(Mass during the Day)
Catechism Links
CCC 696, 726, 731-732, 737-741, 830, 1076, 1287, 2623: Pentecost
CCC 599, 597,674, 715: apostolic witness on Pentecost
CCC 1152, 1226, 1302, 1556: the mystery of Pentecost continues in the Church
CCC 767, 775, 798, 796, 813, 1097, 1108-1109: the Church, communion in the Spirit
CCC Cross Reference:
Acts 2:1-4 1287; Acts 2:1 2623; Acts 2:3-4 696; Acts 2:11 1287
Ps 104 288; Ps 104:24 295; Ps 104:30 292, 703
1 Cor 12 1988, 2003; 1 Cor 12:3 152, 449, 455, 683, 2670, 2681; 1 Cor 12:4-6 249; 1 Cor 12:6 308; 1 Cor 12:7 801, 951; 1 Cor 12:13 694, 790, 798, 1227, 1267, 1396
Jn 15:26 244, 248, 263, 692, 719, 729, 1433, 2671; Jn 16:13-15 2615; Jn 16:13 91, 243, 687, 692, 1117, 2466, 2671; Jn 16:14-15 485; Jn 16:14 244, 690
Jn 20:19 575, 643, 645, 659; Jn 20:20 645; Jn 20:21-23 1087, 1120, 1441; Jn 20:21 730, 858; Jn 20:22-23 976, 1485; Jn 20:22 730, 788, 1287; Jn 20:23 1461, 2839
Back to Deacon's Bench '09
Back to SOW II '12
Back to SOW II '15
Back to SOW II '18
Back to SOW II '21
Reading 1
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.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
"Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O Lord!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading II
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Gal 5:16-25
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13
Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
or
Gal 5:16-25
Brothers and sisters, live by the Spirit
and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh;
these are opposed to each other,
so that you may not do what you want.
But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
Gospel
Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15
Jn 20:19-23
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."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."
or
Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you."
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings for the Vigil
First reading Genesis 11:1-9
Throughout the earth men spoke the same language, with the same vocabulary. Now as they moved eastwards they found a plain in the land of Shinar where they settled. They said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them in the fire.’ (For stone they used bricks, and for mortar they used bitumen). ‘Come,’ they said ‘let us build ourselves a town and a tower with its top reaching heaven. Let us make a name for ourselves, so that we may not be scattered about the whole earth.’
Now the Lord came down to see the town and the tower that the sons of man had built. ‘So they are all a single people with a single language!’ said the Lord. ‘This is but the start of their undertakings! There will be nothing too hard for them to do. Come, let us go down and confuse their language on the spot so that they can no longer understand one another.’ The Lord scattered them thence over the whole face of the earth, and they stopped building the town. It was named Babel therefore, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth. It was from there that the Lord scattered them over the whole face of the earth.
Alternative first reading Exodus 19:3-8,16-20
Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel:
‘“You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own, for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.”
‘Those are the words you are to speak to the sons of Israel.’
So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people, putting before them all that the Lord had bidden him. Then all the people answered as one, ‘All that the Lord has said, we will do.’
Now at daybreak on the third day there were peals of thunder on the mountain and lightning flashes, a dense cloud, and a loud trumpet blast, and inside the camp all the people trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the bottom of the mountain. The mountain of Sinai was entirely wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. Like smoke from a furnace the smoke went up, and the whole mountain shook violently. Louder and louder grew the sound of the trumpet. Moses spoke, and God answered him with peals of thunder. The Lord came down on the mountain of Sinai, on the mountain top, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain.
Alternative first reading Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord was laid on me, and he carried me away by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley, a valley full of bones. He made me walk up and down among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the ground the whole length of the valley; and they were quite dried up. He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘You know, Lord.’ He said, ‘Prophesy over these bones. Say, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. The Lord says this to these bones: I am now going to make the breath enter you, and you will live. I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will learn that I am the Lord.”’ I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a sound of clattering; and the bones joined together. I looked, and saw that they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, but there was no breath in them. He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, “The Lord says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead; let them live!”’ I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life again and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.
