Pentecost

What guides you?

The desires of the Flesh or the Spirit?

This is what St. Paul asked the Galatians. 

The Galatians were baptized in the Spirit

But then they started to return to the ways of the flesh. 

They wanted to gratify the desires of the flesh. 

Immorality, lust, gluttony, jealously, divisions, drunkenness and orgies. 

He warned them that those who live by the flesh and its desires will not inherit the Kingdom of heaven.

For there is no place in Heaven for the desires of the flesh. 

Because the Kingdom of Heaven is Spirit. 

The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. 

It is not easy however to ignore the desires of the flesh. 

It always wants more. 

More Pleasure, More Power, More Food, Drink, Property, More Possessions and Money;

This is why those who live in the flesh will never be happy or satisfied. 

The flesh is a ravenous monster that says “Feed me.”

The more one feeds the flesh 

The hungrier it gets. 

This is why we need the Holy Spirit. 

Not just at Pentecost. 

But everyday!

For the flesh wakes up hungry everyday. 

And so everyday we must pray,

Come Holy Spirt Come!

So that everyday we are led not by the desires of the flesh

But by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Saturday before Pentecost

All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. *

Acts 1:14 

And so before Pentecost, like the disciples we gather in prayer with the Mother of Jesus and say. 

Mary, Mother of Jesus and our mother, teach me to be open and responsive to the hidden power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within me. Following your example, may I always listen to the voice of the Spirit speaking in my heart. As the Holy Spirit formed Christ in you, may He form Christ in me so that I may live by the Spirit and be led by the Spirit in all my actions. 

V.  Mary, Temple of God and Spouse of the Holy Spirit. 

R. Pray for me. 

Friday before Pentecost

 The Fire of the Holy Spirit

When Moses saw the burning bush on Mount Sinai,

He saw that it was burning but not consumed. 

Fire usually consumes what it catches and leaves nothing behind but dust and ashes. 

This is the way of the world. 

It seeks to consume us and use us until there is nothing left. 

Not the Holy Spirit. 

When the soul catches fire by the Holy Spirit. 

It becomes Fire. 

We become like the burning bush,

On fire with love for God and one another. 

On fire with  a love that is never consumed yet at the same time burns endlessly. 

Thursday before Pentecost

The Temple of the Holy Spirit

While God is everywhere,

Temples however are unique dwelling places of God. 

Places where God chooses to be present and dwell in intimate ways. 

Where God reveals Himself not through creation,

But directly to the soul. 

This is why Temples are consecrated and set apart Temple for God alone.

We were created to be Temples of the Holy Spirit. 

Where God is present to us and speaks directly to our hearts and souls. 

If then, we are Temples of the Holy Spirit, 

all idols must be thrown out of our hearts and souls. 

So that we can be intimately united to God alone. 

What attitudes and actions exist in us that keep us from becoming

One Body, one Spirt in Christ. 

Wednesday before Pentecost

Mary and the Holy Spirit

Pentecost is an annunciation and a conception of the church to give birth to Christ in the world.

The gift of God will come to each person as it came to the Virgin Mary.

Mary is indispensable for she is the model of the soul. Receptive, cooperative, obedient, humble, spousal.) 

The Holy Spirit will only come to us 

if we are receptive, if our hearts are open to God and closed to everything else. 

If we are cooperative with Holy Spirit and not resistant to the Spirits promptings. 

If we are obedient to the commands of God and not our personal desires. 

If we are humble, for when receiving such a Divine gift we may think that we are something special and deserving and not the handmaid of the Lord. 

And if we are spousal.  To be espoused to the Holy Spirit is to be united in love forever. 

And to desire anything or anyone else is spiritual adultery. 

If we are, then the Holy Spirit will come and overshadow us and Christ will be conceived in our hearts and souls. 

Tuesday before Pentecost

 The Dewfall of the Holy Spirit 

In the Second Eucharistic prayer at Mass we hear how the Holy Spirit comes down upon the gifts of bread and wine like the “Dewfall.”  What does that mean?

When the Israelites were starving in the desert, 

God gave them manna to eat. 

In the morning,

The ground was covered with dew;

And when the dew lifted,

There was manna on the ground for them to eat. 

And this manna was their nourishment and strength 

For 40 years as they wandered through the desert. 

