PENTECOST

   The talk entitled, "Opening to God's love" by Dominic Berardino broadened my understanding of God's love. I was specifically touched when the speaker said that God has so much love that He is not able to contain it and it overflows. God's creation is His way of making room for His love. We are all expressions of God's love. It was impressed to me that as pro creators of God we too are capable of expressing this love and make it grow and multiply through the help of the Holy Spirit. Allow God to change our hearts and live that love not just in words but in action, deeds and in truth. He further said that peace is still unfulfilled, which is very evident in the prevailing conditions worldwide because people or we are not yet fully transforming our hearts to love. He said he used to be a "Cultural Catholic" who never heard the personal message of God's love. Although he already felt the love of God at age 7 when he had his 1st communion, he still had an obscure image of Jesus. He even thought that Jesus was Italian being Italian himself and very Catholic. It was only after a long while when he started to have this personal relationship with God that he saw in Jesus the perfect image of God's love which is very unlike the typical image that we all sometimes used to have of God who is one who punishes and disciplines. It was the image of God from the Parable of the Prodigal Son that he was able to paint a better image of God in his life. He said that the Prodigal Son misused his free will and abused it. It was like the son wanted his father dead because he already asked for his share of wealth even though he is still living. When the time came when he already hit rock bottom and lost everything, the so called spiritual earthquakes of our lives that was when he decided to go back to his father. Thinking to himself that he is better off as a hired worker in his father's home and did not even thought of being treated as a son but the father's love was so great that upon seeing his son with nothing at all he immediately ordered that his son be given a robe, ring and sandals which means he has his freedom back. For in those times people who have no possessions at all are the slaves. He cited  this bible passage that not a single sparrow falls to the ground without the knowledge of our Heavenly Father and so much more should we be convinced that God is watching us always with love. 1 Cor.13 It's about time we heal the broken images of God and know that He has this unconditional love for us. In the end he quoted, St. John of the Cross "When the evening of this life comes we will be judged on love." He further recommended to read Mt. 25. and ended his talk with another quote from St. Gregory, "We all have this residue of selfishness and we wash it away with unselfishness." It was indeed a blessing that we were all gathered together to celebrate this very special occasion when we commemorate the day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and from that time on their lives were never the same.

 Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim...

Only to God should we place our trust. He is a God who will never forsake nor abandon and will do for us much more than we can ever know. I am reminded of the talk delivered by Fr. John Hampsch, CMF entitled, "Don't take woe for an answer". He discussed not only about optimism per se but within the context of the Christian virtue, hope. He quoted Rom 5:5 which describes hope in God as something that doesn't disappoint. It is good to always put our hope in the Lord who make all things work together for good for all those who love Him.(Rom. 8:28) He said that we should always face the sun for the shadows to go behind. Come to think of it, I only realized it when I heard it, I guess it's another way of making us realize that if we are always facing the Son of God, Jesus who is the Light of the World, then every shadow that darkens and blocks the light in our lives will go behind us. He said there is only one place where there is only complete total disappointment for there is no hope of relief and that is hell or Dante's inferno. He further described Christian hope as not confined to the standards of this world and transcends emotional hope. It is an assurance or certainty of something good as in Ps. 42 where several times the words, "Put your hope in God" were repeated. Hope is a virtue infused by God in our wills not only in our emotions. Trust God with complete certainty. He quoted, the Council of Trent declaring that, "No one is certain of salvation.” This is somehow contradictory to what St. Augustine said that "You should think of salvation as if it were already certain." The certainty of salvation is as certain as our own existence. He explained that there is really no contradiction in the sense that the uncertainty comes from our side as human beings and not from God. He said we have the free will to choose our salvation. He reiterated the importance to see to it that the truth we heard remains in us and if it remains in us then God is surely assuring us of the certainty that He is on our side. It's just like finding something beautiful that we would never want to let go and remains forever. He mentioned the forces of evil that tempts us to become unfaithful. But God assured us that no one can snatch us out of His hands but the problem is if we choose to pull away from God. In the face of real challenges only those who stay firm in God's promises will hold and survive. It is given that God never abandons us, only we can abandon Him through the choices we make. In this present time of great trial and hardships we have to discover the grounds of hope which is rooted in the so called "Tripod of Hope" by St. Thomas Aquinas: 1. faith in the power of God (2 Thes. 1:11-12) 2. faith in the goodness of God (Ps. 146) 3. faith in the promises of God (Heb.11:1-2; Ps. 145:13) Sometimes this tripod is placed in a slippery floor of despair, conclusion of fools, neglect of faith and the like. We are called to always have faith and hope in God as written in the 1st book of Peter. If we feel like we are experiencing a hardship just like Job and starting to lose hope then we are called by God to stand firm and be joyful in hope. (2 Cor 1:5-6; Rom 12:2) Nothing or no one else can make or break us, only God gives and takes, this is something we have to realize, first and foremost. Everything is by the grace of God. It's about time we stop using words and saying things about our being human other than what we are in the eyes of God. May our thoughts, words and action be inclined to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. There is really no more denying that we have a God who created all of us including everything here on earth which has been appointed and assigned in its designated time and place for our continuous guidance and reminder. All the beautiful things around us speak of the greatness of God's creation He is great and Almighty. Thus we should always give thanks and praise to God as we say the psalm today. May we all have a grasp of this great and wonderful relationship that exists between God and the world or His creation. Jesus is intimately present in Creation as the wind and air like a force of love. All that is good is a reflection of divine love. It is infinite and eternal that generates from nothing and from the beginning of time and creation does not merely occur and end there but an eternal support of the Holy Trinity present in all creation. Especially in us, present in a special way since we have a soul and spirit. The Holy Spirit is the moving force when God speaks with His word. This is something we lost in original sin but was restored through the action of the word made flesh in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 104: 1. 24. 29-30. 31. 34

