Pentecost

Pentecost is the reversal of Babel. But that's not all. Andrew Wilson explains the connection between Pentecost and God's dealings with Israel at Sinai.

But whereas the gift of the law was accompanied by judgment, the gift of the Spirit brings salvation. And then the shocker: both families are singled out, rebuked, and killed—to cleanse the people and cause them to fear. The Sanhedrin are no more able to stop Peter and John than the Amalekites or the Canaanites were able to stop Joshua and Caleb. Swords and spears, beatings and prison sentences, are no match for the prayers of God’s people. The gift of the Spirit doesn’t make all of the church’s problems go away. The gift of the Spirit at Pentecost is often associated with Babel, and with good reason. At Sinai, 3,000 were cut down by the sword, and died. From that time on, the promise of priesthood was limited to the Levites, who responded to the Lord’s call. Three thousand people are cut to the heart by the word and saved. Pentecost, on the other hand, is a moment of national blessing. But the story of the gospel, Luke explains, is only what Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1). This is to be expected: the powers that be are not impressed to hear that their time is up. He promises forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Instead of condemning them as a wicked generation, he offers them the chance to save themselves from a wicked generation.

he divine election is now opened to all. It is no longer reserved to only one people, or solely to one bloodline, but is thrown open to all men and women of ...

In this way, Pentecost has traditionally been seen as the birthday of the Church since it was a turning point in salvation history. And the reality that such a Messiah was in fact God himself only exacerbates the power and beauty of these events and of our divine election in him. Each of the groups present understood the apostles in their native languages. The Acts of the Apostles records: “ Amazed and astonished, [the crowds] asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? The Acts of the Apostles describes the Pentecost event. The two holy days complement one another and emphasis different aspects of the same mystery, namely, God’s favoring of his people and their status as Chosen People in him.

The Holy Spirit's arrival on the day of Pentecost was a major multicultural event. The New Testament book of Acts says the diverse crowd of people visiting ...

Cormier isn’t the only local leader singing the praises of diversity. Research shows that charismatic and Pentecostal churches, which emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit, are often more racially mixed than most churches. The Holy Spirit’s arrival on the day of Pentecost was a major multicultural event.

On Pentecost Sunday, it is thus fitting that we reflect on the Holy Spirit as a real Person, and not just a force or effect in the Divine reality. Christianity ...

The Holy Spirit will enable us to follow Jesus even closer, and thus worship the Father in spirit and in truth. And on Pentecost Day, it was by the same Holy Spirit that Jesus anointed his own followers to continue the mission that he has started. Third, it was with the Holy Spirit that the Father anointed Jesus, empowering him to carry out his ministry and fulfill his mission. We only have to ask Jesus and he will pour out his Spirit to us as he promised. This Trinity exists in unity, meaning, that the presence of one Person does not mean the absence of the other two. On Pentecost Sunday, it is thus fitting that we reflect on the Holy Spirit as a real Person, and not just a force or effect in the Divine reality.

Just picture it. Luke describes a motley group of disciples so impassioned with their sudden empowerment for mission that people thought they ...

Paul's analogy of the body of Christ teaches that every person has the potential to be a source of grace for and to be graced by all others. As John depicts it, Jesus became present in the midst of the disciples and greeted them with Shalom-peace. After exposing them to the scars of his wounded hands and side, he again said, Shalom. Then, having made them aware of the cost of being agents of God's love, he said, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." The greater miracle was that they were becoming a community of genuinely diverse people, women and men from any and every culture. We translate Paul's word for the gifts of the Spirit as charisms. The obvious miracle was that they were able to speak about Jesus in a way that attracted people of different cultures and tongues into a shared faith. The disciples themselves were awed by the fact that they could speak to Parthians, Medes and Elamites (all Iranians), Mesopotamians (Iraqis), Cappadocians and people from Pontus, Pamphylia and Phrygia, (varieties of Turkish people), Asians, and people from Libya and Cyrene (Africans), not to mention the Romans. They preached to that international crowd and everybody understood what they were saying!

The name Whitsun came from the word White Sunday from the Old English Homilies the holy Ghost who m thou didst sent on Whit Sunday.

