Pentecost Sunday
This week's Mass
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This week's newsletters and Mass Sheets (click on the small images at the side to view the next page)
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Thought for the week from Father John
Pentecost is the 50th day after Easter Sunday and marks the end of the Easter season. We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that Jesus has been talking about and promising for some time now in our Gospel readings.
Recently we were asked some questions by the children in St Catherine’s school, what we call ‘Big Questions’, we filmed our answers and they will appear on the School website. One very good ‘Big Question’ that we were asked was ‘Who and what is the Holy Spirit?’. Technically, the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, but I like to think of the Holy Spirit as God at work in the world today. The Holy Spirit is also portrayed as wind and fire and a dove, things which speak of power and peace, and is sometimes referred to as a female. So, there’s various images and ideas which help us think about who and what is the Holy Spirit.
The question got me thinking about the Holy Spirit, the least understood and mentioned person of the Trinity. The key word is Spirit, so what does Spirit mean? Well, we might think of a ghost, when I was growing up the Third person of the Trinity was called the Holy Ghost. The Church decided that it wasn’t a satisfactory description, but it does convey the idea of something other worldly, connected with the next life.
There are also alcoholic spirits, like whiskey and gin. They’re obtained by distilling to get the strongest element, the best part we might say. We also speak of the spirit of the law, as opposed to the letter of the law. The spirit of the law is the essence of the law, what it’s really about, what it’s trying to do. We don’t just blindly follow ‘the law’, we reflect and ponder on its meaning and purpose.
All these things are giving us an idea of who and what is the Holy Spirit. Our God revealed himself in Jesus, the Spirit will reveal the essence, the core of Jesus, so how about LOVE, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS as the core and essence of Jesus?
You may remember at school learning the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit – Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgement, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence and the Spirit of Awe and Wonder in the presence of God, and also the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit – Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Long-suffering, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Self-control and Chastity. Oh, to be filled the Holy Spirit and have those gifts and bear that fruit.
So, who and what is the Holy Spirit? ‘The very essence of God’ I would say, and if she is dwelling within us, and she should be, for we have all been baptised and most of us have been confirmed. Then, we just have to let her influence us, let our faith make a difference. One thing is certain if we do, people will notice, you can’t ignore the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost is the 50th day after Easter Sunday and marks the end of the Easter season. We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that Jesus has been talking about and promising for some time now in our Gospel readings.
Recently we were asked some questions by the children in St Catherine’s school, what we call ‘Big Questions’, we filmed our answers and they will appear on the School website. One very good ‘Big Question’ that we were asked was ‘Who and what is the Holy Spirit?’. Technically, the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, but I like to think of the Holy Spirit as God at work in the world today. The Holy Spirit is also portrayed as wind and fire and a dove, things which speak of power and peace, and is sometimes referred to as a female. So, there’s various images and ideas which help us think about who and what is the Holy Spirit.
The question got me thinking about the Holy Spirit, the least understood and mentioned person of the Trinity. The key word is Spirit, so what does Spirit mean? Well, we might think of a ghost, when I was growing up the Third person of the Trinity was called the Holy Ghost. The Church decided that it wasn’t a satisfactory description, but it does convey the idea of something other worldly, connected with the next life.
There are also alcoholic spirits, like whiskey and gin. They’re obtained by distilling to get the strongest element, the best part we might say. We also speak of the spirit of the law, as opposed to the letter of the law. The spirit of the law is the essence of the law, what it’s really about, what it’s trying to do. We don’t just blindly follow ‘the law’, we reflect and ponder on its meaning and purpose.
All these things are giving us an idea of who and what is the Holy Spirit. Our God revealed himself in Jesus, the Spirit will reveal the essence, the core of Jesus, so how about LOVE, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS as the core and essence of Jesus?
You may remember at school learning the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit – Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgement, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence and the Spirit of Awe and Wonder in the presence of God, and also the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit – Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Long-suffering, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Self-control and Chastity. Oh, to be filled the Holy Spirit and have those gifts and bear that fruit.
So, who and what is the Holy Spirit? ‘The very essence of God’ I would say, and if she is dwelling within us, and she should be, for we have all been baptised and most of us have been confirmed. Then, we just have to let her influence us, let our faith make a difference. One thing is certain if we do, people will notice, you can’t ignore the Holy Spirit.
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Thought for the week from Father Michael
I recently watched the documentary called ‘Pope Francis: A Man of his Word,’ and it reminded me that with the election of Pope Francis, we have witnessed another ‘Pentecost’ moment. The way the camera followed him around the world as he went to visit so many diverse people, especially those deemed to be on the margins, was striking in itself. He visited several prisons, refugee camps, favelas or the equivalent in various countries, promoting the dignity of work and speaking against the existence of poverty, and he met people of different faith backgrounds, as well as attempting to address some questions about LGBT issues and victims of abuse. He also spoke to so called ‘powerful’ people too, speaking about the environment to the UN and the arms trade to US Congress. The list goes on. This is how the film shows he is a man of his word, as he was fulfilling what he promised at the start of his papacy.
But the reason why I say it is a Pentecost moment is because he seems to be able to speak the ‘language’ of every type of person he meets. In the account of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles, we hear that the Apostles began to speak foreign languages as the Holy Spirit gave them the gift of speech, and that each person was bewildered to hear them speaking in his own language. Now, of course, Pope Francis does speak several languages, Spanish, Italian and even English, but what I mean when I say that he speaks the ‘language’ of every person he meets, isn’t that it’s their native verbal language, but the language by which they understand the world. He is able to communicate the central message of God’s love to people, no matter who they are. And that has made the world sit up and take notice, just like at the first Christian Pentecost. He can do this because he first listens to where people are at, and then makes sure they feel loved.
