Celebrating 100 over years in Irondequoit
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Cycle A
- One Voice to Profess One Faith
- Q319: At Pentecost the disciples received powerful gifts, accompanied by manifestations of God’s presence. Today that doesn’t seem to happen. Today, how can I “connect” with that wonderful event (Acts 2:1-11)?
- Q475: How can we learn to appreciate the overwhelming Pentecost event and apply it to our daily lives?
One Voice to Profess One Faith
The Book of Genesis tells us that at Babel God confused the tongues of men because of their pride. Ever since then, communication between nations has been difficult, and, at least partly for that reason, international peace has been hard to keep. Only once and briefly has God restored a single language to mankind. On Pentecost, the Apostles preached to pilgrims from many lands, but each heard them speaking in his own tongue.
What happened at Pentecost was, of course, miraculous, Now, Pope John Paul II has a "gift of tongues" not in a miraculous sense but in the sense that he easily learns languages other than his native Polish. When he addresses people who speak the world's major languages, he is able to speak those languages quite well. But he even seeks to learn at least a little of the more exotic tongues when he is about to visit some exotic countries. Thus he learned how to offer Mass in "Pidgin English," that odd half-English language invented by European merchants in the South Pacific. When the Pope celebrated Mass at Papua-New Guinea in May, 1984, he said, for instance, "Yumi Pre" ("Let us pray") and "Bodi belong Kristus" ("Body of Christ"). The people were pleased to hear him speak their words: it made them feel that John Paul was truly their pope. (Some of the natives even wore tee-shirts stamped in Pidgin: "Mi Likim Pop" - "I love the Pope.")
One of the papal stops on that same journey was at Fairbanks, Alaska. In his brief talk then, John Paul recalled how when he last visited Fairbanks he was greeted by a seven-year old, Mollie Marie, who gave him a bouquet of the Alaskan state flower, forget-me-nots. He said he was sad to hear that Mollie Marie had since died, but he would never forget her loving gesture. And he assured the people of Alaska and the people of the whole United States that, even when he was far away from their shores, he would "forget them not."
We must wait until the resurrection of the dead before all human beings will once more be able to speak to each other in the same world-language. Meanwhile, however, whether we are gifted like the pope at learning the tongues of other nations, there is one international language that we can use even now, and that all men understand, because they read it in each other's eyes. It is the language that shy little Mollie Marie spoke when she handed the forget-me-nots to the Holy Father. It is the language of love.
-Father Robert F. McNamara
Q319: At Pentecost the disciples received powerful gifts, accompanied by manifestations of God’s presence. Today that doesn’t seem to happen. Today, how can I “connect” with that wonderful event (Acts 2:1-11)?
Did you ever consider the fact that you have been blessed even more powerfully with a very deep gift of faith, hope and love? Thomas would not believe, without seeing some concrete sign he could believe in. Yet you believe, without having “seen” any signs of power - - and as Jesus told St. Thomas, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (Jn 20:29).
Our faith and the teaching of the official Magisterium tells us that we receive this same “Spirit of power” when we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. We may not be aware of receiving charismatic gifts, such as the “gift of praying in tongues” (Acts 2:4), and we may not see “tongues as of fire” or hear a “mighty wind” (Acts 2:2-3). But rest assured, when we receive this Sacrament, the Holy Spirit does indeed bestow gifts upon everyone being confirmed.
St. Paul teaches us in the Second Reading that there are different gifts, different works, and different ministries. Nevertheless, it is the same God who bestows them, and they all have one purpose: to be used to help others, to build up the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:3-7). If you have been confirmed, no matter what your age at the time, you were empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry on the work and mission of Jesus Christ. This you do, as we all do, with the gifts we have received -- not envying the gifts of others, but simply being faithful in the little that we have.
Know Your Catechism! “Fire” has a special significance in the New Testament. It is the sign of the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit (CCC#696). The “tongues as of fire” on that first Pentecost were prefigured in the Old Testament through Elijah (1 K 18), and proclaimed by John the Baptist as he pointed to the Messiah who would “baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Lk 3:16). The Sacrament of Confirmation makes us more strictly obligated to spread and defend the faith (CCC#1285); have you been fulfilling your obligation?
Q475: How can we learn to appreciate the overwhelming Pentecost event and apply it to our daily lives?
This is one of those Sundays where a person tends to hear the readings and look “out there,” not realizing that the message is also meant “in here” for us today. We can’t seem to get our arms around such awesome happenings, things like “tongues of fire” on everyone present, Jesus’ surprise appearance through locked doors, and then a “now it’s your turn” mandate to carry on his mission.
Anytime we are reading about or experiencing supernatural events, we find ourselves in the presence of “mystery.” It is not for us to understand the “how”; rather, it is for us to believe that all of this fits into God’s plan of salvation. That means that we simply Trust him, listen to him, and follow his commands.
John’s gospel (Jn 20:19-23) packs a powerful punch in only a few words. We could paraphrase them like this: “I give you Peace; I give you the Holy Spirit; I send you to do my work; You will be forgiving and compassionate like me.” All of that sounds like a “graduation” speech for a small bunch of folks behind locked doors, probably scared out of their wits that they might receive the same treatment as Jesus, and not knowing what to do next.
The beauty of Pentecost is the reminder that we have the Holy Spirit within us, as a very precious gift of God. Baptism and Confirmation empowers us with a fullness of the Spirit that is sufficient to carry out our part in God’s plan of salvation. That is all we need to know; trusting in that fact, we can avoid the paralysis of fear when confronting our sick culture. Jesus confronted his sick culture also, in a teachable, non-threatening way. He dwells within us by the power of the Holy Spirit; all we need do is try to imitate his gentleness and courage, challenging and encouraging those we meet to reach for higher values.
KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Apostolic succession began when the Risen Jesus imparted his power of sanctifying to the Apostles, who in turn entrusted that power to their successors, the bishops (CCC #1087). The Sacrament of Confirmation in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church (CCC #1288).
