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The Gift of
Pentecost In the month of May in the Philadelphia area, we feel
alive and bursting with energy … This year we were treated to an early
arrival of that glorious warmth and vitality, as weather associated with late
May greeted us in the days just before and after Easter. It was a kind of
harmonic convergence between the weather and the liturgical season.
Spiritually we felt the renewal of life that comes with the Easter season, as
we had the opportunity to meditate day after day on the Resurrection stories
and connect them to our own experiences. One of my favorite Easter stories is Luke’s description
of the Emmaus story (Lk 24:13-35). Some of Jesus’
disciples, downcast, are returning to their village in the wake of Jesus’
apparent failure. They fall in with a stranger, who chats with them along the
way. Their conversation energizes them, and they invite him to stay with them
for the evening. But as soon as they recognize Him, in the breaking of the
bread, he disappears! “Were not our hearts burning inside us as he talked to
us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” the disciples say to each
other. “Burning”: burning with the passion and life that the Holy Spirit
brings when we are spiritually open to new life and new growth. Can’t you
feel the intensity and eagerness of these followers of Jesus as they
immediately return to Jerusalem, despite having just walked miles to get
home, to spread the word that Jesus is alive? If we can cultivate that sense
of urgency in our own lives in response to the Easter message, then we will
be truly alive in our faith. All this is building to the Feast of Pentecost, the
birthday of the Church, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit… Like those first
followers of Jesus, we have to learn to channel the “burning” enthusiasm with
which we are blessed in the Easter season into a sustained commitment to
spread the good news wherever and in whatever way we are called. The great
gift of Pentecost is the Holy Spirit, the gift which
Jesus assures us is freely given to all who ask. Come Holy Spirit! Karen
Pushaw St. Francis Inn, 2441
Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, 215.423.5845 |