 5) "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin.

Friday (Matthew 5) You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Saturday (Matthew 5) You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all.

Saints of the Week

June 9: Ephrem, deacon and doctor (306-373), was born in the area that is now Iraq. He was ordained a deacon and refused priestly ordination. After Persians conquered his home town, Ephrem lived in seclusion where he wrote scriptural commentaries and hymns. He was the first to introduce hymns into public worship.

June 9: Joseph de Anchieta, S.J., priest (1534-1597), was from the Canary Islands and became a leading missionary to Brazil. He was one of the founders of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero. He is considered the first Brazilian writer and is regarded as a considerate evangelizer of the native Brazilian population. Alongside the Jesuit Manuel de Nobrega, he created stable colonial establishments in the new country.

June 11: Barnabas, apostle (d. 61), was a Jew from Cyprus who joined the early Christians in Jerusalem to build up the church. His name means "son of encouragement." He accepted Paul into his community and worked alongside him for many years to convert the Gentiles. He was stoned to death in his native Cyprus. He was a towering  authority to the early church.

June 13: Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor (1195-1231), became a biblical scholar who eventually joined the Franciscans. Francis sent him to preach in northern Italy, first in Bologna and then Padua. He very especially beloved because of his pastoral care, but he died at age 36.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Jun 9, 1597. The death of Blessed Jose de Ancieta, Brazil's most famous missionary and the founder of the cities of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro.
·      Jun 10, 1537. Ignatius and his companions were given minor orders at the house of Bishop Vincenzo Negusanti in Venice, Italy.
·      Jun 11, 1742. The Chinese and Malabar Rites were forbidden by Pope Benedict XIV; persecution broke out at once in China.
·      Jun 12, 1928. Fr. General Ledochowski responded negatively to the idea of intercollegiate sports at Jesuit colleges because he feared the loss of study time and the amount of travel involved.
·      Jun 13, 1557. The death of King John III of Portugal, at whose request Francis Xavier and others were sent to India.
·      Jun 14, 1596. By his brief Romanus Pontifex, Pope Clement VIII forbade to members of the Society of Jesus the use or privilege of the Bulla Cruciata as to the choice of confessors and the obtaining of absolution from reserved cases.
·      Jun 15, 1871. P W Couzins, a female law student, graduated from Saint Louis University LawSchool, the first law school in the country to admit women.


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