Then he said, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” So prophesy. Say to them, “The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.”’
Alternative first reading Joel 3:1-5
Thus says the Lord:
‘I will pour out my spirit on all mankind.
Your sons and daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men see visions.
Even on the slaves, men and women,
will I pour out my spirit in those days.
I will display portents in heaven and on earth,
blood and fire and columns of smoke.’
The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the day of the Lord dawns,
that great and terrible day.
All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved,
for on Mount Zion there will be some who have escaped,
as the Lord has said,
and in Jerusalem some survivors whom the Lord will call.
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 103:1-2,24,27-30,35
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in light as in a robe!
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
or
Alleluia!
How many are your
works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
Bless the Lord, my soul.
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
or
Alleluia!
All of these look to you
to give them their food in due season.
You give it, they gather it up:
you open your hand, they have their fill.
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
or
Alleluia!
You take back your spirit, they die,
returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth.
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Second reading Romans 8:22-27
From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free. For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were – but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.
The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God.
Gospel John 7:37-39
On the last day and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood there and cried out:
‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to me!
Let the man come and drink who believes in me!’
As scripture says: From his breast shall flow fountains of living water.
He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive; for there was no Spirit as yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Mass During the Day
First reading Acts 2:1-11
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.
Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 103:1,24,29-31,34
Second reading 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13
No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptized, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.
Alternative second reading Galatians 5:16-25
If you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing, and it is precisely because the two are so opposed that you do not always carry out your good intentions. If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you. When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. I warn you now, as I warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.
Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit.
Gospel John 20:19-23
In the evening of 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 showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw 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.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’
Alternative gospel John 15:26-27,16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘When the Advocate comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,
he will be my witness.
And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with me from the outset.
‘I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Solemnity: Pentecost Sunday
From: Acts 2:1-11
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
-------------------------------------------
[1] When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. [2] And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. [3] And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
[5] Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. [6] And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. [7] And they were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? [8] And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? [9] Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [10] Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, [11] Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God."
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
1-13. This account of the Holy Spirit visibly coming down on the disciples who, in keeping with Jesus' instructions, had stayed together in Jerusalem, gives limited information as to the time and place of the event, yet it is full of content. Pentecost was one of the three great Jewish feasts for which many Israelites went on pilgrimage to the Holy City to worship God in the temple. It originated as a harvest thanksgiving, with an offering of first-fruits. Later it was given the additional dimension of commemorating the promulgation of the Law given by God to Moses on Sinai. The Pentecost celebration was held fifty days after the Passover, that is, after seven weeks had passed. The material harvest which the Jews celebrated so joyously became, through God's providence, the symbol of the spiritual harvest which the Apostles began to reap on this day.
2-3. Wind and fire were elements which typically accompanied manifestations of God in the Old Testament (cf. Ex 3:2; l 3:21-22; 2 Kings 5:24; Ps 104:3). In this instance, as Chrysostom explains, it would seem that separate tongues of fire came down on each of them: they were "separated, which means they came from one and the same source, to show that the Power all comes from the Paraclete" ("Hom. on Acts", 4). The wind and the noise must have been so intense that they caused people to flock to the place. The fire symbolizes the action of the Holy Spirit who, by enlightening the minds of the disciples, enables them to understand Jesus's teachings--as Jesus promised at the Last Supper (cf. Jn 16:4-14); by inflaming their hearts with love he dispels their fear and moves them to preach boldly. Fire also has a purifying effect, God's action cleansing the soul of all trace of sin.
4. Pentecost was not an isolated event in the life of the Church, something over and done with. "We have the right, the duty and the joy to tell you that Pentecost is still happening. We can legitimately speak of the 'lasting value' of Pentecost. We know that fifty days after Easter, the Apostles, gathered together in the same Cenacle as had been used for the first Eucharist and from which they had gone out to meet the Risen One for the first time, "discover" in themselves the power of the Holy Spirit who descended upon them, the strength of Him whom the Lord had promised so often as the outcome of his suffering on the Cross; and strengthened in this way, they began to act, that is, to perform their role. [. . .] Thus is born the "apostolic Church". But even today--and herein the continuity lies – the Basilica of St Peter in Rome and every Temple, every Oratory, every place where the disciples of the Lord gather, is an extension of that original Cenacle" (Bl. John Paul II, "Homily", 25 May 1980).
