Collect for Pentecost Sunday Year B

 

PENTECOST SUNDAY YEAR B

COLLECT 

The Mass: Collect Series Icon.

The Collect for Pentecost Sunday Year B reads as follows:

 

God our Father, who by sending into the world the Word of truth
and the Spirit of sanctification

made known to the human race Your wondrous mystery,

Grant us, we pray, that in profession the true faith,

we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore Your Unity,

powerful in majesty.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

 

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

 

In making this prayer tangible, the following reflection questions emerged:

1. What is my relationship with Holy Spirit?
2. What does Pentecost Sunday mean to my life?
3. What gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit do I wish to receive this Pentecost Sunday?
4. How can I acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

Come Holy Spirit.

   The Gospel for today is from St John.  Jesus tells us that the Holy      Spirit will guide us and give us what we need to know. Jesus knows each of us by name and by personality. Jesus knows what each of us can manage at any given time. The Spirit knows what we can manage and how to tell us the truth. It is our choice to accept and acknowledge what He has to offer.

 

Jesus also invites us to be witnesses to the truth.  We need to know and accept the truth before we can share it with others.  We need to be able to share the Good News with others.  We can do this in a mighty way through the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer and by the way we live our every day lives in our families, parish, workplace, those whom we meet in the street.  Simple gestures such a kind word or a smile can be life changing and healing for others.  If we ask the Holy Spirit to respond to others in the way they need, then our simple kind words, gestures or smile will be transforming as the Holy Spirit will transform them into a way that is within reach of that other person.  The other person may not be aware or may not accept it but at the right time for that person, that seed of kindness, a warm smile or gesture will have been sown and it will bear much fruit.

 

The Holy Spirit can be for some of us, a poor second cousin to God the Father, or Jesus His Son.  However, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity-three persons yet one God as our Catholic Faith tells us.  Today's Gospel makes it perfectly clear that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the complete truth and what is told to us will be taken from Father God and Jesus.  In other words, it will be in total unity as is the Triuune God.

 

The Holy Spirit needs therefore to be our best friend, since what He tells us is in direct harmony with Father God and Jesus His Son. Yet, the Holy Spirit will provide the graces and gifts that we need for our daily lives, just as He did with the disciples after Jesus had ascended to Heaven.  It is through the Holy Spirit that the Church is guided, and we are in our personal prayer guided by Him too.  It is that quiet little voice that 

·                     prompts us to do the right thing and stand up for what we believe when it would
             easier to walk away,

·                     helps us examine our conscience of any wrong doing/sin/faults which we need
             to confess,

·                     guides us to do the will of God in our lives.

·                     is our consolation in times of grief and confusion.

·                     brings us a greater awareness and understanding of our faith

·                     supports us in our life journey and is our best friend.

Of course, there are the 7 traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit and the 12 fruits which emanate from them which we are given in a special way at Confirmation.  However, although we receive them then, we can always ask the Holy Spirit daily to increase in us these gifts and fruits, and supply for us what is lacking at our present time.  

 

It seems to me that the Holy Spirit gives each of us an extra special dose of the gift/s that we most need for our lives, a gift we use more often than the other gifts- for me, that gift has been courage and perseverance. When life has been tough, I know with God's help that I can dig deep and draw on these gifts.   Perhaps, you may have had a similar observation in your life. Of course, we do not need to wait until life is tough, but we can draw on these gifts each day in our daily lives.

 

The Holy Spirit came to the disciples as promised by Jesus. They were no longer afraid but went out and preached the Good News.  On this feast of Pentecost, which is the birthday of the Church, she invokes the Holy Spirit to fall afresh on us, and with that, we can ask Him to provide the gifts/fruits we most need for our lives. We can be filled anew- a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful grace to receive again.  Let us be open to receive the Holy Spirit afresh in our hearts and to be eagerly awaiting to receive the gift/s He has to offer us on His special Feast- the feast of Pentecost.

 

Come Holy Spirit.

 

Happy Birthday to all my readers on this  great feast of Pentecost.