PENTECOST SUNDAY - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

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

ACTS 2:1-11 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This is the Holy Spirit that You assured Your Apostles You would send after You ascended to Your Father. This is the promise that You assured them would be fulfilled and would help them to carry out the mission entrusted to them.

Today we celebrate the birthday of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Today the Church was born. There was the Mother of the Church in the upper room on the day when the Jews celebrated Pentecost and this Descent of the Holy Spirit is on the Daughter of Israel and the Apostles is the fulfillment of all the aspirations of Israel.

The Church, born of fire and the Holy Spirit, born in 33 AD, has continued to bewilder the world for she has remained steadfast amid every storm, that continues to buffet her on every side from her enemies within and without. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the Church founded on Peter, the Rock, has had successors to him and the Apostles in an unbroken line for 2000 years. You, O Lord, are her cornerstone and she will never be moved, neither by the world nor by the powers of darkness. She is Your bride and by the power of the Holy Spirit that raised You from the dead in Your glorious resurrection, she will continue to be a beacon of light to the world. All the world's weary, carrying their cross, will ascend the Mountain of the Lord, and there they will worship God in spirit and in truth until Your return again in glory to claim Your Bride and You will present her to Your Father, and she will be without wrinkle or stain.

Hasten the day of Your coming, Beloved. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!

PSALM 103(104):1,24,29-31,34 ©

Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
How many are your works, O Lord!
The earth is full of your riches.

You take back your spirit, they die,
returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord last for ever!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I find my joy in the Lord.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

GALATIANS 5:16-25 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

We live in the age of the Enemy which is opposed to the Holy Spirit. It is a time when weeds and wheat are flourishing side by side. Led by the spirit of darkness, sin abounds. Those opposed to the Spirit promote the evil that St. Paul lists in his letter to the Galatians: self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. 

He warns us that anyone who indulges in grave sin and persists in living an immoral, unholy life can never possess the Kingdom of God. They have cut themselves off from their inheritance.

Today as the Church celebrates her birthday, Beloved, we ask You humbly and sincerely to fill us with Your Holy Spirit and we will bear fruit pleasing to God: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Possessing these O Lord, we can be certain of carrying our cross cheerfully daily. We belong to You, we are sealed in Your Spirit and because we are Yours we are confident that with His help we will crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.

Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit.

JOHN 15:26-27,16:12-15 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

The Father, the Holy Spirit and You are One. Trinity in perfect unity and harmony. One in Three and Three in One. The Holy Spirit who is Love binds You to the Father and the Father to You and we O Lord, our God, who are privileged to be children of God by virtue of our baptism are drawn up in You and into the love and life of the Holy Trinity.

The Holy Spirit makes actual what Your incarnation, life, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven made possible. This was the Father's will from the moment of the fall of our first parents.

Today, the Church celebrates the fulfilment of Your promise to Your disciples:

‘When the Advocate comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,
he will be my witness.
And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with me from the outset.’

You are a most compassionate, merciful, tender brother and spouse. You understand our limitations just as You understood the limitation of the disciples and so You comforted them saying:

‘I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.’

Thank You, Beloved, for the gift of Your Holy Spirit. He makes the arduous and impossible journey to the Kingdom possible. For He abides in us and He leads and guides us. He is our Paraclete, our Helper, He is the Fire of Love between You and the Father and He pours into our souls this same divine Fire so we can strive to love You as we ought.

Thank You, Beloved, for the Holy Spirit may we never grieve and wound Him deliberately committing grave sin. By the power of Your Blood and the help of the Spirit bring us safely to the place that the Father has prepared for us. Amen.