Vatican II (cf. "Ad gentes", 4) quotes St Augustine's description of the Holy Spirit as the soul, the source of life, of the Church, which was born on the Cross on Good Friday and whose birth was announced publicly on the day of Pentecost: "Today, as you know, the Church was fully born, through the breath of Christ, the Holy Spirit; and in the Church was born the Word, the witness to and promulgation of salvation in the risen Jesus; and in him who listens to this promulgation is born faith, and with faith a new life, an awareness of the Christian vocation and the ability to hear that calling and to follow it by living a genuinely human life, indeed a life which is not only human but holy. And to make this divine intervention effective, today was born the apostolate, the priesthood, the ministry of the Spirit, the calling to unity, fraternity and peace" (Paul VI, "Address", 25 May 1969).
"Mary, who conceived Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit, the Love of the living God, presides over the birth of the Church, on the day of Pentecost, when the same Holy Spirit comes down on the disciples and gives life to the mystical body of Christians in unity and charity" (Paul VI, "Address", 25 October 1969).
5-11. In his account of the events of Pentecost St Luke distinguishes "devout men" (v. 5), Jews and proselytes (v. 11). The first-mentioned were people who were residing in Jerusalem for reasons of study or piety, to be near the only temple the Jews had. They were Jews--not to be confused with "God-fearing men", that is, pagans sympathetic to Judaism, who worshipped the God of the Bible and who, if they became converts and members of the Jewish religion by being circumcised and by observing the Mosaic Law, were what were called "proselytes", whom Luke distinguishes from the "Jews", that is, those of Jewish race.
People of different races and tongues understand Peter, each in his or her own language. They can do so thanks to a special grace from the Holy Spirit given them for the occasion; this is not the same as the gift of "speaking with tongues" which some of the early Christians had (cf. 1 Cor 14), which allowed them to praise God and speak to him in a language which they themselves did not understand.
11. When the Fathers of the Church comment on this passage they frequently point to the contrast between the confusion of languages that came about at Babel (cf. Gen 11:1-9)--God's punishment for man's pride and infidelity -- and the reversal of this confusion on the day of Pentecost, thanks to the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Second Vatican Council stresses the same idea: "Without doubt, the Holy Spirit was at work in the world before Christ was glorified. On the day of Pentecost, however, he came down on the disciples that he might remain with them forever (cf. Jn 14;16); on that day the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun. Finally, on that day was foreshadowed the union of all peoples in the catholicity of the faith by means of the Church of the New Alliance, a Church which speaks every language, understands and embraces all tongues in charity, and thus overcomes the dispersion of Babel" ("Ad Gentes", 4).
Christians need this gift for their apostolic activity and should ask the Holy Spirit to give it to them to help them express themselves in such a way that others can understand their message; to be able so to adapt what they say to suit the outlook and capacity of their hearers, that they pass Christ's truth on: "Every generation of Christians needs to redeem, to sanctify, its own time. To do this, it must understand and share the desires of other men -- their equals -- in order to make known to them, with a 'gift of tongues', how they are to respond to the action of the Holy Spirit, to that permanent outflow of rich treasures that comes from our Lord's heart. We Christians are called upon to announce, in our own time, to this world to which we belong and in which we live, the message -- old and at the same time new -- of the Gospel" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 132).
*********************************************************************************************
From: 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
Kinds of Spiritual Gifts
---------------------------------
[3] Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
[4] Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; [5] and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; [6] and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. [7] To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Unity and Variety in the Mystical Body of Christ
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[12] For just as the body is one and has many member, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. [13] For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body Jews or Greeks, slaves or free and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
3. This provides a general principle for discerning signs of the Holy Spirit -- recognition of Christ as Lord. It follows that the gifts of the Holy Spirit can never go against the teaching of the Church. "Those who have charge over the Church should judge the genuineness and proper use of these gifts [...], not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good (cf. Thess 5:12 and 19-21)" ("Lumen Gentium", 12).
