7th Sunday of Eastertide Sunday 31st May
PENTECOST SUNDAY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Gospel Reading – John 20: 19-23
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them.
He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and, after saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.’
As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this he breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.
The Gospel of the Lord
The Mass intention is for The Deceased Members of the
Martin and Wilson Families
In our gospel today, the description of the experience of the Resurrection
the sending out: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you” the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive sins.
Today the birthday of our amazing Church is really something to CELEBRATE! God in his infinite love has blessed all the nations of the world with the Gift and Power of His Holy Spirit. As we celebrate Pentecost it would be helpful to ponder the primary effects of the Holy Spirit in a prayerful way.
Below are the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. These Gifts are the primary effects of Pentecost for each and every one of us. Use them as an examination of your life and let God show you where you need to grow more deeply in the strength of the Holy Spirit.
Seven Fold Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Fear of the Lord: With this gift the Christian becomes keenly aware of anything that may hurt their relationship with God. There is a holy “fear” of hurting this relationship and grace is given to avoid these things at all cost.
Wisdom: With this gift the Christian is given a special grace to “ponder divine realities” in their speculative reason. We are able to see the big picture and know how best to be an instrument of peace and harmony in our world.
Understanding: This is the ability to have a supernatural assurance of the matters of faith. Life makes sense. We can make sense of the deeper parts of revelation, make sense of suffering and understand those things that tempt us to doubt. With this gift we come to see how everything in life can work for good in accordance with God’s plan.
Knowledge: With this gift the Christian knows, more in the practical intellect, what God’s will is in this or that situation. We know how to live, how to discern God’s will and what decision to make in our daily life. It also enables us to learn from our past mistakes.
Counsel: With this gift the Christian sees him/herself as a link in a chain which makes up the entire Church. God uses each one of us to help and support one another on our journey. We know what to say and how to act so as to do our part to build up one another.
Fortitude: Simply put, it is a firmness of mind and spirit to do good and avoid evil. It’s a sort of Christian courage. The Gospel will call all of us to a radical life of love. Fortitude gives us the strength we need to follow through.
Piety: This gift enables us to first reverence and love God, but also to see the dignity of one another and reverence each other as children of God.