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By Kathy Horan  In liturgical terms, we are travelling through what is called ‘ordinary time’, the longest of the liturgical seasons, a time for entering more fully into the mystery of Christ.
The feast of Pentecost reminded us of the Spirit’s presence in our midst as animator, consoler, the breath of new life, the great Spirit of Truth promised by Jesus to his disciples. During this ‘ordinary time,’ we are reminded that our baptismal call as Christians is to enter more fully and joyfully into the process of evangelisation and to recover the original freshness of the gospel, for ourselves and for others. Pope Francis observes that ‘in every activity of evangelisation, the primacy belongs to God, who has called us to cooperate with him and who leads us on by the power of his Spirit. It is God who renews, inspires, provokes, guides and accompanies us and it is God who brings new life’.
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By Kathy Horan  Each year when we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, we rejoice and celebrate the Spirit of Jesus alive in our midst – in us, in the Church and in the world.
The story of Pentecost reminds us of the birth of the Church and the transformation of the disciples from being fearful, uncertain individuals into spirited, bold proclaimers of the good news of Jesus. At that Pentecost time, they finally began to grasp the importance of what Jesus had said and done, and urged on by the Spirit of Jesus, they began to take up the challenge of being missionary disciples, spreading the joy of the gospel, and baptising people in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien Can you imagine a world without words? I do not mean being unable to hear or voluntarily living in silence, but that words do not actually exist. For human beings life would be mere ‘existence.’ There could be no exchange of ideas, no community living, not even a name for each individual person. Communication would be only in its most basic form. Language is at the heart of who we are, how we form relationships, how we understand our world.
This is why Jesus’ title, ‘Word of God’ is so fundamental, so all-encompassing and so powerful. We remember from the Genesis story of creation that ‘God said…. and so it came to be’. The point of the story was to show the dynamic power of God’s word: the mere utterance of the word brought it into being. Jesus, as the Word of God, is the humanised expression of who and what God is. This is a most extraordinary reality, and just how wonderful a gift this is bears thinking about often. |
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Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide
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