Eve of Pentecost
Introductory Prayer
Come, O Holy Spirit! Enlighten my understanding in order to know your commands; strengthen my heart against the snares of the enemy; enkindle my will ... I have heard your voice, and I do not want to harden my heart and resist, saying, “Later ... tomorrow.” ‘Nunc coepi!’ Right now! Lest there be no tomorrow for me.
O Spirit of truth and of wisdom, Spirit of understanding and of counsel, Spirit of joy and of peace! I want whatever you want; I want because you want; I want as you want; I want whenever you want ...
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivà, “Prayer to the Holy Spirit”. In Postulation for the Cause of Beatification and Canonization, “Historical Registry of the Founder of Opus Dei” 20172, p145.
The Feast of Pentecost: Mysterious circumstances
The Christian Pentecost occurred on a Sunday, the fiftieth day after the Sunday of the Resurrection. That day followed the Great Sabbath, or Jewish Pasch. Thus, the descent of the Holy Spirit did not take place on the Jewish Pentecost, but the next day. (Cornelius à Lapide. In “Act. Apost.”)
This circumstance, divinely ordained, inaugurated a great and solemn mystery-- ‘the succession of the New Law to the Old’. The Old Law, suited to the hard-heartedness of the Jews, was of ‘fear’ and ‘bondage’, given amidst thunders, engraved on ‘stone’.
The New Law is a law of ‘love’ and ‘liberty’, written by the Holy Spirit on the hearts of the faithful when he fills them with the interior spirit of love and filial piety.
Let us thank God for having been born and baptized under the law of grace, and seek to perfect the interior law of love. This we can do in three ways:
1) we must treat God with the greatest confidence, like a tender Father, not a hard master or severe tyrant;
2) we must be actuated always by the spirit of love, and not by fear; and
3) we must serve God our Lord for himself, not for the sake of any reward.
On the Day of Pentecost the twelve Apostles, with St Peter presiding, and other disciples were assembled. Mary was in their midst in the upper room already consecrated by the mysteries of the Last Supper. The Holy Spirit chose this place to communicate himself to men, and which he filled throughout with his divine truth, but without extending himself outside of it.
This house represents the Church, “the assembly of the faithful who profess the true doctrine of Jesus Christ, under obedience to the successor of St Peter”. (“Mechlin Catechism” in Church History, p413-4) There alone is the Holy Spirit given; from thence alone flow holy Sacraments, the only true means of eternal salvation. “There is no salvation out of the Church.” (“Catechism of the Catholic Church”, Nos. 846-8)
What a blessed privilege to have the Church for our Mother! Through her we inherit eternal life. She showers down fresh graces upon us every day. What return can we make to her?
We can love her, honor her by the purity of our lives, pray earnestly that God would render her victorious over her enemies, and give her the whole world for her inheritance, according to the promise of our Lord. To offer to God for these ends our health, our talents, our learning, and even our lives.
Can we do more? Yes! We can use all our influence with others to induce them to love and honor the holy Church; to pursue the defence against her enemies.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp294-6
Crossing the threshold of hope
St Hilary holds, the Holy Spirit is the gift that bestows perfect hope (“On the Trinity”, II, 1). Hope has become one of John Paul II’s favorite themes: “Be not afraid!” he insists in his teaching, explaining in a speech the significance of hope and its role for Christians.
“St Paul tells the Corinthians, among the greatest gifts, is ‘hope’ (1 Cor 12:31). Hope has a fundamental role in Christian life, as has faith and love, although ‘the greatest of these is love’ (1 Cor 13:13). Clearly, hope is not understood in a restrictive sense of a special and extraordinary gift, given to some for the benefit of the community. It is ‘a gift of the Holy Spirit offered to every person’ who in faith opens to Christ. Pay special attention to this gift, especially in our time, during which many humans -- even many Christians -- debate among themselves about the illusions and myths of an infinite capacity for self-redemption and self-fulfillment and the temptation to pessimism in the expectation of frequent disillusions and defeats.” (“The Holy Spirit, Guarantee of Eschatological Hope and Source of Final Perseverance”, general audience speech of 3 July 1991, of Pope John Paul II, 14, no. 2)
With hope the Christian is able to enter “the inner shrine behind the curtain” (Heb 6:19). “For the Spirit is given to the Church in order that through his power the whole community of the people of God, however widely scattered and diverse, may persevere in hope: that hope in which ‘we have been saved’ (Rom 8:24). It is the hope of definitive fulfillment in God, the hope of the eternal kingdom, brought about by participation in the life of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit, given to the apostles as the Counselor, “is the guardian and animator of this hope in the heart of the Church”. (John Paul II, encyclical letter “Dominum et Vivificantem”, 18 May 1986 The Spirit is the dynamic force that inspires the lifestyle of Christians. ...
It seems ever clearer that the spirituality of the Third Millennium cannot be a spirituality enclosed in itself or one which denies the world to come. It must be one of full transfiguration because it is filled with the Spirit of life and hope. It will be a spirituality of resurrection. ...
Ref: Cf Theological-Historical Commission, “The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life”, 153-4, 1997
Pentecost Goes On
“The day of Pentecost” ... a day of particular solemnity which stands side by side with Easter Day itself, by reason of the dignity of the celebration and the spiritual riches contained in it.
Is it possible to establish a comparison between the Pentecost of which the “Acts of the Apostles” speaks, that occurred fifty days after the Lord’s resurrection, and the Pentecost of today? Yes. It is not only possible, it is also certain, undoubted and corroborating to recognize that link ‘in the life’ and ‘for the life’ of the Church, both at the level of her two-thousand years of history and of that of the events of the time in which we are living ...
We have the right, duty and joy to say that Pentecost goes on. We rightfully speak of the “perpetuity” of Pentecost. Gathered in that same Cenacle, which had been the place of the first Eucharist, then of the first meeting with the Risen One, the Apostles ‘discovered the power of the Holy Spirit’. Made strong by that power, they began to act, that is, to carry through their service. The apostolic Church was born. And we are gathered here to ‘renew the mystery of that great day’.
That mystery ought to be manifested in a particular way through the Sacrament of Confirmation....
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, p217
Concluding Prayer
Holy and divine Spirit! Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, your spouse, bring the fullness of your gifts into our hearts. Comforted and strengthened by you, may we live according to your Will and may we die praising your infinite mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Ref: Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ (Editors), “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p2080
• St Barnabas, Apostle -- A Cypriot Jew, he introduced St Paul to the other apostles. He was with Paul in the first missionary journey and in the first Council of Jerusalem. Died a martyr during Nero’s reign. (Fr James Socias, et al [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, p1545)
• Our Lady of Esquernes, half a league from Lille, in Flanders. This image began to work miracles about the year 1162.—(Buzelinus, Annals of Gaul, lib. ii.) “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar (www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Esquernes. Near Lille, Flanders 1162. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.starharbor.com/santiago/m feasts.html); (MaryLinks Calendar.htm); (http://mariedenazareth.com)
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