When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God."
Psalms 104(103) 1.24.29-30.31.34
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, How manifold are your works, O LORD! the earth is full of your creatures;
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
If you May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD be glad in his works! Pleasing to him be my theme; I will be glad in the LORD.
Letter to the Galatians 5,16-25.
I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ (Jesus) have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15,26-27.16,12-15
Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
The book of the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:1-11) recounts what happened in Jerusalem 50 days after the Pasch of Jesus. The disciples were gathered in the Upper Room, and the Virgin Mary was with them. The Risen Lord had told them to remain in the city until they had received the gift of the Spirit from on High. And this was revealed with a “sound” they suddenly heard coming from heaven, like the “rush of a mighty wind” that filled the house they were in (cf. v. 2). Thus, it concerns a real but also symbolic experience. Something that happened but also gives us a symbolic message for our whole life.
This experience reveals that the Holy Spirit is like a strong and freely flowing wind; that is, he brings us strength and brings us freedom: a strong and freely flowing wind. He cannot be controlled, stopped, nor measured; nor can his direction be foreseen. He cannot be understood within our human exigencies — we always try to frame things — he does not let himself be framed in our methods and our preconceptions. The Spirit proceeds from God the Father and from his Son Jesus Christ and bursts upon the Church; he bursts upon each one of us, giving life to our minds and our hearts. As the Creed states: he is “the Lord, the giver of life”. He has authority because he is God, and he gives life.
On the day of Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples were still disoriented and fearful. They did not yet have the courage to go out in the open. We too, at times, prefer to remain within the protective walls of our surroundings. But the Lord knows how to reach us and open the doors to our hearts. He sends upon us the Holy Spirit who envelops us and overpowers all our hesitations, tears down our defences, dismantles our false certainties. The Spirit makes us new beings, just as he did on that day with the Apostles: he renews us, new beings.
After receiving the Holy Spirit they were no longer as they had been before — he changed them, but they went out and began to preach Jesus, to preach that Jesus is risen, that the Lord is with us, in such a way that each one understood them in his or her own language. Because the Spirit is universal; he does not remove cultural differences, differences of thought, no. He is for everyone, but each one understands him in his or her own culture, in his or her own language. The Spirit changes the heart, broadens the view of the disciples. He enables them to communicate to everyone the great, limitless works of God, surpassing the cultural confines and religious confines within which they were accustomed to thinking and living. He enables the Apostles to reach others, respecting their possibilities of listening and understanding, in the culture and language of each one (vv. 5-11). In other words, the Holy Spirit puts different people in communication, achieving the unity and universality of the Church.
And today this truth tells us so much, this reality of the Holy Spirit, where in the Church there are small groups who always seek division, to separate themselves from others. This is not the Spirit of God. The spirit of God is harmony, it is unity, it unites differences. A good Cardinal, who was the Archbishop of Genoa, said that the Church is like a river: the important thing is to be inside; whether you are a little on that side and a little on the other side is not important; the Holy Spirit creates unity. He used the image of a river. The important thing is to be inside, in the unity of the Spirit, and not look at the pettiness that you are a little on this side and a little on that side, that you pray in this way or the other…. This is not of God. The Church is for everyone, for everyone, as the Holy Spirit showed on the day of Pentecost.
Today let us ask the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to intercede so that the Holy Spirit descends in abundance, fills the hearts of the faithful and kindles the fire of his love in everyone.
S.J..PAUL II - DOMINUM ET VIVIFICANTEM 1. Promise and revelation of Jesus at the Easter Supper
3. When the time for Jesus Christ to leave this world was near, he announced to the apostles "another consoler" (állon parákleton: Jn 14:16). The evangelist John, who was present, writes that during the Paschal Supper before the day of his passion and death, Jesus addressed them with these words: "Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son...". I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another consoler, that he may always remain with you, the Spirit of truth" (Jn 14:13, 16-17). It is precisely this Spirit of truth, Jesus calls Paraclete - and parákletos means "comforter", and also "intercessor", or "lawyer". And he says that he is "another" consoler, the second, because he himself, Jesus, is the first consoler, being the first bearer and donor of the Good News. The Holy Spirit comes after him and thanks to him, to continue in the world, through the Church, the work of the Good News of salvation.
S. J.PAUL II - Crossing the Threshold of Hope. "Redemptoris Missio" speaks of modern areopaguses, that is, of new pulpits. These areopaguses are today the world of science, culture, the media of communication... "The Church looks to the future; She goes out, without ever stopping, towards the new generations... And it is clear that these generations welcome with enthusiasm what their fathers seemed to reject...". What does this mean? It means that Christ is always young. It means that the Holy Spirit works ceaselessly. How eloquent are the Words of Christ: "My Father always works, and I also work" (Jn 5:17). The Father and the Son work in the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of Truth, and Truth never ceases to be fascinating to mankind, especially to young hearts: Therefore, one cannot stop at statistics alone . For Christ, works of charity are important. The Church, in spite of all the losses She suffers, does not cease to look to the future with hope. Such hope is a sign of the power of the Spirit.
DE LUBAC - "The earth, which without God could cease to be a chaos only to become a prison, is in reality the magnificent and painful field where our eternal existence is prepared.
ELISABETH OF THE TRINITY - My God the Trinity Whom I adore - The Love of the Father and the Son continually creates in the heart of the Christian the spiritual reality of a new existence. In faith, through which the Father brings to completion the eternal plan of making us sons in the image of Christ, the divine dimension of human existence is revealed. Man is a "sanctuary of Love" before which every effort of definition is inadequate. The light of faith silences all discourse and leads to adoration, because it makes us see things as they really are, as God sees them. The mysterious indwelling of the Trinity confers to man an infinite dignity.
Acts of the Apostles
RispondiElimina2,1-11.