4-7. God is the origin of spiritual gifts. Probably when St Paul speaks of gifts, service (ministries), "varieties of working", he is not referring to graces which are essentially distinct from one another, but to different perspectives from which these gifts can be viewed, and to their attribution to the Three Divine Persons. Insofar as they are gratuitously bestowed they are attributed to the Holy Spirit, as he confirms in v. 11; insofar as they are granted for the benefit and service of the other members of the Church, they are attributed to Christ the Lord, who came "not to be served but to serve" (Mk 10:45); and insofar as they are operative and produce a good effect, they are attributed to God the Father. In this way the various graces which the members of the Church receive are a living reflection of God who, being essentially one, in so is a trinity of persons. "The whole Church has the appearance of a people gathered together by virtue of the unity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (St Cyprian, "De Dominica Oratione", 23). Therefore, diversity of gifts and graces is as important as their basic unity, because all have the same divine origin and the same purpose -- the common good (v. 7): "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the principle of the Church's unity. By distributing various kinds of spiritual gifts and ministries he enriches the Church of Jesus Christ with different functions 'in order to equip the saints for the work of service, so as to build up the body of Christ' (Eph 4:12)" (Vatican II, "Unitatis Redintegratio", 2).
12-13. In Greek and Latin literature, society is often compared to a body; even today we talk of "corporations", a term which conveys the idea that all the citizens of a particular city are responsible for the common good. St Paul, starting with this metaphor, adds two important features: 1) he identifies the Church with Christ: "so it is with Christ" (v. 12); and 2) he says that the Holy Spirit is its life-principle: "by one Spirit we were all baptized..., and all made to drink of the Spirit" (v. 13). The Magisterium summarizes this teaching by defining the Church as the "mystical body of Christ", an expression which "is derived from and is, as it were, the fair flower of the repeated teaching of Sacred Scripture and the holy Fathers" (Pius XII, "Mystici Corporis").
"So it is with Christ": "One would have expected him to say, so it is with the Church, but he does not say that [...]. For, just as the body and the head are one man, so too Christ and the Church are one, and therefore instead of 'the Church' he says 'Christ"' (Chrysostom, "Hom. on 1 Cor", 30, "ad loc".). This identification of the Church with Christ is much more than a mere metaphor; it makes the Church a society which is radically different from any other society: "The complete Christ is made up of the head and the body, as I am sure you know well. The head is our Savior himself, who suffered under Pontius Pilate and now, after rising from the dead, is seated at the right hand of the Father. And his body is the Church. Not this or that church, but the Church which is to be found all over the world. Nor is it only that which exists among us today, for also belonging to it are those who lived before us and those who will live in the future, right up to the end of the world. All this Church, made up of the assembly of the faithful -- for all the faithful are members of Christ -- has Christ as its head, governing his body from heaven. And although this head is located out of sight of the body, he is, however, joined to it by love" (St Augustine, "Enarrationes in Psalmos", 56, 1).
The Church's remarkable unity derives from the Holy Spirit who not only assembles the faithful into a society but also imbues and vivifies its members, exercising the same function as the soul does in a physical body: "In order that we might be unceasingly renewed in him (cf. Eph 4:23), he has shared with us his Spirit who, being one and the same in head and members, gives life to, unifies and moves the whole body. Consequently, his work could be compared by the Fathers to the function that the principle of life, the soul, fulfils in the human body" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 7).
"All were made to drink of one Spirit": given that the Apostle says this immediately after mentioning Baptism, he seems to be referring to a further outpouring of the Holy Spirit, possibly in the sacrament of Confirmation. It is not uncommon for Sacred Scripture to compare the outpouring of the Spirit to drink, indicating that the effects of his presence are to revive the parched soul; in the Old Testament the coming of the Holy Spirit is already compared to dew, rain, etc.; and St. John repeats what our Lord said about "living water" (Jn 7:38; cf. 4:13-14).
