Solemnity of Pentecost (Cycle A, Year II)

Community Word: The Holy Spirit empowers us to build God’s Kingdom and live an abundant life.

Theme: We build God’s Kingdom when we are peacemakers.

Promise: “When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.” (Ps 104:30)

Reflection:
Peace be with you! What does “peace” mean in the context of John’s gospel? Here are five characteristics of peace in today’s readings that we ought to embrace and practice:

One, genuineness of faith or belief (cf. 1 Peter 1:7). It means believing that Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, reveals God to us in and through the Catholic Church and community. Our present global situation of Covid-19 is creating panic or uncertainty throughout the world, forcing almost all nations into quarantine. However, what Covid-19 could not do is to stop us from exercising the genuineness of our faith. Covid-19 has paved the way for us to reconnect with our Triune God through our daily individual and family prayers, community worship and mass on live streaming, thanks to modern technology. We raise to God all kinds of prayer petitions and complaints, but what is important is, we are all praying.

Two, readiness to receive, or being open in our spirit to God (cf. John 20:22). It means allowing Jesus Christ to enter our lives in response to his invitation, “Here I am, knocking at the door of your heart, if anyone opens the door, I will enter his house and have communion with him.” (Rev. 3:20). There is only one condition for us to experience His peace and be saved. We have to open the door. God will never force His way into our will for His patience knows no bound. God will definitely wait for us until we respond to His invitation to be united with Him, with our family, and with community, in spirit and in truth.

Three, forgiveness of self and others (cf. John 20:23). First is to forgive oneself before you can forgive others. A brother in community has shared how he underwent a major struggle in forgiving himself before he attained peace in his life. He narrates: “During my first 10 years in the renewal, I experienced many sleepless nights because of my dark past. I could hear voices blaming me for doing this and doing that. I could hear voices calling me names… ‘hey, stupid,’ etc. Forgiving others came easy because, in reality, it was I who caused their unforgiveness. Still, I sought forgiveness from them and at the same time, I forgave them.” So, how did he overcome or forgive himself? This brings us to the fourth characteristic.

Four, devote oneself in prayer and study of the teachings of the Apostles (cf. Acts 2:42) and the word of God, as well as in our community worship services, teachings and other related activities. Prayer is not about whether God hears us or not, but to continue praying until God listens to us. All these help one go through a renewal of mind and heart. The church and community are also source of enlightenment to understand that Jesus Christ truly died for our sins. By nature, man is disobedient because of pride and greed. Thus, the only way we might conquer our worldliness is to abide and submit ourselves to His word. Indeed, there is peace in our life when we rest on God’s word.

Yet, there remains one challenge to finding peace and love. This brings us to the last characteristic.

Five, Jesus declared, “’As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ He breathed on them the Holy Spirit…” (Jn 20:21). The last characteristic is to devote oneself to communal life – mission work, in order to promote true love and peace. All of us have a calling to share God’s divine life, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We have to remember that sometimes, we are the only bible some unbelievers will ever read. Sharing God’s divine life means to possess generosity, compassion, kindness, as a pre-requisite to uphold love and peace. We cannot do this on our own, but always, through the action of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ gift to us, to enable us to believe and accept His Kingship, for “we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor.12:13c)

Prayer:
O Risen Christ, thank you for sacrificing Yourself because of Your love for the Father, so that we may be saved. Please cause Your Holy Spirit to breathe Your peace and unity upon us, so that we too, may be Your living witnesses to the power of Your love. Cause us too, to offer our challenges and sufferings for the salvation of many. And may the cleansing Blood of the Lamb be upon the whole earth to cleanse the world of Covid-19 and bring healing to the afflicted. Amen.

Reflection Guide Questions:
1.What gifts of the Holy Spirit are you actively using to benefit others and help build the Kingdom of God?
2.What gifts have remained idle in your life and have not been put to good use as they are meant to be?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
May 31, 2020 (Sun) – Acts 2:1-11/ Ps 104:1, 24, 31, 34, 29-30/ 1Cor 12:3-7,12-13/ Jn 20:19-23
June 1, 2020 (Mon) – Gn 3:9-15, 20/ Ps 87: 1-2, 3, 5, 6-7/ Jn 19:25-34 87
June 2, 2020 (Tues) – 2 Pt 3:12-15a, 17-18/ Ps 90: 2, 3-4, 10, 14, 16/ Mk 12:13-17
June 3, 2020 (Wed) – 2 Tm 1:1-3, 6-12/ Ps 123:1b-2ab / Mk 12:18-27
June 4, 2020 (Thur) – 2 Tm 2:8-15/ Ps 25: 4-5ab, 8-9, 10, 14/ Mk 12:28-34
June 5, 2020 (Fri) – 2 Tm 3:10-17/ Ps 119:157, 160, 161, 165, 166, 168/ Mk 12:35-37
June 6, 2020 (Sat) – 2 Tm 4:1-8/ Ps 71:8-9, 14-15ab, 16-17, 22/ Mk 12:38-44

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”