Solemnity of Pentecost
1st Reading: Acts of the Apostles Acts 2:1- 11
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 104: lab and 24ac.29bc-3tJ.31 and 34 (R. cf. 30)
2nd Reading: Galatians 5:16-25
Gospel Reading: John 15:26-27; 16: 12-15
MY REFLECTION
Spiritual growth is a journey which we can never attain by our human abilities. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to achieve a steady growth spiritually.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus is reassuring us that we are never alone in our journey of faith; we have a heavenly companion who guides us with with the truth and empowers us.
The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us. Notwithstanding, before we can fully enjoy that gift (the companionship of the Holy Spirit), there are certain things we must do. Some of these things have been explained to us by St. Paul in the second reading– we must not succumb to the desires of the flesh!
We must try as much as possible to abstain from sin. The Spirit of God cannot dwell where sin abounds. We must endeavor to abstain from sin and whenever we err, we have to seek God's forgiveness.
Also, we must be ready to be in constant communion with God through prayer. Prayer is a very great tool that connects us to the divine. Just as it was noted in the first reading, the Apostles were gathered together in a room PRAYING when the Holy Spirit descended on them. Let's imagine they were doing something else like gossiping, do you think the Holy Spirit would have descended on them? I don't think so.
In conclusion, let us embrace the gift of the Holy Spirit, yielding ourselves to His guidance and empowerment, and cultivate a heart of prayer and repentance, so that we may continually abide in His presence and experience the power of His companionship on our journey of faith.
May God bless His words in our hearts. Amen 🙏
```LESSON 9️⃣ (GOSPEL OF JOHN)```
From The Gospel Reading (Chp. 16)
_When the Spirit of truth comes. (v. 13)_
Jesus uses two names for the Holy Spirit —“Counselor” and “Spirit of truth.” The word Counselor conveys the helping, encouraging, and strengthening work of the Spirit. Spirit of truth points to his teaching, illuminating, and reminding work. The Holy Spirit guides us to see the truth about Jesus Christ—who he is and what he came to do for us. Not speak on his own . . . only what he hears. Just as Jesus never spoke or acted on his own initiative but said and did exactly what the Father gave him to say and do.
Jesus said the Holy Spirit would tell them “about the future”—the nature of their mission, the opposition they would face, and the final outcome of their efforts. They didn’t fully understand these promises until the Holy Spirit came to them at Pentecost, and He guided them in the truth both in their preaching and in their writing. The mission of the Holy Spirit has been to complete the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. He would ensure that the apostles’ writings were true, guaranteeing that they wrote Scripture, the very words of God. Therefore we too should read and understand Scripture in the light and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Bibiana Uzonwanne
My Reflection from the Gospel Acclamation
This is a popular prayer we say everyday and Everytime we start a devotional or prayer the rosary yet a very strong invocation for the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, is not just the third person in the holy Trinity, his duty exceeds beyond that as a teacher who reveals to us the mind of God and enlightens us more on all we need to know about God and His purpose in our lives; as the power of the wind that makes things happen. We can see this clearly during the creation story. (God spoke the words and the Holy Spirit powered the spoken words into existence).
Jesus knew that our lives in this wicked and corrupt world cannot be easy without His presence that was why when he ascended into heaven, he sent us the Holy Spirit as a guide to help us through our christian journey. However, the holy Spirit is only made available to all of those who beckon on him and invokes him. Which is why this short prayer is of great necessity and powerful.
It is a call of acknowledgement of the existence of the Holy Spirit. It is an invocation that we need his presence and it also a prayer that tends to our desire for our first love to God during confirmation be ignited again.
We all always err knowingly or unknowingly. Sometimes we even backslide or relent in our prayers either because we feel God is far from us because of an unanswered prayer which could make us not want to slow down in our prayer, doubt if God hears or even not pray at all. But with our acknowledgement of the presence of the Holy Spirit, he empowers us with the convictions that even though it seems that God is silent, He is always near, He is aware of all that happens to us, He loves us and plans the best for us.
May the Holy Spirit always enlighten and rekindle us to love God more each day. Amen
Eshiebor Asemokhai Simon
I may not speak your language, you may not speak mine. I may not hear your language, you may not hear mine.
But the general language that should unite us together, the language that God has taught all of us, and expects us to understand is love.
We all can understand the language of love. But it's not enough to understand the language, we have to also speak it to one another. To speak the language of love is to express love.
Love is our identity.
Let us be known that we are Christians by our love
My Reflection on the Readings
In the First Reading, we get to understand that the word of God is universal and meant for the edification of all mankind. In other words, whether you are literate or not, the message is always clear because it is the spirit that does the teaching.
St Paul in the second Reading spells out the visible characteristics in the man /woman living in spirit, and those living in the flesh. It should not be too difficult for us to figure out which group we belong. In other to remain focused on our goal of eternal life , we must do away with all forms of carnality and embrace the life in the spirit that guarantees us a place with the saints in the end. Living in the spirit requires an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. On our own we can do nothing but all the enabling graces to live a righteous life is available to us through the spirit. He enables us to avoid the snares that lead us to sin. If we have learnt to consult him in all things, we will enjoy the security he provides through counselling. I pray for a much deeper relationship with the holy Spirit for a more fruitful Christian life..
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