June 12th, Pentecost Sunday

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.

V. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.  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.  Amen.

Today is Pentecost Sunday when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Advocate that Christ prophesied.  The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, descended upon the disciples in the upper room and appeared as tongues of fire.  The disciples were ordinary people, frightened at the coming persecutions of the Followers of Christ.  But they were set on fire with the Love of God in the Holy Spirit.  Their tongues were blessed with undying speech of Christ and their hearts were strengthened despite their fears.  They went out and preached to all nations, "Proclaiming the Glory of God!"

So to, my friends, we are called to preach the Good News.  This Feast of Pentecost reminds us that we are the Children of God, and as such, have the responsibility to carry on the work of our ancestors, the disciples in the upper room.  As God descended on them with tongues of fire, so he sends us out, inflamed with His Infinite Love, to serve Him in our daily lives.

What does this mean?  It means that we must constantly, untiringly be an advocate to the Heavenly Father.  We must remain always conscience that who we are and what we do is perceived by others.  By wearing the sacred garment of our Faith constantly, we show others our love for God.  If we take our spiritual clothes off on Friday, and put them on again Sunday, we are not fulfilling our purpose.  Many say that the reason for an individual's life is to make the world a better place before we die.  But the true accomplishment would be to gain one soul for Christ.  We do not have to preach eloquent words or do great deeds because the Spirit, alive in our souls, asks only that we be an example of the zeal of Christians.  Transform your life to goodness and your example will draw others to Christ.  Therefore, follow the inspiration of Pentecost and live with that unwavering mission to be the perfect advocate of Jesus Christ!

I highly recommend that you purchase this retreat by Fr. Roger Landry.  He speaks on the New Evangelization and how we can serve Christ in the modern world based on the teachings of Bl. Pope John Paul II