Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR A PENTECOST SUNDAY - 15.5.05 Acts 2,1-11; 1 Cor 12,3-7.12-13; Jn 20,19-23 Gift of Discernment: Listen! Pentecost,
50th day,
celebrates the ‘wonderful works of God (magnalia Dei)’ at the close of
Easter Time, made of 50 “alleluia” days from Passover to Pentecost. At
Jesus’ time, Pentecost was a Jewish harvest festival, which occurred 50 days
after Passover & drew many pilgrims to Jerusalem. At Pentecost, we celebrate
the coming of the Holy Spirit with many symbols & images: the mighty wind -
the tongues of flame - the white dove - the gift of tongues (glossolalia) -
power: each is meant to convey something of the Spirit, which is beyond human
understanding. Today, the liturgical colour is red to symbolize the intense love
(& ‘fire’) of the Holy Spirit. He comes to fire us with his ‘gifts
& fruits’, so we may aptly tune-into God’s promptings & inspirations
for our daily life. Today -of all days- our prayer is: ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill
the hearts of us your faithful & kindle in us the fire of your love’. The
Church lists 7 gifts & 12 fruits of the Spirit. The gifts are: wisdom,
understanding, counsel (also called right judgment or discernment), fortitude
(courage), knowledge, piety (reverence), fear (awe) of the Lord. The 12 fruits
are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness,
faithfulness, modesty, self-control & chastity. Of all people this year, it
is Pope Benedict XVI, who urges us to open our hearts & minds to the
promptings of the Holy Spirit, & to work for unity among Church groups &
to promote dialogue among cultures & nations. In the process of listening,
the Pope takes advice from ‘old’ St. Benedict, who begins his “Rule for
Monks’ with: LISTEN (ausculta)!
& pleads that we ‘incline the ear of our heart’ & expects the Prior
to listen to the counsel of everyone
-youth & low ranking included-. Active
listening in a godless society! Pope Benedict XVI invites us all to make concrete gestures which
penetrate spirits & move consciences. We must all listen to God’s Spirit, to the entire Church & to the will of
the Lord in today’s godless society. As St. Benedict did in times past, we too
must lead a life of “prayer & work”; but we must also practice ‘active
listening’: to the Holy Spirit, to God’s word, to each other
& to the blind forces that operate in our society. With the Pope, let us aim
at uniting & never shattering - including & never excluding - inspiring
& never discouraging - reconciling & never condemning. Beautifully, the
new Holy Father says: ‘As for me, my plan is not to do my own will - not to
pursue my own ideas - but to listen
together with the whole Church, to God’s word & the will of the Lord - to
be guided by the Lord, so He himself will lead the Church at this hour of
history’. However, on this day of Pentecost, we would be naive, not to admit
to the sad factions & conflicts, which tear us at parish & inter-church
level, & world-wide. Sadly
today, our youth (we call them: Generation “Y” - born after 1979, came of
age in 2000) are bearing unusual burdens. This age group, is the best-educated
generation in western history (our girls in particular have never had more
opportunities to develop their potential); it is also skilled in computers like
few of their elders will ever be (Remember that they & the personal computer
-introduced in 1981 by IBM- grew up together). But still, this age group carries
the scars & fears of the social revolution that took place between the
mid-60s when their parents (at 18) engaged in student protests, and the 1980s,
when this age group was born. It was then that birth rates, marriages &
human sexual behaviour dropped dramatically: 50% in 20 years! Against this
scenario, we yearn & pray & search & refuse to take the easy
answers. Come, Holy Spirit..... ______________________________________ |
