Pentecost

St. Peter Preaching at Pentecost by Benjamin West (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This Sunday will be our Solemnity of Pentecost and I will be preaching at the parish of Divine Mercy (Pasir Ris).

While doing up the homily piece and looking at the ideas and insights gotten from surfing the Internet on Pentecost, here's one thought that caught my attention which formed the foundation of what I wanted to share.

It's this.

June, June...

VatCupola59 (Photo credit: Annoysius)

This certainly is a fine situation here...

It has been almost a month since I have put up anything on this blog and the interval between one entry and the next has been erratic. I thought by my coming into the seminary and away from all the distractions that can be found in the parish, I could get some consistent writing done. But, so far that hasn't been the case. In fact, I have been compelled, more, to put aside this blog and procrastinate in doing up any entries here. Terrible...

I have let some important weeks past by, liturgical moments that carry significant impact in our lives, that it would be remiss of me not to just say a few short words that hopefully may capture their power and effect in our lives as Catholic Christians:

Pentecost

It is the Spirit! How sure are you that you are walking in and with the Spirit? Galatians 5 offer the template for all Christians to follow. When the Queen of England is in Buckingham Palace, the palace flies up their flags for all to see and know that she is around. What flags of the Spirit that we fly to show that we are in the Spirit if not that of love, peace, joy, ....

Trinity

The most difficult homily to do as the subject matter is just to transcendent for life that is more grounded on earth and reality. Yet, we already move into this mystery when we make the sign of the cross at every Mass, a sign that proclaims, God the Father loves the world so much that He sends His only Son all the way down to us, so that we may be gathered in the Holy Spirit.

Corpus Christi

Much ink have been poured to speak of this mystery of Christ that its profoundness cannot still be captured or appreciated well in a lifetime. A more profound passage that will help us reflect even deeper is from Jeremiah 31: 31ff. Every time we are at Mass and receive communion, we are fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy! Remember that passage well - Jer 31: 31.

Meanwhile, our Seminary's semester break is here! Since that means no classes and any other activities, I am looking forward to do the following:

a. an entry for my blog of at least once a week.
b. the use of one or both of my telescope to view the night sky more often, unless bad weather or clouds abound.
c. more occasions in the day to use the telescope to view the Sun with a solar filter.

Those above, of course, are on top of my other basic spiritual exercises/activities that has to go on regardless of weather or the GSS.

Related articles

• Benedict XVI's Sermon for Corpus Christi: Jesus in our midst is the "beating Heart" of the home, city, country, territory

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• A Big Month, The Solemnities of June

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Afraid, Be Not!

Image via Wikipedia

It's a message centered on prayer, on penance and conversion, that is projected beyond the threats, dangers and horrors of history, inviting mankind to trust in the action of God, to cultivate great hope, to experience the grace of the Lord so as to fall in love with Him, source of all love and peace.

Pope Benedict XVI, Mass at the Fatima Shrine, May 13, 2010

We are fast approaching the feast of Pentecost and, once again, be made aware of the presence, power and fruits of the Holy Spirit. For many of us, this feast only comes once a year and promptly places us  in its midst and after that, it is put aside and life carries on like it did before.

The homily given by our Holy Father at Fatima, during his visit there recently, is a timely reminder that we need to recover our lifeline and relationship on a better footing with God, our Creator and Father.

It is certainly not an easy task when you have to juggle between what affects you in your daily dealings with the world and what is required of you as a follower of Christ and a member of the Catholic Church. We speak of the dichotomy that tends to exist between the two (world vs faith) and there are grounds for concern when one is torn or struggling to find one's proper footing in the effort to find the middle ground.

Thus, the homily given at Fatima carries with it profound elements of joy and peace that we can hold on to without having to wring our hands in panic and hopelessness in the face of great turmoil. When we begin to relate ourselves appropriately with God through prayer, penance and conversion, we can hear with acute distinction, the calming voice of the Father, "Be not afraid!". This therefore starts a whole new outlook in life where we begin to sense with greater assurance that God is in control and can be truly trusted.

It is a reminder for myself that even with what I am experiencing in the parish and elsewhere, in relation to the ministry, there is always this sliver of hope under every dark cloud.

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• Homily of Pope Benedict XVI in Fatima (Full Text) (te-deum.blogspot.com)
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Get Into the Right Spirit!

Happy Pentecost!

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