Pentecost Sunday Year A St Joseph 2023

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord,

When it was time for Jesus to rejoin his Father, he promised his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit and they would continue His work in the world. So, on Pentecost Sunday, the disciples of the Lord waited in that same Upper Room where they had celebrated the Last Supper. The locked door was barred because they were afraid that the leaders of the Jewish people would arrest them as they had arrested Jesus.

Do you ever wonder what it must have been like in that room? They were afraid. They were confused. They were they trying to understand the significance of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord? Not only that, they were trying to understand what their role would be in continuing the work of the Lord?

Then the Spirit came upon them. They were empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring others to Christ and Christ to others.

With - wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of The Lord. The threw open the door and proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ.

People from all over the world listened to them, hearing them in their own languages. They were inspired to become disciples of Christ. And on that day, three thousand joined the disciples.

Pentecost is the empowering by our Lord, Jesus Christ, to complete his work, the salvation of the world, the part of creation made in the image of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus entrusted his work to his prized disciples. He gave them the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and they cooperated with his Spirit as it flowed through them.

And on that day the Church was born. And the Church is being born again today. And the work of the master continues.

The disciples became apostles on Pentecost Sunday. The learners became teachers and were empowered by the Holy Spirit to become missionaries and apostles. Their faith in Jesus Christ was confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

It is the same for us. If you have been baptized, please stand up if you can. When we are baptized we receive the initial graces of the Holy Spirit. From the Prayers, anointing, and Blessing of the water, to receiving the baptismal candle, these are all symbols of the Spirit. One of the lines from the blessing of the Water is pointed and applicable. “At the very dawn of creation your Spirit breathed on the waters, making them the wellspring of all holiness.”

Take a look around you, - you all have received the Holy Spirit yourself. You may be seated.

If you have been confirmed please stand up, Upon your confirmation you received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Please look around these are our soldiers for Christ. Imagine what you can do for Christ and his Church. These are the words used by the Bishop at Confirmation.

All-powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life.

Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide.

Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence.

Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

You may be seated,

When we received the sacrament of confirmation, we were confirmed in the faith of our Baptism. Just as Baptism can be called a Personal Easter, Confirmation can be called a Personal Pentecost. How can we utilized this great gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit? How, can we allow the Spirit to work through us? How can we bring Christ to others and others to Christ?

First, we need to be thoroughly committed to our union with Christ. This is far more than avoiding serious sin. We need to foster our union with Christ through our prayer life, daily as individuals and at least weekly as a community. If we do this then our proclamation of Christ flows naturally through us. The things we say or do actually become secondary to the action of the Spirit within us. Liturgy Of the Hours this is the prayer of the church, Adoration any time spent with and in the presence of the Lord, Mass, The Rosary, are just a few ways. Real heartfelt prayer is what is needed.

Second, we need to reach out to those in the world who are longing for a Savior. This is not limited to those who have never heard of Christ. It also refers to those leading desperate lives of insignificant drudgery. It refers to those who are caught up in the pains of secular society, busy doing all sorts of things that fade away except the one thing that lasts, uniting themselves to the Lord. We need to find ways to reach those who have no relationship with Christ. Visit those who are shut in, Imprisoned, hospitalized, or in Hospice. Step out of our comfort and BRING CHRIST to OTHERS in the form of ourselves.

Thirdly, we need to fight against our own reservations. We might hesitate to ask someone to pray with us, fearing that the person might say. "No". Maybe we are afraid that we will not be convincing enough. We need to remember that God supplies the words and actions that lead others to Him. We are merely the vehicles for the Lord. At the same time, a vehicle is useless if it stays in the garage. We need to do our best, and let the Spirit do the rest. How is it that we are all here in church? How is it that billions celebrate Jesus Christ? Was there a huge miracle that caused so many to become Christians? Was there a sign in the sky that said, "Go to Church?" Of course not. We are here because the Holy Spirit worked through others. I am here because others, particularly in my case as in most your cases, my parents, took their faith seriously. I am here, as you are, because others have prayed for me and led me to Christ. God uses His People to spread his Gospel. He empowers them with His Spirit, inspiring them and others through them to choose Christ.

God uses us to do the work of His Kingdom. He has empowered us with the Holy Spirit. By being confirmed the Holy Spirit gives you the grace to accept the responsibility of being Jesus’ friend in sharing this friendship with others by loving your neighbor as yourself, by being honest, and by keeping the Commandments and living as a friend of Jesus amidst very hostile circumstances in today’s world.

May we have the courage to continue the work of our Master.

And remember that every single person has a name a face and a story that is precious to God so, in turn, it should be precious to us.