R: Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

...How manifold are your works, O LORD! The earth is full of your creatures. (R) 29 If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust...

The 2nd reading for today tells us that though we feel inadequate in ourselves we need not despair because God has given each one of us a gift for some benefit and the others too. We all belong in God's big family and we are all part of His body. We are all connected in a way and God will bring to us people, events and situations that will perfect us and our needs for His greater glory and for the good of the entire people of God, the Church in which we are all a part of. In the talk, "Revealing God's love to others" by Fr. Bill DeLaney, SJ. He said that there are several names attributed to God but the name "Abba" holds a special meaning. He is a God that is not distant and shows Himself as a loving Father to a son. He said we have a task at hand which is to continue the outpouring of the Spirit in the Church. He said that we have already been filled but we leak so we have to constantly be filled and there should be an ongoing filling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is revealed in many ways and one of these is when the Holy Spirit reveals sovereignty, which means it is direct and only God can do it. The Holy Spirit is always present but we do not always feel its presence. We have to work with Jesus so that it can be revealed. In Gal. 5:22 there are several fruits of the Spirit which allows us to reveal God's presence to others and bring it out in others. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. It is sad that oftentimes we do not reflect the fruits rather the opposite. We are invited to live at peace with everyone by first becoming the person of peace. It can never be done in hostility but only in gentleness. 1 Tim  5:3, treat others even your enemies with courtesy and respect. It is how you relate and disagree with one another that tell much of who we really are. It is rooted in the truth of who we are and what we honestly believe. The will of Jesus for the community is unity. He prayed not only for the disciples but for all those who believe. A Christian community should love and respect each other even when we disagree. Heroic virtues and holiness should just be something ordinary since it is the way it should be for a true Christian. He said that when we pray for patience we should be willing to go through the process of planting, cultivating and nourishing it.  Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 12:3b-7. 12-13

3 Brothers and sisters: No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit. 4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; 5 there are different forms of service but the same Lord; 6 there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 7 To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

