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FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR THE PARACLETE SENT TO US THROUGH YOUR SON, JESUS

[SUNDAY, 27 MAY 2012]

First Reading: Acts 2:1-11

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” (Acts 2:1-11 RSV)

Prayer: Father, we thank You for the Paraclete sent to us through Your Son, Jesus, the Spirit is the Love of God.

We think of the darkness of Calvary, where Jesus died, and the light of the Pentecost room, filled with tongues of fire. We think of the suffering of Your Son and the glory given to His followers. We think of the suffering of Your Son and the glory given to His followers. We think of the jeers of the rabble around the Cross, and the awed silence when the disciples spoke in tongues. We have a vague knowledge of what we are, of what You have called us to be. Our journey is often one of pain and suffering, but there’s a glory in us, aching to be born. We are a sinful people but a holy nation. We walk in the darkness, but the light of Your Spirit calls us to our goal. Teach us to dwell in the light, to use the gifts You have given, to rejoice always in the promises You have made. Amen.

The prayer is taken from Fr. Killian Speckner OFMConv., THE PRAYERS OF FATHER KILLIAN – A Franciscan Missionary’s Guide to Daily Devotion, Paraclete Press, 1986.

Sunday Scripture Study

Pentecost Sunday - Cycle B

May 27, 2012

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer

First Reading: Acts 2:1-11

Psalm: 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13

Gospel Reading: John 20:19-23

This Sunday’s Gospel is a reading that we just heard on the 2nd Sunday of Easter. For this Pentecost Sunday, therefore, we will instead be looking at the First Reading for this Sunday, taken from the Acts of the Apostles.

The setting is at Jerusalem in the upper room where the Last Supper had been held. It is 10 days after the Ascension, at which time Jesus had left them specific instructions (Acts 1:45). About 120 people, including Mary, were present. It is the time of the Jewish feast of Pentecost.

Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks (in Hebrew, Shavout), was one of three major Jewish pilgrim feasts, celebrated seven weeks after Passover (Deuteronomy 16:16). Devout Jews from all over the known world would be in Jerusalem for these two feasts (verses 9-11). Originally a harvest festival where God’s people would offer him the first fruits (best part) of the harvest, it came to be also a commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai on the fiftieth day after the Exodus from Egypt (from the Greek Petekoste, meaning “fiftieth”).

Christians now celebrate Pentecost as the “birthday” of the Church, and a celebration of the giving of the New Law of the Spirit written on the hearts of believers (Jeremiah 31:31-34; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6) as was promised to the Apostles by Our Lord (John 15:26;16:13; 20:22, Luke 24:49).

QUESTIONS:

In the 2^nd Reading, if the “Body of Christ” is not simply a metaphor, what is it? (see 1 Corinthians 10:17; CCC 790) What does the Holy Spirit do in the Body? (see CCC 797) How does union with Christ affect social and ethnic differences? (see Galatians 3:28; CCC 1267)

What was the original meaning of the Feast of Pentecost for Jews (Deuteronomy 16:9-10)? What theological significance did they add to this feast? Why do you think God chose the Jewish Feast of Pentecost to give the Holy Spirit to the Church? What is the meaning of Pentecost for Christians (Acts 2:32-33; CCC 715)?

How far have these pilgrims come (verses 9-11)? What attracts them to the disciples? Would you respond more like those in verse 12 or those in verse 13? Why?

When have you experienced an empowering from God to witness about Christ? How does being filled with the Spirit relate to bearing witness about Christ?

Have you ever had a strong religious conversion experience? If so, how did your behavior change, and what did your family and friends think about it? What did you think about it?

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 687-690, 730, 733-741, 1695

We do not exist in order to pursue just any happiness. We have been called to penetrate the intimacy of God's own life, to know and love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and to love also--in that same love of the one God in three divine Persons--the angels and all men. --St. Josemaria Escriva