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God."
Psalms 104(103)
1.24.29-30.31.34
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
the earth is full of your creatures;
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
If you May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
Letter to the Galatians
5,16-25.
I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.
But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions,
occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ (Jesus) have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint John
15,26-27.16,12-15
Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.
And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaREGINA CAELI 23 May 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters Buongiorno!
The book of the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:1-11) recounts what happened in Jerusalem 50 days after the Pasch of Jesus. The disciples were gathered in the Upper Room, and the Virgin Mary was with them. The Risen Lord had told them to remain in the city until they had received the gift of the Spirit from on High. And this was revealed with a “sound” they suddenly heard coming from heaven, like the “rush of a mighty wind” that filled the house they were in (cf. v. 2). Thus, it concerns a real but also symbolic experience. Something that happened but also gives us a symbolic message for our whole life.
This experience reveals that the Holy Spirit is like a strong and freely flowing wind; that is, he brings us strength and brings us freedom: a strong and freely flowing wind. He cannot be controlled, stopped, nor measured; nor can his direction be foreseen. He cannot be understood within our human exigencies — we always try to frame things — he does not let himself be framed in our methods and our preconceptions. The Spirit proceeds from God the Father and from his Son Jesus Christ and bursts upon the Church; he bursts upon each one of us, giving life to our minds and our hearts. As the Creed states: he is “the Lord, the giver of life”. He has authority because he is God, and he gives life.
On the day of Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples were still disoriented and fearful. They did not yet have the courage to go out in the open. We too, at times, prefer to remain within the protective walls of our surroundings. But the Lord knows how to reach us and open the doors to our hearts. He sends upon us the Holy Spirit who envelops us and overpowers all our hesitations, tears down our defences, dismantles our false certainties. The Spirit makes us new beings, just as he did on that day with the Apostles: he renews us, new beings.
After receiving the Holy Spirit they were no longer as they had been before — he changed them, but they went out and began to preach Jesus, to preach that Jesus is risen, that the Lord is with us, in such a way that each one understood them in his or her own language. Because the Spirit is universal; he does not remove cultural differences, differences of thought, no. He is for everyone, but each one understands him in his or her own culture, in his or her own language. The Spirit changes the heart, broadens the view of the disciples. He enables them to communicate to everyone the great, limitless works of God, surpassing the cultural confines and religious confines within which they were accustomed to thinking and living. He enables the Apostles to reach others, respecting their possibilities of listening and understanding, in the culture and language of each one (vv. 5-11). In other words, the Holy Spirit puts different people in communication, achieving the unity and universality of the Church.
And today this truth tells us so much, this reality of the Holy Spirit, where in the Church there are small groups who always seek division, to separate themselves from others. This is not the Spirit of God. The spirit of God is harmony, it is unity, it unites differences. A good Cardinal, who was the Archbishop of Genoa, said that the Church is like a river: the important thing is to be inside; whether you are a little on that side and a little on the other side is not important; the Holy Spirit creates unity. He used the image of a river. The important thing is to be inside, in the unity of the Spirit, and not look at the pettiness that you are a little on this side and a little on that side, that you pray in this way or the other…. This is not of God. The Church is for everyone, for everyone, as the Holy Spirit showed on the day of Pentecost.
Today let us ask the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to intercede so that the Holy Spirit descends in abundance, fills the hearts of the faithful and kindles the fire of his love in everyone.
S.J..PAUL II - DOMINUM ET VIVIFICANTEM
RispondiElimina1. Promise and revelation of Jesus at the Easter Supper
3. When the time for Jesus Christ to leave this world was near, he announced to the apostles "another consoler" (állon parákleton: Jn 14:16). The evangelist John, who was present, writes that during the Paschal Supper before the day of his passion and death, Jesus addressed them with these words: "Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son...". I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another consoler, that he may always remain with you, the Spirit of truth" (Jn 14:13, 16-17). It is precisely this Spirit of truth, Jesus calls Paraclete - and parákletos means "comforter", and also "intercessor", or "lawyer". And he says that he is "another" consoler, the second, because he himself, Jesus, is the first consoler, being the first bearer and donor of the Good News. The Holy Spirit comes after him and thanks to him, to continue in the world, through the Church, the work of the Good News of salvation.
S. J.PAUL II - Crossing the Threshold of Hope.
"Redemptoris Missio" speaks of modern areopaguses, that is, of new pulpits. These areopaguses are today the world of science, culture, the media of communication...
"The Church looks to the future; She goes out, without ever stopping, towards the new generations... And it is clear that these generations welcome with enthusiasm what their fathers seemed to reject...".
What does this mean? It means that Christ is always young. It means that the Holy Spirit works ceaselessly. How eloquent are the Words of Christ: "My Father always works, and I also work" (Jn 5:17). The Father and the Son work in the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of Truth, and Truth never ceases to be fascinating to mankind, especially to young hearts:
Therefore, one cannot stop at statistics alone . For Christ, works of charity are important.
The Church, in spite of all the losses She suffers, does not cease to look to the future with hope. Such hope is a sign of the power of the Spirit.
DE LUBAC - "The earth, which without God could cease to be a chaos only to become a prison,
is in reality the magnificent and painful field where our eternal existence is prepared.
ELISABETH OF THE TRINITY - My God the Trinity Whom I adore - The Love of the Father and the Son continually creates in the heart of the Christian the spiritual reality of a new existence.
In faith, through which the Father brings to completion the eternal plan of making us sons in the image of Christ, the divine dimension of human existence is revealed.
Man is a "sanctuary of Love" before which every effort of definition is inadequate.
The light of faith silences all discourse and leads to adoration, because it makes us see things as they really are, as God sees them.
The mysterious indwelling of the Trinity confers to man an infinite dignity.