It is the seventh Sunday after Easter Sunday. Here are HD Images and Wallpapers that you can download and send to one and all to greet them on this joyous day. People send messages to their friends and family to wish them on this time of celebration. It is the fiftieth day after Easter Sunday. The name Whitsun came from the word White Sunday from the Old English Homilies the holy Ghost who m thou didst sent on Whit Sunday. The celebrations of the day include fates, fairs, pageants and parades.

Drawing on his Jesuit roots, Pope Francis stressed the importance of being able to distinguish the voice of the Holy Spirit from “the spirit of evil,” ...

“The Spirit liberates us from obsession with emergencies. “Often, he anchors us to the past: to our regrets, our nostalgia, our disappointments. “Yet the Spirit reminds us that without love as our basis, all the rest is in vain.” The Spirit makes us see everything in a new way, with the eyes of Jesus.” No matter what problems, worries, or past hurts exist, he said, these are the moments when the Holy Spirit “asks you to let him in. As he has often done in recent months, the pope did not celebrate the Mass but rather “assisted” in the ceremony, which was presided over by 88-year-old Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Celebrating Holy Mass on Pentecost Sunday Pope Francis invites Christians to sit at the school of the Holy Spirit, journeying together as Church, open ...

And in this, the Pope continued the Church cannot be “programmed” nor are efforts at “modernization” enough: “The Spirit liberates us from obsession with emergencies. We need to remember this: the Spirit rejuvenates the Church,” he said. The Pope went on to elaborate on this concept explaining that “The Holy Spirit will never tell you that on your journey everything is going just fine. “The Spirit, at every crossroads in our lives, suggests to us the best path to follow. He is the “motor” of our spiritual lives. Thus, Pope Francis’ homily during Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, was an invitation to keep listening to the Holy Spirit who teaches us where to begin, shows us what paths to take, rekindles God’s love in our hearts and directs us on our journey.

The Bible gives many details about Pentecost, as it is both a Jewish feast and a day that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit. · Jewish Harvest Festival.

Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.Acts 2:1-3 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. Then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.Leviticus 23:15-16

His names are in contrast to what the Devil is called. · 1 The Name of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself calls the Holy Spirit the Paraclete. And He and God the ...

The Spirit that Jesus gives us is just like that. He is a comforter in the sense that he gives us courage and reassurance in moments of doubt and difficulty. Then we need the Spirit who defends the Truth of the Gospel, that is, the peace and certainty within us that Jesus lives.

The Holy Spirit wants us to concentrate on the here and now, because the time and place in which we find ourselves are themselves grace-filled.”

The Holy Spirit wants us to be together; he makes us Church and today – here is the third and final aspect – he teaches the Church how to walk. Think of the morning of Pentecost: he is the author… Let us invoke him each day, so that he can remind us to make God’s gaze upon us our starting point, to make decisions by listening to his voice, and to journey together as Church, docile to him and open to the world. That is not the way of the Holy Spirit. He invites to forget ourselves and to open our hearts to all. The Holy Spirit brings you goodness; he leads you to rejoice in the success of others. Often he anchors us to the past: to our regrets, our nostalgia, our disappointments. But not the Holy Spirit. The Spirit leads us to love, concretely, here and now, not an ideal world or an ideal Church, an ideal religious congregation, but the real ones, as they are, seen in broad light of day, with transparency and simplicity. Both speak to us: we need to learn to distinguish the voice of the Spirit, to be able to recognize that voice and follow its lead, to follow the things he tells us. The Spirit of love pours love into our hearts, he makes us feel loved and he teaches us how to love. It is important, then, to be able to distinguish his voice from the voice of the spirit of evil. He teaches us to accept one another, to forgive one another and to forgive ourselves; he teaches us to be reconciled with the past. This is the “logic” of the Spirit. We tend to think the exact opposite: if we keep the commandments, we will love Jesus. We tend to think that love comes from our keeping, our fidelity and our devotion.

'The Spirit makes us see everything in a new way, with the eyes of Jesus.'

