CLICK HEREfor the Audio recording of the Readings of May 31st, 2020. Solemnity of Pentecost.
CLICK HEREfor the Readings of May 31st, 2020. Solemnity of Pentecost.
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Sunday May 31st, 2020. Solemnity of Pentecost
Renew the face of the earth.
There is an invisible enemy (Covid-19) among us. This invisible enemy has disfigured everything around us. It has literally distorted the face of the earth. Close to 100,000 people dead in the US, and then look at the damage on the rhythm of our lives (stay-home or not), the anxieties caused, we are to stay apart/distanced from each other, the masked faces, etc. — everything is upside down. Today is supposed to be good news, the Churches are open, public Masses are here again, but our joy is still subdued; we all ask when will all this go away?
The readings we listen to today are set in contexts shockingly very similar to ours today, but with other types of invisible enemies, equally potent but the difference is one: when the Holy Spirit comes or when the gifts of the Spirit are lived truly and communicated, the face of the community and the world then is changed. In the first reading, the invisible enemy is disunity. The world in which Pentecost happens is ‘divided’ (how divisiveness can tear apart a family, community or nation). The people are not listening very well to each other. It is a world of tribal and language rifts; everybody pulls in their own direction. When the Spirit came, there is a new ‘confusion’ that turns into amazement: “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each one of us hear them in his native language?” As the disciples are filled with the Spirit they speak in the world and disunity ceded to unity. What kind of language must one not speak to bring about the coming together with others?
In the second reading, the invisible enemy is the wrong usage of one’s gifts/charismas. Some in the Christian community are using their charismas more as a privilege, prestige or power over others. They use their gifts for personal enrichment, not communal enrichment. They are not used for the common good. They do not ‘give’ life, but withdraw life from the community. Paul strongly reminds the community that “to each gifts have been given for some benefit”— no one charisma is better or superior. Above all, charismas come from the same spirit. Do you use your gifts/charismas for more than you?
In the Gospel, the disciples are locked away in fear. Jesus walks into the room of closed doors and walls and they are overjoyed. His presence allows them to overcome their fears. He shows them his disfigured hands and side. He says “Peace be with you, receive the Holy spirit, as the Father sent me I send you.” The invisible enemy is the fear of spirit. A tendency to stay away, untouched, uninvolved and uninterested. No, the disciples must go out into the world and live with the spirit of Jesus, bringing life to others. As they do, so they will find courage. They must go make a difference.
How will the world look when we meet again as we used to? What will we want changed? What difference does the world need? As Christians can we take the lead in our personal lives by our choices or by the way we live our lives? How might we work more for unity, removing fear and divisions, aiding the not-talented to blossom? Reducing the gap between the wealthy and the poor? How can we bring life to oftentimes a much distorted world? For the Christian, the most deadly invisible enemy is not making a difference.
Have a Blessed week in the Lord! Father Anthony
View the below video for another Reflection on the readings.
We would like to come together in the most accesible way we can as a Catholic and Christian community.