Come Holy Spirit!

Pentecost means "fifty days" and is one of the major Jewish Feasts, which takes place 50 days after the Passover. It is also known as the "Feast of the Weeks" or "Shavout", a holiday from work at the end of the wheat harvest when the Jews would gather in Jerusalem to celebrate. Therefore, in the time of the Disciples there were thousands of pilgrims in Jerusalem on this date. 

Before Jesus ascended into heaven he told the Disciples: I am sending the promise of my Father upon you (the gift of the Holy Spirit); but stay in the city until you are clothed in power from on high (Luke 24:49). Jesus tells them that John baptized with water and in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). Today on Pentecost Christians commemorate the descent and indwelling of the Holy Spirit upon the men and women who were Jesus' disciples. The disciples were empowered with the spirit in order to go out and proclaim the Gospel to all peoples and to baptize those who believed (Acts 2). All those Jewish pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost were from many nations and spoke many different languages, but they all understood as the disciples spoke. This is why Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church. 

Pentecost is one of the most important feasts in the Christian calendar, only after Easter and Christmas. The liturgical color is RED, representing the tongues of fire that appeared over the Disciples heads (Acts 2:3) and symbolizing the fire of the Holy Spirit and the joy of those who open their hearts to the Spirit. 

There are two times in my life that I felt "baptized in the Holy Spirit". One is during my  friendship with people in the People of Praise Community, especially from 2004-2011 when three of my children attended Trinity School at Meadow View, an outreach of the People of Praise community. The mission of this charismatic and ecumenical community is to further the mission of the church under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Christian model that these friends provided to me as they prayed with me changed me and helped me to discern my ministry in the Church. Before meeting these friends I had never considered saying "would you like to pray together" instead of "I will pray for you". These friends would empower me to go and do this with others and eventually be one of the reasons for getting my Masters in Pastoral Studies, which led to my current ministry in the Church. Through my friends I discovered the power of the Holy Spirit. If you are interested in finding out more about People of Praise go to: https://peopleofpraise.org/

Secondly, in 2011 I attended a Cursillo weekend at Missionhurst Retreat Center in Arlington, VA. On this weekend I was renewed again by the Holy Spirit as the witness talks, love and prayers of the Cursillo team washed over me. More importantly, the weekly group reunions have strengthened my faith more than any other spiritual tool I have experienced. On Tuesdays six of us gather in my office during lunch and share our Encounters with Christ and how we have made progress in our piety, study and action. This awareness has also changed my life. Below is the prayer that we start our meetings with.  If you are interested in finding out more about the Cursillo movement in Arlington, VA go to: http://www.arlingtoncursillo.org/

Ascension 2017

Alleluia!  Alleluia! Happy Easter!

We are almost at the end of the Great 50 Days of Easter. From Easter Sunday (April 16, 2017) to Pentecost (June 4, 2017) we celebrate the joy and exultation of the Easter Season as one feast day. The liturgical color is white, which represents light, innocence, joy, triumph and glory. On the 40th day after Easter (Thursday, May 25) we celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord, however in the Arlington Diocese, where I live, it has been moved to Sunday, the 7th Sunday of Easter (May 28). The Ascension is the belief that the risen Christ was bodily taken up, enthroned at the right hand of God, and exalted as Lord. What does that mean for us? That we must now be responsible, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to bring the Reign of God to earth. Each one of us can make a difference in the world through our daily actions.

Pope Francis says:  "The future of humanity does not lie solely in the hands of great leaders, the great powers and the elites. It is fundamentally in the hands of peoples and in their ability to organize. It is in their hands, which can guide with humility and conviction this process of change. I am with you. Each of us, let repeat from the heart: no family without lodging, no rural worker without land, no laborer without rights, no people without sovereignty, no individual without dignity, no child without childhood, no young person without a future, no elderly person without a venerable old age. Keep up your struggle and, please, take great care of Mother Earth." (7/9/15, Popular Movements)

Let us Pray: Lord, help us to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Help us to foster hope in our world. Let us show small acts of kindness to all those we encounter today.  Allow us to stop judging others and give them the benefit of the doubt. Help us to remain patient and loving when we encounter hate or indifference. Enable us to go outside our comfort zone by producing less waste. Give us the courage to reach out to our representatives to advocate for the poor and marginalized so that laws can be changed to give all people dignity. Allow us to encounter others in a real way and bless them today by our actions. Amen.

Happy Easter!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!