Together with the sacraments of Christian initiation, the Eucharist plays a special role in building up the unity of the body of Christ. "Really sharing in the body of the Lord in the breaking of the eucharistic bread, we are taken up into communion with him and with one another. 'Because the bread is one, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of one bread' (1 Cor 10:17). In this way all of us are made members of his body (cf. 1 Cor 12:27), 'and individual members of one another' (Rom 12:5)" ("Lumen Gentium", 7).
*********************************************************************************************
From: Galatians 5:16-25
The Fruits of the Spirit and the Works of the Flesh (Continuation)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[16] But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, [21] envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
17-21. The fall of Adam and Eve left us with a tendency to seek created things for our own pleasure, instead of using them to lead us to God. The desires of the flesh make their appearance, urges which are at odds with God and with all that is noble in our personality. But when grace enters our soul and justifies us, we share in the fruits of the Redemption wrought by Christ and we are enabled to conquer our concupiscence and life according to the flesh.
The vices referred to in vv. 19-21 have their roots in something much deeper—life "of the flesh". And, St Augustine asserts, "it is said that someone lives according to the flesh when he lives for himself. Therefore, in this case, by 'flesh' is meant the whole person. For everything which stems from a disordered love of oneself is called work of the flesh" ("The City of God", 14, 2).
This is why we find included in the "works of the flesh" not only sins of impurity (v. 19) and faults of temperance (v. 21 ) but also sins against the virtues of religion and fraternal charity (v. 20).
"Significantly, when speaking of 'the works of the flesh' Paul mentions not only 'immorality [fornication], impurity, licentiousness [...], drunkenness, carousing'--all of which objectively speaking are connected with the flesh; he also names other sins which we do not usually put in the 'carnal' or 'sexual' category --'idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, envy' [...]. All these sins are the outcome of 'life according to the flesh', which is the opposite to 'life according to the spirit"' (John Paul 11, "Address", 7 January 1981).
Therefore, as the Apostle says, anyone who in one way or other obstinately persists in his sin will not be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven (cf. 1 Cor 6:9-10; Eph 5:5).
22-25. When someone lets himself be led by his instincts he is said to be leading an "animal life"; whereas, if he acts as his reason advises, he is leading a rational, human, life. Similarly, when one allows the Holy Spirit to act, one's life becomes life according to the Spirit--a supernatural life, a life which is no longer simply human but divine. This is what happens when a person is in the state of grace and is mindful of the treasure he bears within.
"Alone! You are not alone. We are keeping you close company from afar. Besides..., the Holy Spirit, living in your soul in grace--God with you--is giving a supernatural tone to all your thoughts, desires and actions" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 273).
The soul then becomes a good tree which is known by its fruits. Its actions reveal the presence of the Paraclete, and because of the spiritual delight they give the soul, these actions are called fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I-II, q. 70, a. 1).
"Those blessed fruits enumerated by the Apostle (Gal 5:22) the Spirit produces and shows forth in the just, even in this mortal life--fruits replete with all sweetness and joy. Such must, indeed, be from the Spirit 'who in the Trinity is the love of the Father and the Son, filling all creatures with immeasurable sweetness' (St Augustine, "De Trinitate", 6, 9)" (Leo XIII, "Divinum illud munus", 12).
*********************************************************************************************
From: John 20:19-23
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
---------------------------------------------
[19] On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." [20] When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. [21] Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you." [22] And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. [23] If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
19-20. Jesus appears to the Apostles on the evening of the day of which He rose. He presents Himself in their midst without any need for the doors to be opened, by using the qualities of His glorified body; but in order to dispel any impression that He is only a spirit He shows them His hands and His side: there is no longer any doubt about its being Jesus Himself, about His being truly risen from the dead. He greets them twice using the words of greeting customary among the Jews, with the same tenderness as He previously used put into this salutation. These friendly words dispel the fear and shame the Apostles must have been feeling at behaving so disloyally during His passion: He has created the normal atmosphere of intimacy, and now He will endow them with transcendental powers.
