| Bread From Heaven Meditations on the Sunday Gospel for the Year of the Eucharist |
| Pentecost Sunday Sunday May 15th, 2005 |
| The Word of the Lord |
| 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." John 20:19-23 |
| THE BACKGROUND |
| Jesus the Apostles and You |
Imagine yourself in the upper room with the other disciples. The man you followed for
several years as Teacher, has just been crucified. All of his followers are now at risk. Every
strange noise makes you bolt up thinking that they’ve come to crucify you too. Mixed with
your fear is a sense of confusion and hope, for one of your Teacher’s most devoted
disciples, Mary Magdalene, has given an astonishing account of having met the Teacher at
his tomb this morning. She has reported that he is alive and that he has asked her to tell
you and all of the other disciples these words, “I am ascending to your Father and my
Father, your God and my God.” How do your alternating emotions intensify when you see
Jesus stand in your midst? Fear? Confusion? Hope? Unbelief? What do you experience
when you hear those first words: “Peace be with you”? And upon his revealing the marks of
his crucifixion? What do you experience as you watch him give the Apostles the gift of
forgiving sins? Mere men now endowed with the ability to grant divine forgiveness?
several years as Teacher, has just been crucified. All of his followers are now at risk. Every
strange noise makes you bolt up thinking that they’ve come to crucify you too. Mixed with
your fear is a sense of confusion and hope, for one of your Teacher’s most devoted
disciples, Mary Magdalene, has given an astonishing account of having met the Teacher at
his tomb this morning. She has reported that he is alive and that he has asked her to tell
you and all of the other disciples these words, “I am ascending to your Father and my
Father, your God and my God.” How do your alternating emotions intensify when you see
Jesus stand in your midst? Fear? Confusion? Hope? Unbelief? What do you experience
when you hear those first words: “Peace be with you”? And upon his revealing the marks of
his crucifixion? What do you experience as you watch him give the Apostles the gift of
forgiving sins? Mere men now endowed with the ability to grant divine forgiveness?
| TALKING WITH GOD - Lord, I often forget that you have given the Holy Spirit to me too. You have told us that if we have been baptized then we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and if we have avoided mortal sin, or confessed and received absolution for mortal sin then we can be sure that your Spirit is within us. Help me to acknowledge your Spirit dwelling within me. Teach me to listen for and surrender to the promptings of your Spirit. I want to experience that peace that comes from living a life in the Spirit. |
| Conversation Starters with God: Lord, help me to listen to the Spirit dwelling within me. Reveal to me the blocks I put up that prevent me from hearing your gentle nudges (e.g. lack of silent time, reluctance to follow the promptings, etc.) Jesus, you have given us such an amazing gift in granting the Apostles and all priests the power to forgive sins. Help me to examine my conscience and make a firm resolution to make myself open again to the fullness of your Spirit’s life within me by going to Confession soon. [spend five or ten minutes making an examination of your life since your last confession] Holy Spirit, it is only by your power that I can say and mean those words: “Jesus is Lord.” Help me to worship Jesus in the Eucharist in “Spirit and in Truth”. (Spend five or ten minutes simply adoring our Lord, worshipping Him by the power of the Spirit who is within you) |
| QUOTES ON THE EUCHARIST |
“The Eucharist is not itself the sacrament of reconciliation,
but in fact it presupposes that sacrament. It is the
sacrament of the reconciled, to which the Lord invites all
those who have become one with him; who certainly still
remain weak sinners, but yet have give their hand to him
and have become part of his family. That is why, form the
beginning, the Eucharist has been preceded by a
discernment.” - Pope Benedict XVI
but in fact it presupposes that sacrament. It is the
sacrament of the reconciled, to which the Lord invites all
those who have become one with him; who certainly still
remain weak sinners, but yet have give their hand to him
and have become part of his family. That is why, form the
beginning, the Eucharist has been preceded by a
discernment.” - Pope Benedict XVI
LET US PRAY
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes,
send your Spirit into our lives
with the power of a mighty wind,
and by the flame of your wisdom
open the horizons of our mind.
Loosen our tongues to sing your praise
in words beyond the power of speech,
for without your Spirit
man could never raise his voice in words of peace
or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes,
send your Spirit into our lives
with the power of a mighty wind,
and by the flame of your wisdom
open the horizons of our mind.
Loosen our tongues to sing your praise
in words beyond the power of speech,
for without your Spirit
man could never raise his voice in words of peace
or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
| BACK TO Year of the Eucharist Page |
| This account of Jesus’ breathing out the gift of the Holy Spirit takes place on Easter Sunday evening. Mary Magdalene has reported to them that she has spoken with the risen Lord. They remain in the upper room in this state of alternating fear and hope. |