So, where do we come into this? We can’t all be like Pope Francis, reaching out to so many diverse types of people. After all, he’s Pope for a reason. He is fulfilling what St Paul said, being all things to all people. But we all have a part of life where we have some influence and know the ‘language’ of the people we meet. We can all communicate the message of God’s love to people in the ‘language’ in which they understand the world. We can all bring about a new Pentecost if we do this wherever we find ourselves. And it’s not too scary or daunting if we remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is with us, working through us and inspiring us, just as with Pope Francis. So, if you work in the media, communicate God’s love in the appropriate ‘language’ there. If you work in a school, you can do the same there. In fact, wherever you work, speak to people of God’s love. Some of us can seem to have bigger platforms than others, so that we can reach more people, but the ideal really is for us all to speak about God’s love in the language of our family and friends and those we meet every day. That’s how the work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost continues throughout history.
I personally think one of the ways we can reach more people with the message of God’s love quickly and on a big scale is if those with a big platform where they can reach a lot of their ‘followers’ start to be less afraid and speak about their relationship with God. Can you imagine if a lot of pop stars and footballers began to tell people that God loves them because they feel loved by God themselves?!
I’ll finish with an example of a song that I’ve been praying with this week:
I recently watched the documentary called ‘Pope Francis: A Man of his Word,’ and it reminded me that with the election of Pope Francis, we have witnessed another ‘Pentecost’ moment. The way the camera followed him around the world as he went to visit so many diverse people, especially those deemed to be on the margins, was striking in itself. He visited several prisons, refugee camps, favelas or the equivalent in various countries, promoting the dignity of work and speaking against the existence of poverty, and he met people of different faith backgrounds, as well as attempting to address some questions about LGBT issues and victims of abuse. He also spoke to so called ‘powerful’ people too, speaking about the environment to the UN and the arms trade to US Congress. The list goes on. This is how the film shows he is a man of his word, as he was fulfilling what he promised at the start of his papacy.
But the reason why I say it is a Pentecost moment is because he seems to be able to speak the ‘language’ of every type of person he meets. In the account of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles, we hear that the Apostles began to speak foreign languages as the Holy Spirit gave them the gift of speech, and that each person was bewildered to hear them speaking in his own language. Now, of course, Pope Francis does speak several languages, Spanish, Italian and even English, but what I mean when I say that he speaks the ‘language’ of every person he meets, isn’t that it’s their native verbal language, but the language by which they understand the world. He is able to communicate the central message of God’s love to people, no matter who they are. And that has made the world sit up and take notice, just like at the first Christian Pentecost. He can do this because he first listens to where people are at, and then makes sure they feel loved.
So, where do we come into this? We can’t all be like Pope Francis, reaching out to so many diverse types of people. After all, he’s Pope for a reason. He is fulfilling what St Paul said, being all things to all people. But we all have a part of life where we have some influence and know the ‘language’ of the people we meet. We can all communicate the message of God’s love to people in the ‘language’ in which they understand the world. We can all bring about a new Pentecost if we do this wherever we find ourselves. And it’s not too scary or daunting if we remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is with us, working through us and inspiring us, just as with Pope Francis. So, if you work in the media, communicate God’s love in the appropriate ‘language’ there. If you work in a school, you can do the same there. In fact, wherever you work, speak to people of God’s love. Some of us can seem to have bigger platforms than others, so that we can reach more people, but the ideal really is for us all to speak about God’s love in the language of our family and friends and those we meet every day. That’s how the work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost continues throughout history.
I personally think one of the ways we can reach more people with the message of God’s love quickly and on a big scale is if those with a big platform where they can reach a lot of their ‘followers’ start to be less afraid and speak about their relationship with God. Can you imagine if a lot of pop stars and footballers began to tell people that God loves them because they feel loved by God themselves?!
I’ll finish with an example of a song that I’ve been praying with this week:
God is
My light in darkness, oh
God, God is
He, He is my all and all (And I'll never turn back)
God is
Everything that I felt, praise the Lord
Worship Christ with the best of your portions
I know I won't forget all He's done
He's the strength in this race that I run
Every time I look up, I see God's faithfulness
And it shows just how much He is miraculous
I can't keep it to myself, I can't sit here and be still
Everybody, I will tell 'til the whole world is healed
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, all the things He has in store
From the rich to the poor, all are welcome through the door
You won't ever be the same when you call on Jesus' name
Listen to the words I'm sayin', Jesus saved me, now I'm sane
And I know, I know God is the force that picked me up
I know Christ is the fountain that filled my cup
I know God is alive, yeah
He has opened up my vision
Giving me a revelation
This ain't 'bout a dead religion
Jesus brought a revolution
All the captives are forgiven
Time to break down all the prisons
Every man, every woman
There is freedom from addiction
Jesus, You have my soul
Sunday Service on a roll
All my idols, let 'em go
All the demons, let 'em know
This a mission, not a show
This is my eternal soul
This my kids, this the crib
This my wife, this my life
This my God-given right
Thank you, Jesus, won the fight
Now who do you think wrote that? It sounds like it could have been Pope Francis himself, doesn’t it?! But it’s none other than Kanye West. Putting aside whether he is being genuine or not, he is speaking about God in a language that his music listeners understand. He ‘can’t keep it to himself.’ That’s how we all should feel. If Kanye West can be part of Pentecost, so can you!
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NEW! The Order of the Mass
In a new series of videos, Father Michael explains more about the Order of the Mass, covering the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist and Concluding Rites.
In a new series of videos, Father Michael explains more about the Order of the Mass, covering the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist and Concluding Rites.
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Videos to watch (see also our Parish YouTube channel):
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