21. Pope Leo XIII explained how Christ transferred His own mission to the Apostles: "What did He wish in regard to the Church founded, or about to be founded? This: to transmit to it the same mission and the same mandate which He had received from the Father, that they should be perpetuated. This He clearly resolved to do: this He actually did. 'As the Father hath sent Me, even so I send you' (John 20:21). 'As Thou didst send Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world' (John 17:18). [...] When about to ascend into Heaven, He sends His Apostles in virtue of the same power by which He had been sent from the Father; and He charges them to spread abroad and propagate His teachings (cf. Matthew 28:18), so that those obeying the Apostles might be saved, and those disobeying should perish (cf. Mark 16:16). [...] Hence He commands that the teaching of the Apostles should be religiously accepted and piously kept as if it were His own: 'He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me' (Luke 10:16). Wherefore the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ as He is the ambassador of the Father" (Leo XIII, "Satis Cognitum"). In this mission the bishops are the successors of the Apostles: "Christ sent the Apostles as He Himself had been sent by the Father, and then through the Apostles made their successors, the bishops, sharers in His consecration and mission. The function of the bishops' ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree to priests so that they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and be co-workers of the episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had been entrusted to it by Christ" (Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 2).
22-23. The Church has always understood--and has in fact defined--that Jesus Christ here conferred on the Apostles authority to forgive sins, a power which is exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. "The Lord then especially instituted the Sacrament of Penance when, after being risen from the dead, He breathed upon His disciples and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit...' The consensus of all the Fathers has always acknowledged that by this action so sublime and words so clear the power of forgiving and retaining sins was given to the Apostles and their lawful successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after Baptism" (Council of Trent, "De Paenitentia", Chapter 1).
The Sacrament of Penance is the most sublime expression of God's love and mercy towards men, described so vividly in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son (cf. Luke 15:11-32). The Lord always awaits us, with His arms wide open, waiting for us to repent--and then He will forgive us and restore us to the dignity of being His sons.
The Popes have consistently recommended Christians to have regular recourse to this Sacrament: "For a constant and speedy advancement in the path of virtue we highly recommend the pious practice of frequent Confession, introduced by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; for by this means we grow in a true knowledge of ourselves and in Christian humility, bad habits are uprooted, spiritual negligence and apathy are prevented, the conscience is purified and the will strengthened, salutary spiritual direction is obtained, and grace is increased by the efficacy of the Sacrament itself" (Pius XII, "Mystici Corporis").
*********************************************************************************************
From: John 15:26-27; 16:12-15
A Hostile World (Continuation)
--------------------------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] "But when the Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to Me; [27] and you also are witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
--------------------------------------------------------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [12] "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you."
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
26-27. Just before the Ascension our Lord will again charge the Apostles with the mission to bear witness to Him (cf. Acts 1:8). They have been witnesses to the public ministry, death and resurrection of Christ, which is a condition for belonging to the Apostolic College, as we see when Matthias is elected to take the place of Judas (cf. Acts 1:21-22). But the public preaching of the Twelve and the life of the Church will not start until the Holy Spirit comes.
Every Christian should be living witness to Jesus, and the Church as a whole is a permanent testimony to Him: "The mission of the Church is carried out by means of that activity through which, in obedience to Christ's command and moved by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, the Church makes itself fully present to all men and peoples in order to lead them to the faith, freedom and peace of Christ by the example of its life and preaching, by the sacraments and other means of grace" (Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 5).
13. It is the Holy Spirit who makes fully understood the truth revealed by Christ. As Vatican II teaches, our Lord "completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it...finally by sending the Spirit of truth" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4). Cf. note on John 14:25-26.
14-15. Jesus Christ here reveals some aspects of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. He teaches that the Three Divine Persons have the same nature when He says that everything that the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to the Father (cf. John 17:10) and that the Spirit also has what is common to the Father and the Son, that is, the divine essence. The activity specific to the Holy Spirit is that of glorifying Christ, reminding and clarifying for the disciples everything the Master taught them (John 16:13). On being inspired by the Holy Spirit to recognize the Father through the Son, men render glory to Christ; and glorifying Christ is the same as giving glory to God (cf. John 17:1, 3-5, 10).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
No comments:
Post a Comment