The Holy Spirit wants us to be together; he makes us Church and today – here is the third and final aspect – he teaches the Church how to walk. That is not the way of the Holy Spirit. He invites us to forget ourselves and to open our hearts to all. Let us invoke him each day, so that he can remind us to make God’s gaze upon us our starting point, to make decisions by listening to his voice, and to journey together as Church, docile to him and open to the world. Brothers and sisters, let us sit at the school of the Holy Spirit, so that he can teach us all things. Often, he anchors us to the past: to our regrets, our nostalgia, our disappointments. — but the Holy Spirit brings you goodness; he leads you to rejoice in the success of others. Both speak to us: We need to learn to distinguish the voice of the Spirit, to be able to recognize that voice and follow its lead, to follow the things he tells us. The Spirit of love pours love into our hearts, he makes us feel loved, and he teaches us how to love. He makes you think that you have the right to use your freedom any way you want. It is important, then, to be able to distinguish his voice from the voice of the spirit of evil. He teaches us to accept one another, to forgive one another and to forgive ourselves; he teaches us to be reconciled with the past and to set out anew. He tells his disciples: “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all I have said to you (John 14:26). “Everything,” “all” — these words are striking; they make us wonder: How does the Spirit give this new and full understanding to those who receive him?

Pentecost Sunday, which falls on June 5 this year, is rightly known as the “birthday” of the Church but it also serves as a reminder that Christians' key ...

Just before ascending back to the throne of the Father, Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. On the day of the Pentecost, Peter said, according to Acts 2:38, 39, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Pentecost Sunday commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit on the early followers of Jesus, as Acts 2:1-4 records: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

'The Spirit leads us to love, here and now,' the Holy Father said June 5.

He encouraged, “Brothers and sisters, let us sit at the school of the Holy Spirit, so that he can teach us all things. And by spreading hope and joy, not complaints; never envying others, never — envy is the door through which the evil spirit enters — but the Holy Spirit leads you to rejoice in the successes of others,” he said. Often, he anchors us to the past: to our regrets, our nostalgia, our disappointments. “The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, urges us never to lose heart and always to start over again. Francis was assisted to the front of the altar in a wheelchair to offer the homily. “Whereas the evil spirit, on the contrary, pushes you to always do what you think and you find pleasing.

Vatican City, Jun 5, 2022 / 04:30 am (CNA). On the Solemnity of Pentecost, Pope Francis offered advice on how to distinguish the voice of the Holy Spirit ...

“Brothers and sisters, let us sit at the school of the Holy Spirit, so that he can teach us all things. And by spreading hope and joy, not complaints; never envying others, never – envy is the door through which the evil spirit enters — but the Holy Spirit leads you to rejoice in the successes of others,” he said. Often he anchors us to the past: to our regrets, our nostalgia, our disappointments. “The Holy Spirit on the other hand urges us never to lose heart and always to start over again. Francis was assisted to the front of the altar in a wheelchair to offer the homily. “Whereas the evil spirit, on the contrary, pushes you to always do what you think and you find pleasing.

On the Solemnity of Pentecost, Pope Francis offered advice on how to distinguish the voice of the Holy Spirit from "the voice of the spirit of evil."

“Brothers and sisters, let us sit at the school of the Holy Spirit, so that he can teach us all things. And by spreading hope and joy, not complaints; never envying others, never – envy is the door through which the evil spirit enters — but the Holy Spirit ... leads you to rejoice in the successes of others,” he said. Often he anchors us to the past: to our regrets, our nostalgia, our disappointments. “The Holy Spirit on the other hand urges us never to lose heart and always to start over again. Francis was assisted to the front of the altar in a wheelchair to offer the homily. “Whereas the evil spirit, on the contrary, pushes you to always do what you think and you find pleasing.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 5, 2022 / 16:41 pm (CNA). Pro-abortion activists disrupted Joel Osteen's sermon at the televangelist's Lakewood Church in ...

Part of that mission was accompanying young people like Alvarez and the couple that he had prepared for marriage on that fateful day to embrace their vocations. In private, his former pastor says Father San Juan was a man of deep prayer. One of those priests, Father Rizalino “Riz” Carranza, spent four years with him at St. Peter Claver Church in Simi Valley, where Father Carranza is pastor and Father San Juan served as associate pastor from 2015 to 2019. He served in several parishes, and was officially incardinated as a priest of the archdiocese in 2015. And he fulfilled that mission,” said Engquist. I was used to just having a working relationship with my pastors.” Alvarez was there assisting Father San Juan as he entered the parish’s canopied “outdoor church,” kissed the altar, and waited for the wedding party to process toward the altar. “This is my second life, no doubt,” Father San Juan told Manila’s Phillipine Sunday Inquirer Magazine in an interview after his ordination in 2004. He was ordained to the priesthood the following year. Father San Juan was pronounced dead a short while later. “Doubts and so-called trials will come. Eight years later, hard times struck the family again when his father, Carlos, succumbed to lung cancer.