The 4th talk is about "Receiving and Giving Encouragement" by Kay Murdy. She said that the word courage came from the Old French word which means the heart, which can be taken as put courage into the heart. She further said that kind words can be short and brief but its echoes are endless and never forgotten. St. Paul strengthened and encouraged the Thessalonians by sending Timothy. God gives us encouragement through the scriptures even eternal encouragement as in the book of Romans. She mentioned about Joseph of Cyprus whose name became Barnabas which means "son of encouragement" because he lifted up Paul during the time when the other disciples were suspicious of him. We are encouraged to recognize the gifts and talents of others and letting them know about it by simply writing a note and saying something positive. Even King David when feeling depressed encouraged himself in the Lord. He recognized who he was and what he is called to be. She quoted this " If you can't change the direction of the wind then adjust your sails so that you can reach your destination." She further said that to each is given a gift not only to some and emphasized the word to each. We are called to develop and allow it to grow for us to share to others and be as contagious as possible. We should encourage each other as much as we can before it’s too late. She narrated a story of a man whose dream was to be a musician but ended up becoming a lawyer due to family pressure. It was like this man can be compared to a round peg being fitted into a square peg. The man was said to commit suicide. It is God's will that we encourage one another as our way of testifying to God. How does our God love? His love is immeasurable, unimaginable and indescribable. How can we not love Him back? God's word in today's gospel is an assurance that we can always depend on Him whatever situations we have right now. He is always with us and will never leave us provided we keep His word. How do the saints go about it? St. Therese had the habit of smiling whenever her work was interrupted by a nun coming to ask for help whether with or without good reason. Let us face it most of us are annoyed and impatient especially when we are disturbed especially when they don’t have a good reason. St. Therese’ habit of smiling when she is annoyed is a willed reaction. She does it quite naturally. At the beginning of a free period which Carmelite nuns do not have a lot of, she prepares herself ahead of time to react in a loving manner. Therefore nothing took her by surprise, she is ready to be disturbed, counts on being disturbed, thus she is always happy. This is called determination. She is practicing it and does something about it in order to change from good to better and to best. Holiness and sanctity is not an emotion, the thing itself is in the will. As the gospel tells us today, “He who does the will of my Father  is the one who loves Him.” As St. Thomas said, “Will it.” We need to light the fire and do something about it. Fidelity is all we need. Daily conversation with the Lord is one of the traits of geniuses. As we master the art of communication with the Lord then we can say the deepest things in just a few words. St. Augustine, said “Every Christian should be an Alleluia from head to toe.” The people who live completely the message of the Catholic Church are the saints. They live the Lord’s message and the most beautiful people in the planet.  The saints are the one who really live by the truth. They are walking in the living form and work enthusiastically. They are present in the world but not at home in this world, living the divine message as perfectly as they can, eager to act and yet devoted to contemplation. We may be going through a lot of trials and problems but it doesn't change the fact that He is God. It is a consolation to hear these words being said by Jesus in today's gospel. But at that time when He said this we might have guessed it right if we recognized that there is a sense of stress in the Upper Room among the Apostles. They are tense in their hearts and troubled and is exactly the reason why Jesus said it. The apostles may have been guessing already what's going to happen shortly. He said do not let your hearts be troubled so that they will be protected from despair when persecution comes. He said not to worry, be anxious or afraid like we always do at times or almost always. Though, it doesn't mean that men and women who worry and get anxious have no faith. We are not living in reality if we feel this way. Friends of God are not totally free from worries that trouble the heart. Sometimes we pray to God and still do not eliminate what we are distressed of. We still need to avoid things that we can avoid and do all we can to avoid suffering. We are on this road and journey. We constantly look for the right direction so that we will not get lost. It might have happened to everyone when we are headed for a place we've never been before. We ask directions and somewhere along the road we still get confused and lose our way. This happens when we lose track of it and given the wrong information. We can rest ourselves from worry and trouble because Jesus never leaves us. He is always with us through the Holy Spirit to strengthen, guide and shed light in our path. He personally leads us to show us the way for us not to get lost. He holds us by the hand and sees us through. We might think that when we pray we are doing service to God. We are wrong. Prayer first and foremost is an initiative of God. It is our giving to God the time to bring light and guidance into our lives. What makes life worth living? Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the key to life. This is the kind of life that we should desire but sadly, not often found. What I noticed very much in romantic old movies is the signature characteristic of people hopelessly in love being portrayed in it. This famous line "I never knew what life was until I saw it in your eyes." always form part of the climax of these romantic movies. This should be the fervor and devotion that we ought to give to God. Only Jesus can give us the peace and love amidst all the turmoil surrounding us. It can be compared to the center or eye of a hurricane where there is complete tranquility in the presence of heavy rain, strong winds and heavy waves. Nothing is more uplifting and strengthening than these words of assurance in today's gospel coming from Jesus Himself a true and genuine friend and lover in the real sense of it. Thanks to God.  Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created and they shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.

John 20:19-23
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”