12/06/2011 - Pentecost - Year A
1Reading Act 2,1-11 Psalm 103 2Reading 1Cor 12,3b-7.12-13 Gospel Jn 20,19-23
Come, Holy Spirit,
send us a ray of your light
from heaven.
Today we pray so, sure to be heard. It's been seven weeks after Easter and are
now celebrating the fiftieth day, as the Jews celebrated to relive the gift of the
Law received by Moses on Mount Sinai. Moses received the stone tablets with the
commandments engraved on them, while the apostles today receive the same Spirit
of God in their hearts. They will no longer live as obedient servants to rules that
come from the outside, but have in themselves the motivation and the incentive to
holy behavior. They will have in the heart love, and will become aware that their
love in every action becomes a true revelation of the true God. The Holy Spirit
makes out of man a true child of God. The son receives the Father's love, it grows
in him and it becomes capable of loving. The son remains obedient: obedience is
the way by which one responds to the love received, and not a burden at all, because
love is not heavy, even when it is consuming.
We receive and have received the Spirit of God we too are children, and try to love
obeying. However, we continue to invoke the Holy Spirit, asking him to come because
he is like the wind if he stops ahead, we remain deprived of his strength and his
light. Our prayer is, therefore, continue with our request to be conducted and assisted
by the Paraclete, I keep our love for Jesus, our own living relationship with the
Lord is the guarantee of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. He has "breathed"
his Spirit on his apostles when he appeared to them risen from the dead. He is the
one to breath the Spirit on us too when we are in his presence to listen to him
and receive from him the call to share in his mission. The way we share is different
for each and every one, because, as st. Paul tell us today, the charisms one receives
are different. Charisms are the gifts that the Spirit make grow in every baptized
person, gifts that helps the building up of the Church. The apostle underlines the
fact that the diversity of the charisms and the ministries have the same origin,
God, and therefore they are a source of joy and power for all the others, such as,
when the gifts you received, you put for the service of the Church. There is no
place for jelousy in the Body of Christ, because everything belongs to everybody:
what the hand can do is for the good of the eye, and what the eye and the ear can
do is for good of the hands and feet and, in fact, for whole body. The image of
the body speaks loud and helps us understand the unity that exists and the unity
we are to respect to promote the Church. The Holy Spirit in fact, so that each and
every believer in Christ Jesus forms the unity, become one heart and one soul, be
a united presence in the world to make present in it the divine love. This is as
what was prophesied in the event of the first Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit brought out the apostles from where they were to tell the world
of the blessings of the death and ressurection of the Lord. As if the whole world
gathered to listen to them and as if their message was for all of them. The Holy
Spirit made it as if Jesus was the one to bring together all those who were divided
because of language and culture. Jesus is truly the peace, the one who brings down
wall of separation, the one who brings together those who are different and would
not understand each other. Jesus, through his death and ressurection, gives the
true peace to the world. This happens when he can send his Spirit to whom ever believe
in him. Let us therefore enjoy the fruit of Pentecost and continue to have an open
heart for him, for Jesus, so that his Spirit can make of us instruments of true
peace and unity for those who are separated because of sin and the suffering that
sin has produced in their hearts and in society. Let us continue to invoke the coming
of the Holy Spirit, because
Without his power
Man is empty
And no one and nothing is without fault.