Sunday was the wettest Pentecost Sunday ever recorded in the Netherlands. The national weather station in De Bilt measured 26.1 mm of rain, breaking the ...

Before the rain, maximums will climb to 15 to 19 degrees, with some places in the southeast maybe hitting 20 degrees Celsius. Before the soggy Sunday, many parts of the Netherlands faced drought, with the southeast and southwest of the country particularly having significant precipitation deficits. The Betuwe and a wide strip from Eindhoven to Den Bosch got between 40 and 60 mm of rain, resulting in local flooding.

Pope Francis gives the homily as he participates in Mass for the feast of Pentecost in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican June 5, 2022.

Your gift will strengthen the fabric of our entire Catholic community and sustain CatholicPhilly.com as your trusted news source. The Holy Spirit wants people to be together, united in their diversity, harmonizing everyone’s different gifts, Pope Francis said. But then “once you are left feeling empty inside,” the evil spirit “blames you and throws you down.” “The Holy Spirit will never tell you that on your journey everything is going just fine,” the pope said in his homily. And by spreading hope and joy, not complaints; never envying others,” but rejoicing in their success. The pope has had ongoing difficulty walking and standing because of a knee problem.

Usually held on White Monday, Solidarity Day is a working and unpaid day to fund activities in support of the elderly and disabled.

No pay for the working day. Conditions are essentially the same for employees in the public sector. Public and private employers.

Pope Francis expressed his solidarity and closeness with Catholics in Nigeria after gunmen stormed a church and reportedly killed at least 50 people during ...

“Let us continue to pray for them and the good people of Owo and the state at large,” Father Ikwu said. This will not happen again. “Our people in Ondo state will not let down their guard.

Gunmen have murdered more than 50 members of a Catholic congregation in Ondo state, south-west Nigeria. The armed men entered St Francis Catholic church in the ...

I have spoken to the heads of the security agencies. “I commiserate with my people in Owo, particularly families of the those who lost their lives to this ugly and unfortunate attack. We shall never bow to the machinations of heartless elements in our resolve to rid our state of criminals. When we heard that they had left, we opened the church and rushed victims to the hospital.” “No matter what, this country shall never give in to evil and wicked people,” President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement. “The assailants will be hunted down and they will pay for their crimes,” he said in a message sent after being briefed at the scene.

Unknown assaillants attacked a Catholic Church in Nigeria during Mass on Pentecost Sunday, killing dozens, including many children.

NOTE: Aid to the Church in Need has received videos of the attack at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, which verify the claims contained in this report. Unless we can get to the root of the issue, we will be fighting a losing battle.” The Western governments collaborate with our leaders.” “It takes two to tango. Just last week Aid to the Church in Need organized a press conference with Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, Arbishop of Kaduna, who spoke about the insecurity and the violence in Nigeria. Although the problems come from a variety of directions, Archbishop Matthew stated clearly: “The government has failed us completely; it is the absence of good government that is causing this. AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED (ACN) IS DEEPLY SHOCKED BY THE HORRIFIC ATTACK WHICH TOOK PLACE AT THE ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CATHOLIC CHURCH, in Owo, Ondo State, southwest Nigeria, during Pentecost Sunday celebrations, June 5th, and which caused the death of many people, including children.

ABUJA, Nigeria – Terrorists launched a gun and bomb attack at the end of a Catholic Mass in southwest Nigeria on Sunday, killing an estimated 70 worshipers ...

As the Lord lives and reigns, the devil will not go far—but be disgraced in the end.” These “animals in human form,” stated the Catholic press statement, are suspected to be bandits. But in calling on the authorities to stop national violence, he warned that their failure pushes in the direction of Onifade’s view. “These people are possessed, demonic, and are not working for the good of the country. “This is raw persecution,” said Israel Akanji, president of the Nigerian Baptist Association, on the Owo killings. But some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a recent report. And he faulted the government for its rhetorical response without offering concrete action to change the security realities. “Nevertheless, we shall commit every available resource to hunt down these assailants and make them pay,” said the governor. Pope Francis was aware, stated the Vatican, and is praying. Circulated videos showed bloody images of men, women, and children strewed among the pews. “Some of us hid inside the church as they shot randomly at us. “We were in worship Mass when the terrorists attacked us.