Author: Beth Zanotelli, Family Life Coordinator for the Diocese of Palm Beach
During the 50-day Easter Season, we celebrate the promise of new life both in Heaven and on Earth, we rejoice and are renewed in faith. We anticipate an even greater renewal and the boldness that the Holy Spirit gave the Apostles on Pentecost. The Apostles also received the courage and wisdom to preach to many nations and peoples. How can we be renewed at Pentecost this year? How can we fully participate in the Descent of the Holy Spirit?
Psalm 104:1-2 invites us to sing the praises of God the Creator! “Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord, my God you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory robed in light as with a cloak.” This is the psalm that we will pray at Mass when we celebrate Pentecost. It is part of the scriptures the Jewish Apostles knew and recited as children and throughout their lives. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph sang this Psalm that gives us a perfect image of God’s intimate involvement in the world He created. Verses 10,14, and 15 proclaim, “You made springs flow into channels that wind among the mountains …You raise grass for the cattle and plants for our beasts of burden. You bring bread from the earth, and wine to gladden our hearts.” How often do we stop to praise God for the gifts of creation? God made everything. We belong to Him, and we should delight in Him! How often do we sacrifice a luxury for the protection of God’s creation? How often do we share our witness of God’s greatness with others? How often do we dust off the scales of the world and delight in Him?
In the Easter season, we hear about the Apostles and their life after Christ’s Resurrection. As we approach Pentecost, imagine them gathered together, reciting Psalm 104:30, “Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.” At Pentecost, God sends us An Advocate, he fulfills his promise by sending the Holy Spirit. We can wake up each day and be refreshed by the Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit was breathed on the Apostles and Jesus said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” At Pentecost Jesus’ Paschal Mystery is complete and we, the Church, have what we need to carry on His work in the world. We can show others the glory of heaven by sharing the Gospel. We can witness what we know about Jesus to others. It doesn’t have to sound like a theology textbook. Our witness to others can be seen by living the Truth, by outwardly showing forgiveness, and by being servants to one another. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we who are baptized and confirmed children of God, are strengthened to be sharers of the Word and to be warriors for the Truth. We need to daily renew our faith and look for ways to draw closer to Jesus. We can do this with constant prayer, repentance, and faith. We can ask the Holy Spirit to be present in our life. Take a moment to pray with the words of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman:
Come Holy Spirit!
Make our ears to hear.
Make our eyes to see.
Make our mouths to speak.
Make our hearts to seek.
Make our hands to reach out.
And touch the world with your love. AMEN.
Here’s what scripture has to say:
Psalm 104:24-35 – How varied are your works, Lord! In wisdom you have wrought them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Look at the sea, great and wide! It teems with countless beings, living things both large and small. Here ships ply their course; here Leviathan your creature, plays. All of these look to you to give them food in due time. When you give to them, they gather; when you open your hand, they are well-filled. When you hide your face, they are lost. When you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust from which they came. When you send forth your breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord be glad in these works! If God glares at the earth, it trembles; if God touches the mountains, they smoke! I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live. May my theme be pleasing to God; I will rejoice in the Lord. May sinners vanish from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, my soul! Hallelujah!