At the end of the Eastertide, which was dominated by the white colour, the colour of this celebration is red. Can you remember when we had the red colour last? It was on Good Friday when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ shed his blood for us. The red colour for Good Friday was powerfully reminding us his precious blood. Why do we use red today? Is there any blood involved in Pentecost? If not, maybe we’ve got a wrong colour for today? Maybe red isn’t the best colour for Pentecost?
My Dear Sisters and Brothers! Both days, Good Friday and Pentecost, are about outpouring. On Good Friday it was the most precious blood of Jesus. On Pentecost it was the Holy Spirit. However the essence of both outpourings was love. Jesus blood was poured out for us out of love. That’s what the red colour proclaimed on Good Friday. The Holy Spirit was poured out for us out of love. That’s what the red colour proclaims today. Both days are celebrations of love, love poured out for us.
St Augustin preached that the Holy Spirit is the love of the Father and the Son. The love of the Father and the Son is not a feeling. Their mutual love is the person of the Holy Spirit. Do you think that it is confusing and hard to understand? Just wait a week. Next Sunday we will have the Solemnity of the most Holy Trinity. That what leaves us speechless. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit we are speechless at the mystery of the Holy Trinity out of amazement and awe, that we fragile and sinful creatures are invited to participate in the joy and happiness of the Trinity. Without the Holy Spirit we are left speechless at the mystery of the Holy Trinity because we are perplexed and superficial not seeing ourselves invited to participate in the joy and happiness of the Trinity.
My Dear Fellow believers! We begin participating in the joy and happiness of the Trinity here and now. St Paul wrote in the Letter to the Romans: ‘God’s love has been poured out.’ A few words which succinctly summarise what happened in our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles about the Descent of the Holy Spirit: ‘God’s love has been poured out.’ But this love poured out didn’t mix with the air. St Paul proclaimed with joy and happiness: ‘God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’ What the two disciples going to Emmaus experienced after meeting Jesus, when they said that ‘their hearts were burning within them,’ was given to the disciples on Pentecost and to all disciples, like us, who were to be baptised in the Spirit ‘to make one body’ where Jesus Christ is the head.
St Luke, who wrote both a Gospel account, which we now call the Gospel of Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles, has given us an insight into two events which were hidden from outsiders. Both events were outpourings of the Holy Spirt.
At the beginning of the Gospel which St Luke wrote there is the Annunciation with the words of the Archangel to the Virgin Mary: ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you… and so the child with be holy and will be called Son of God.’
At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles which St Luke wrote there is the Pentecost with the Apostles and disciples gathered in one room when amidst ‘a powerful wind from heaven’ and ‘tongues of fire’ ‘they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.’
What followed both events, the Annunciation and the Pentecost, is an action. Mary went quickly to Elizabeth. The Apostles went to the streets of Jerusalem. It means that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation and Pentecost didn’t finish with Mary and the Apostles. Where they went to there was a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. After meeting Mary ‘Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit’ as the Gospel tells us. After hearing Peter and the other Apostles preaching in the streets of Jerusalem three thousand people ‘were cut to heart,’ ‘were baptised’ and ‘received the Holy Spirit.’
Today is a red day. Today is a love day. Today is a new day to pray so that we may become new outpourings of the Holy Spirit when we go back home. It maybe a scary idea for some. It may be a challenging idea for those who live their faith as ‘me, my Jesus and a big fence protecting our religious privacy.’ However there is still hope for all of us. The hope is the Holy Spirit filling us so generously that we overflow.
‘Sent forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.’ Please Lord, start with us. Renew us first.
My Dear Sisters and Brothers! Both days, Good Friday and Pentecost, are about outpouring. On Good Friday it was the most precious blood of Jesus. On Pentecost it was the Holy Spirit. However the essence of both outpourings was love. Jesus blood was poured out for us out of love. That’s what the red colour proclaimed on Good Friday. The Holy Spirit was poured out for us out of love. That’s what the red colour proclaims today. Both days are celebrations of love, love poured out for us.
St Augustin preached that the Holy Spirit is the love of the Father and the Son. The love of the Father and the Son is not a feeling. Their mutual love is the person of the Holy Spirit. Do you think that it is confusing and hard to understand? Just wait a week. Next Sunday we will have the Solemnity of the most Holy Trinity. That what leaves us speechless. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit we are speechless at the mystery of the Holy Trinity out of amazement and awe, that we fragile and sinful creatures are invited to participate in the joy and happiness of the Trinity. Without the Holy Spirit we are left speechless at the mystery of the Holy Trinity because we are perplexed and superficial not seeing ourselves invited to participate in the joy and happiness of the Trinity.
My Dear Fellow believers! We begin participating in the joy and happiness of the Trinity here and now. St Paul wrote in the Letter to the Romans: ‘God’s love has been poured out.’ A few words which succinctly summarise what happened in our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles about the Descent of the Holy Spirit: ‘God’s love has been poured out.’ But this love poured out didn’t mix with the air. St Paul proclaimed with joy and happiness: ‘God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’ What the two disciples going to Emmaus experienced after meeting Jesus, when they said that ‘their hearts were burning within them,’ was given to the disciples on Pentecost and to all disciples, like us, who were to be baptised in the Spirit ‘to make one body’ where Jesus Christ is the head.
St Luke, who wrote both a Gospel account, which we now call the Gospel of Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles, has given us an insight into two events which were hidden from outsiders. Both events were outpourings of the Holy Spirt.
At the beginning of the Gospel which St Luke wrote there is the Annunciation with the words of the Archangel to the Virgin Mary: ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you… and so the child with be holy and will be called Son of God.’
At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles which St Luke wrote there is the Pentecost with the Apostles and disciples gathered in one room when amidst ‘a powerful wind from heaven’ and ‘tongues of fire’ ‘they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.’
What followed both events, the Annunciation and the Pentecost, is an action. Mary went quickly to Elizabeth. The Apostles went to the streets of Jerusalem. It means that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation and Pentecost didn’t finish with Mary and the Apostles. Where they went to there was a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. After meeting Mary ‘Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit’ as the Gospel tells us. After hearing Peter and the other Apostles preaching in the streets of Jerusalem three thousand people ‘were cut to heart,’ ‘were baptised’ and ‘received the Holy Spirit.’
Today is a red day. Today is a love day. Today is a new day to pray so that we may become new outpourings of the Holy Spirit when we go back home. It maybe a scary idea for some. It may be a challenging idea for those who live their faith as ‘me, my Jesus and a big fence protecting our religious privacy.’ However there is still hope for all of us. The hope is the Holy Spirit filling us so generously that we overflow.
‘Sent forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.’ Please Lord, start with us. Renew us first.
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