To the Promised Land. 

At every Mass,

We receive Manna from heaven!

After the Holy, Holy Holy,

The priest puts his hands over the hosts and the chalice,

And The Holy Spirit comes down upon them

Like the dewfall. 

And the bread and wine are transformed 

Into the Body and Blood of Christ

For our nourishment and strength,

As we wander through this world 

To the Promised Land Of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Monday before Pentecost

 Daily Consecration to the Holy Spirit

Most Holy Spirit!

Receive the consecration that I make of my entire being. 

From this moment on, come into every area of my life and into each of my actions. 

You are my Light, my Guide, my Strength and the sole desire of my heart. 

I abandon myself without reserve to Your Divine action and 

I desire to be ever docile to your inspirations. 

O Holy Spirit!

Transform me with and through Mary, into another Christ Jesus, for the glory of the Father the the salvation of the world. 

By Servant of God

Felix de Jesus Rougier, M. Sp. S. 

The Ascension

 The Ascension

Why did Jesus Ascend into Heaven?

Why not stay here with us?

Because this world is not the end. 

It is only the beginning. 

It is the starting point of something far greater than we can possibly imagine. 

We are born into this world and then we begin our journey through it to the next,

Where we are born again. 

We are Pilgrims. 

Pilgrims who walk through this world.

 And As we walk through this the world 

The beauty and the love we experience is only a foretaste of what we will have when we arrive in the world to come. 

So keep walking. 

But be careful of the pitfalls 

For there are many in this world. 

That keep us from moving forward. 

That hold us down and keep us from flying. 

That blind us to Truth and goodness and God. 

 Enjoy this life and make the most of it  

Have a good time and be grateful.  

But do not cling to it too tightly

For it is all passing away. 

This is why St. Paul says to place your heart on the things that are above. 

Where Christ is seated at God’s right hand. Col. 3:1

But do not be afraid

Nor let no sorrow or difficulties overwhelm you. 

For what you suffer in this life will be turned into joy. 

And What you lose in this life

Will come back to you a hundredfold in the next. 

For eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has prepared for those who love Him. 

Friday 6th week of Easter

 Feast of Fr. Damian of Molokai

Leper’s were isolated for fear that their disease would be contagious. 

So many lepers were sent to the island of Molokai in Hawaii

And left for dead.

But Fr. Damian would not leave them for dead,

For they were children of God. 

So He went and cared for them and eventually became one of them. 

We no longer send lepers to isolated islands anymore. 

But still we isolate people who are different from us 

by not associating with them or isolating them by our comments and attitudes towards them. 

At work, or even in church or at home or community. 

People who are different from us politically, or culturally or religiously. 

No matter how different someone is from us,

Fr. Damian reminds us that

we should never be afraid to love and associate with those who are different than us. 

For they too are children of God. 

Thursday 6th week of Easter

Stop hitting your head against a wall

In his first visit to Corinth, Paul lived there for one and a half years. 

And while he was there he tried preaching to the Jews in the synagogue but they would not listen. 

So he shook the dust from his feet and moved on to the Gentiles. 

Sometimes, we just have to move on. 

There are things and people in our lives that will not change. 

And as difficult as it is to move on,

Remember that the Lord will always have a door open 

Waiting for us, as he did Paul. 

Wednesday 6th Week of Easter

 Worshipping an Unknown God Acts. 17:22-18:1

When Paul was preaching in Athens he saw how they claimed to be religious 

but did not know what they were worshipping. 

As they had an altar to an “Unknown God.”

Many people today claim to be religious and believe in God,

But do they really know God?

when you begin to ask them questions

About what they believe 

One begins to see they really don’t know God very well.

How well do we know God?

How well do we know Jesus?

Faith is not just going through the motions,

Or showing up for Church. 

If it is then we too are praying to an “Unknown God.”

Tuesday 6th Week of Easter

 The Advocate Jn 16:5-11

The leaving of Jesus coincides with the coming of the Advocate. 

Now that the Apostles are going out into the world,

They are being challenged by governments and religious leaders.

Put on trial. 

But they are unafraid for they have an Advocate 

Who speaks for them,

Supports them 

And pleads for them. 

Not just any Advocate but the Holy Spirit. 

Whose foolishness is wiser than men. 1Cor.  1:25