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Saturday, May 18, 2024

Feast of Pentecost

  

Pentecost is considered the Birth Day of the Church.  With the Disciples of Christ around the world we pray today for the coming of the Holy Spirit to fill us, fill our Church, fill our world with the manifold gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Three Theological Virtues        Faith, Hope, and Love
Four Cardinal Virtues               Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and 
  Temperance
Seven Gifts of the Spirit           Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, 
  Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and
  Fear of the Lord
Twelve Fruits of the Spirit        Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, 
                                               Kindness,
                                               Goodness, Generosity, Gentleness,
                                               Faithfulness, Modesty, Self-Control and
  Chastity

As it is told in the Acts of the Apostles …
On the Day of Pentecost (50 days after Easter) the Apostles and Followers of The Way were gathered together when suddenly there was a noise like a violent rushing wind and there appeared tongues of fire resting on each one and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues all understanding in their own language.

“Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout peoples from every nation under heaven.  And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”

Missionary Disciples throughout the world today are…

         filled with the Spirit,
                  and speak of the great things that God had done.

         afraid, but
                  the Lord is in our midst and says to us:
                  “Peace be with you, peace be with you.”

         set free,
                  letting the Lord breathed upon us and say to us:
                  “Receive the Spirit, receive the Spirit.”

         we are sent forth
                  to become bearers of Christ’s reconciling love
                  many the gifts of the Spirit given…

Litany of the Holy Spirit
Dan Schutte

During the day, join the Church praying this Pentecost Sequence as we gather around the world and are filled with the Promised Advocate, the Spirit of God


              Come, Holy Spirit, come!
            And from your celestial home
              Shed a ray of light divine!
            Come, Father of the poor!
 Come, source of all our store!
    Come, within our bosoms shine.

 You, of comforters the best;
 You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
    Sweet refreshment here below;
 In our labor, rest most sweet;
 Grateful coolness in the heat;
    Solace in the midst of woe.

 O most blessed Light divine,
 Shine within these hearts of yours,
    And our inmost being fill!
 Where you are not, we have naught,
 Nothing good in deed or thought,
    Nothing free from taint of ill.

 Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
 On our dryness pour your dew;
    Wash the stains of guilt away;
 Bend the stubborn heart and will;
 Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
    Guide the steps that go astray.

 On the faithful, who adore
                   And confess you, evermore
                      In your sevenfold gift descend;
                   Give them virtue’s sure reward;
                   Give them your salvation, Lord;
                      Give them joys that never end.
                     Amen.  Alleluia!