Religious Dimension
Our Gospel Challenge this week is to: speak nicely to and about others.
On Sunday we celebrated Pentecost and the end of the Easter Season. At the beginning of the Church’s life, on this feast of Pentecost, we are also celebrating the birth of a new language, the language of the Holy Spirit of God, the language of the Gospel. Just as the apostles were confident and courageous to go out from the upper room and to teach all nations, so every generation of the Church’s children is given the same message: “Go out to the whole world, proclaim the Good News”. There is no need to be afraid of the powers of this world. Let your lives be a witness to the love of God.
The new language of the Holy Spirit is also a force for unity among the peoples of the world. This force was clearly demonstrated on the day of Pentecost, when the crowds of people in Jerusalem heard the apostles speaking to them in every language. It was a miracle of understanding. Not only did they understand what the words meant, but they also understood the message for their own lives. For it is our daily life, our human behaviour, that is the most fundamental language of all. Our actions speak louder than our words, and everything we say and do is an act of communication. If our lives are guided by the Spirit, then we are speaking the new language of God, and that language will bring people to unity and peace. Am I able to speak to my sisters and brothers? Am I able to speak to my enemies? Am I able to let them speak to me? Come, Holy Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
May the abundant Spirit of generous radiance
flowthrough, over, beneath
and aboveour world and hearts.
May the dancing Spirit's infectious love
swirl us into joy and freedom.
May the gentle Spirit of warm hospitality
spread welcome and healing in every corner of our being. Amen
Points of interst and Catholic Lore
• Pentecost was originally a Jewish harvest festival that was celebrated fifty days after the Passover. It was one of the great ‘pilgrimage’ festivals, which meant that people came to celebrate this feast at the temple. It was for this festival that so many pilgrims were present in Jerusalem on the day when the Spirit was manifested in the lives of the disciples.
• The Christian feast of Pentecost is fifty days after Easter and is the culmination of the Lent–Easter–Pentecost cycle.
• The church teaches that the Holy Spirit brings both gifts and fruits to the faithful.
St John's Parish Website
Please remember that Fr Dispin is recording his Sunday masses and they are on the parish website. So too are many other resources that may assist you Spiritually during this time of isolation. https://stjohnsmitcham.com.au/
Monica O'Shannassy
moshannassy@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.ay