DAILY- HOMILY

May 20, 2018 – SUNDAY, PENTECOST

Solemnity. Red.

Vigil: Gn 11: 1 - 9 / Rom 8: 22-27 / Jn 7: 37- 39

Day: Acts 2: 1 - 11 / 1 Cor 12: 3b- 7, 12- 13 / Jn 20: 19 – 23

1ST READING:    Acts 2: 1 - 11

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place, And suddenly out of the sky came a sound like a strong rushing wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared tongues as if of fire which parted and came to rest upon each of them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

Staying in Jerusalem were religious Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered, all excited because each heard them speaking in his own language. Full of amazement and wonder, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that we hear them in our own native language? Here are Parthians, Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and foreigners who accept Jewish beliefs, Cretians and Arabians; and all of us hear them proclaiming in our own language what God, the Savior, does."

FROM THE 2ND READING:            1 Cor 12: 4- 5

There is a diversity of gifts, but the Spirit is the same. There is a diversity of ministries, but the Lord is the same. There is a diversity of works, but the same God works in all.

REFLECTION

The first reading for today's liturgy gives us a very dramatic narration of an event that shook not only the disciples and people in Jerusalem at that first Pentecost but one that continues to shake the Church for all time. So today we celebrate not only what happened that day in Jerusalem but also the gift of God's Spirit which continues to guide the Church today and will guide the Church forever And just as "religious Jews from every nation" gathered that day in Jerusalem were shaken by the Spirit, so all of us and the whole Church continue to be shaken by the same Spirit.

In our lifetime there have been remarkable examples of the Spirit's guiding presence in the Church. In 1943 Pope Pius Xll's encyclical, Divino Afflante Spiritu, on the study of the Bible marked the beginning of a modern appreciation of the Scriptures. Considered by some as revolutionary at that time, the Pope's encyclical helped us to move from an overly simplistic and na'lve understanding of the Bible to one that speaks more clearly to men and women of today. The same renewal of biblical studies resulted in a burst of energy in ecumenical efforts to build bridges between Catholics and other Christians, replacing walls of crude hostility with mutual respect despite real differences.

As the 20th century moved on, year after year, these sparks of the Spirit's fire prepared the world for significant bursts of energy. The ecumenical movement which had begun in 1908 was celebrated with annual days of prayer for Christian unity. Biblical seminars opened the pages of the Scriptures for a greater number of the faithful for the development of a mature faith life. Historians acknowledge that, together, the development of Scripture studies and the growth of efforts of ecumenical dialogue were indeed a new Pentecost in the life of Christian churches.

The Second Vatican Council, convened by Pope St. John XXIII in 1962, and guided to its conclusion in 1965 by his successor, Bl. Paul VI, was a massive effort to open the Church to the modern world.. The fire of the Spirit of Vatican Council II is still being fanned today as new efforts grow and flourish, like at Pentecost, still bringing men and women of different cultures, races and languages together in our own days.

Celebrating Pentecost today we are grateful that the Spirit, promised by Jesus to be sent for us, is still at work: the Spirit is at work in you and me, in our families, and in our world. As we thank almighty God for sending the Holy Spirit, we recognize our need for the Spirit. Our world is a deeply divided world, in great need of the Spirit's gift of union. We pray for that today.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER INTENTIONS:

THANKSGIVING 

     Cecilia Lim Yu and Family

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     Ngo Tay Siao Cheng Hoc

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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