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Spiritual Reflection
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May 21, 2010 | | | |  | Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2010
Today we celebrate Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit gave a new sense of empowerment to the Church.
Today we commemorate the birth of the Church. It is Pentecost, the day, some two thousand years ago, when the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles and breathed energy and animation into their faith. It is the day when tongues of fire loosed the tongues of the disciples so they could clearly give voice to the Good News of salvation.
Today we celebrate the day when the Apostles accepted the mission entrusted to them by Jesus- to bring the message of God's love and salvation to all nations. When the Holy Spirit appeared, the Church really took on a new dimension. It was on Pentecost when the disciples began declaring to all people that Jesus is the Saviour of the world.
At his Last Supper, and again before his Ascension, Jesus promised that when he went to be with the Father, he would not leave the disciples on their own. He would send the Holy Spirit to be with them and with all the followers, forever. The Spirit would serve as Counsellor, Guide and Advocate. On that day of Pentecost, the doors of the Upper Room were flung open and have stayed open, as the Holy Spirit has been renewing the zeal and dedication of Christ's followers ever since.
The Holy Spirit works in each of us to help us to recognize the hand of God in our lives, to help inspire us, to help us see the blessings we receive. The Spirit gives these gifts because the Father wills it, and gives them in the name of the Son. So the entire mystery of the Trinity is wrapped up in every gift we receive from the Holy Spirit.
The celebration of Pentecost gives us a renewed respect and love for our Church. Pentecost is the day we begin to be more open, more giving as we tell the world the wondersof our lives as believers in Christ. | | | | | |
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 Our Lady of Lourdes - In 1858, in a grotto, near Lourdes in southern France, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl. She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a fountain in the grotto. When Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition, a spring began to flow. The water from this still flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify. Lourdes has become the most famous modern shrine of Our Lady. |
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