The Holy Spirit will teach you all things

The Solemnity of Pentecost Yr C

Collect

O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and, with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed, fill now once more the hearts of believers. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Acts 2:1–11

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

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.”


The word of the Lord.

Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

R. :

℟. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

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;

℟. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

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.

℟. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

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.

℟. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
  or:
℟. Alleluia.

Rom 8:8-17

Those who are led by the Spirit are children of God.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans

Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
   on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
   if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
   although the body is dead because of sin,
   the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
   the one who raised Christ from the dead
   will give life to your mortal bodies also,
   through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
   we are not debtors to the flesh,
   to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
   but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
   you will live.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
   but you received a spirit of adoption,
   through which we cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit
   that we are children of God,
   and if children, then heirs,
   heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
   if only we suffer with him
   so that we may also be glorified with him.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel

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 labour, 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, alleluia.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jn 14:15-16, 23b-25

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
   and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,

“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
   and my Father will love him,
   and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Those who do not love me do not keep my words;
   yet the word you hear is not mine
   but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name,
   he will teach you everything
   and remind you of all that I told you.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection 

While the Easter Season ends with Pentecost—the fifty-day period in which we celebrate the joy of Easter—today’s liturgy continues to enlighten and encourage us to continue our journey, led by the Holy Spirit, in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. 

“If you love me (v. 15) … Anyone who loves me (v. 23) … Anyone who does not love me (v. 24) …” Jesus centres everything on love, not on feelings as the world does, but on an expressed love, an unconditional love as Jesus teaches us Himself. In His teachings, Jesus unites love and obedience. He emphasises that in the lives of His disciples, there cannot be one without the other, because they work hand in hand. As the Son loves the Father and does His will so also Jesus’ disciples must follow His commandments through the love they bear for Him. Just as St. Augustine invites us to pray, “Lord, command me what you will, I want to serve you with all the joy of my heart, because it is not remorse but love that draws me to you." 

Jesus promised God’s life through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to those who love Him and obey His word. In actual fact, Jesus is the first Advocate who loves His disciples and wants to remain with them forever. This is the reason He promises to pray for His disciples so that when He returns to the Father, He will send them another Advocate to remain with them forever. This is the gift of God the Father, the Spirit of truth, who will not teach anything other than what was taught to us by Jesus. But He will encourage, enlighten, and open the hearts of the disciples to bestow upon them wisdom and fortitude to live the teachings of the Lord, and to teach them to love as Jesus loves. The Holy Spirit is the new way that Jesus is present in the hearts of His disciples, thus the love of God will radiate through the lives of His disciples who will become His witnesses wherever they may be. 

1. Jesus gave us His word to observe it; therefore, it is essential that we meditate upon it and allow it to penetrate our hearts and minds. How much time do we dedicate to sit with God’s Word and allow it to enlighten us? 

2. Before we can truthfully say that we love Jesus, it would be good to ask ourselves whether we are choosing His will above ours. 

3. Are we allowing the gifts of the Holy Spirit to work in us, or have we stifled and forgotten Him? 

Prayer 

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, 
  and sustain in me a willing spirit. 

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, 
  and sinners will return to you. 
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, 
  O God of my salvation, 
  and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 

Psalm 51:12-14 

 

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