GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Pentecost Sunday - May 28, 2023

   

Sunday - May 28, 2023

Do you want certain salvation? Then have great devotion to the Virgin Mary... She will guarantee your salvation. She infallibly saves the one who honors her.

 

-St. Sharbel Makhlouf

May 28, 2023

Pentecost Sunday

Lectionary: 63

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Acts 2:1-11

 

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 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.”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

 

R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

 

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

    O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!

How manifold are your works, O LORD!

    the earth is full of your creatures.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

 

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.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

 

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.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

 

Reading II                                                                 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

 

Brothers and sisters:

No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

 

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;

there are different forms of service but the same Lord;

there are different workings but the same God

who produces all of them in everyone.

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit

is given for some benefit.

 

As a body is one though it has many parts,

and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,

so also Christ.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,

whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,

and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

 

Sequence                                                                 Veni, Sancte Spiritus

 

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

And from your celestial home

    Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!

Come, source of all our store!

    Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;

You, the soul’s most welcome guest;

    Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;

Grateful coolness in the heat;

    Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine,

Shine within these hearts of yours,

    And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught,

Nothing good in deed or thought,

    Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;

On our dryness pour your dew;

    Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;

Melt the frozen, warm the chill;

    Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore

And confess you, evermore

    In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;

Give them your salvation, Lord;

    Give them joys that never end. Amen.

    Alleluia.

 

Alleluia         

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Jn 20:19-23

 

On the evening of that first day of the week,

when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,

for fear of the Jews,

Jesus came and stood in their midst

and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,

and whose sins you retain are retained.”

 

**********************************

The Age of the Holy Spirit

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.  Acts 2:2–4

 

And with that, the Church was born. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost which, in many ways, was the culmination of the mission of Christ. The pinnacle of His mission will come at the end of time when He returns in all His glory to judge the living and the dead and to establish His permanent Kingdom. But for now, we live under the rule of the Holy Spirit Who has descended upon us in full form, transforming us and making it possible to prepare for Jesus’ final and glorious coming.

 

The Trinity is truly a Mystery of Faith. In our limited way, we understand that God is Three in One. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each a distinct Person. Each fully sharing in the one divine nature. Though They act in perfect unison, They each fulfill Their unique mission. The Father is the one Who sent the Son into the world and willed that He give His life for the salvation of all. The Son was sent and perfectly fulfilled the will of the Father, uniting humanity with divinity. The Holy Spirit is the Promise of Father and Son Who proceeds from Them and descends upon us, animating us and making it possible for us to share in the life of the Most Holy Trinity.

 

If that is hard to comprehend, it should be. Our limited intellects can only grasp a shadow of the reality of God. That fact, however, should not discourage us. On the contrary, it should inspire us to anticipate that day when we will see God face to face and enter more deeply into the mystery of His divine life.

 

Today we especially focus upon the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity: The Holy Spirit. It is an incredible gift we have been given to live in this age of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you have thought to yourself that it would have been nice to live during the time that Jesus walked the earth. But Jesus Himself said that it was good that He go. Why? Because then He would send His Advocate, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, Who will lead you into all Truth. Thus, the age in which we now live, the age of the Holy Spirit, is the most blessed age the world has ever seen. This is because we are now able to receive the indwelling of the Most Holy Trinity by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is no longer spoken only through the prophets. He is no longer revealed only through the Person of the Son in Jesus Christ. He is now also able to live within us, making our very souls His dwelling place. Heaven and earth unite within our souls. There could be nothing greater than this.

 

As the Holy Spirit descends upon you, He brings the presence of the Father and the Son. They are inseparable. Therefore, as we prayerfully look within ourselves, we discover the Voice of the Father, leading us into His holy will. We discover the Person of the Son to Whom we are called to be conformed in every way, living as members of His very body on earth. This is made possible because the Holy Spirit descends upon us in a way similar to the way the Holy Spirit overshadowed our Blessed Mother, conceiving within her the Son of God. As the Holy Spirit overshadows us, God is conceived within our souls, and we begin to share in the very life of God here and now.

 

Reflect, today, upon these holy mysteries of our faith. See the actions of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a true mystery. The only way we will be able to begin to probe these mysteries is through prayerful pondering. We must look for the workings of God within, see Him at work within our souls, savor His presence, rejoice in it and keep our eyes firmly fixed on Him. We must see the fruit of God’s presence in our lives, such as the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Below is a full list of these Gifts. Ponder them today. As you do, and as you see these Gifts within you, you will be seeing God Himself, the Holy Spirit, alive and living within the depths of your soul.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I worship You and adore You with all my Heart. Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son into the world. Thank You Father and Son for sending the Holy Spirit into my life. May I open my soul more fully to You today and every day so as to prepare for Your glorious return at the end of the ages. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.

 

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”