Pentecost Sunday (Cycle C) "Jesus said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." ENTRANCE ANTIPHON The love of God has been poured into our hearts by his spirit living in us, alleluia! Penitential Rite Pentecost is the feast day of the Holy Spirit. He has come upon the Church as the breath of life. He wants to bring about a new creation and make us a new people. As we are going to celebrate the Eucharist let us become aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit and let ourselves be transformed through repentance and reconciliation. (Pause) I confess ... Glory to God in the highest,/and peace to his people on earth./Lord God, heavenly King,/almighty God and Father,/we worship you,/ we give you thanks,/we praise you for your glory./Lord Jesus Christ,/only Son of the Father,/Lord God, Lamb of God,/you take away the sin of the world:/have mercy on us;/you are seated at the right hand of the Father,/receive our prayer./For you alone are the Holy One,/ you alone are the Lord,/you alone are the Most High,/Jesus Christ,/with the Holy Spirit,/ in the glory of God the Father./Amen. OPENING PRAYER Let us pray. God our Father, let the Spirit you sent on your Church to begin the teaching of the gospel continue to work in the world through the hearts of all who believe. We ask this… FIRST READING (Inspired by the Holy Spirit the apostles start their mission of preaching the word of God to all the nations.) A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (2:1-11) When the day of the Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (103) Response: Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth. Or Alleluia! Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord God, how great you are. How many are your works, O Lord! The earth is full of your riches. R./ You take back your Spirit, they die, returning to the dust from which they came. You send forth your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth. R./ May the glory of the Lord last for ever! May the Lord rejoice in his works! May my thoughts be pleasing to him. I find my joy in the Lord. R./ SECOND READING (It is by the Holy Spirit that we find our oneness in Christ.) A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (12:3-7,12-13) No one can say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptised into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION Alleluia, alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia! GOSPEL (The Risen Lord confers the Holy Spirit on his apostles and bestows on them the power to forgive sins.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (20:19-23) On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen. Prayer of the Faithful Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, we believe that it is the Holy Spirit who is praying through us, inspiring us and sustaining us. We shall present our needs to him, confident that he will hear our prayers. Response: Come Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful. 1. For our Holy Father the Pope, bishops, priests and all those in authority in the Church that they may be guided by the Holy Spirit in their pastoral activities. For this let us pray… R./ 2. For the Christians suffering for their faith that they may be strengthened and consoled by the Holy Spirit. For this let us pray... R./ 3. For all the families in our parish that all of them may be the shrines of the Holy Spirit to spread light in their neighbourhood. For this let us pray… R./ 4. For our parish community that we may be renewed by the reception of the sacraments and re-empowered by the Spirit to give faithful witness by our words and deeds. For this let us pray…R./ (Pray for personal/local needs.) Cel: Almighty God, your Son promised and sent the Holy spirit upon us; we ask you to grant us our petitions that all of us may be open to him and may work for the spread of your kingdom upon earth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, may the Spirit you promised lead us into all truth and reveal to us the full meaning of this sacrifice. Grant this... PREFACE (P 28) COMMUNION  ANTIPHON They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke of the great things God had done, alleluia. PRAYER  AFTER  COMMUNION Father, may the food we receive in the eucharist help our eternal redemption. Keep within us the vigour of your Spirit and protect the gifts you have given to your Church. We ask this… LITURGY  AND  LIFE Most of us receive gifts. It is a token of appreciation for us or for the service we have rendered to people. This gesture strengthens our enthusiasm and builds our relationship with the giver. Through this the bond of love between the giver and the receiver gets more powerful. We are happy to receive gifts because it manifests the love of those who give them to us. Usually we get gifts on solemn occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, wedding days, Jubilees and other special events in our life. According to his promise Jesus sent the Holy Spirit upon his disciples. Each of us received him freely at our baptism and confirmation. The prophets who questioned certain values and condemned meaningless beliefs and customs got killed. But their spirits live even today. Jesus Christ was a threat to the evil forces and they killed him. But a good man cannot be easily got rid off. Jesus rose from the dead and lives today in his Spirit. If the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King can live and inspire the lives of millions of people today, how much more the spirit of Jesus! The spirit of Jesus is not just a memory or a sentimental feeling. It is a living person unlike the spirits of other people. It was the Spirit that gave courage to the apostles to come out of their hiding place and proclaim Jesus. It was the Spirit who inspired the early Christians to shake off their selfishness and live a life of brotherhood, sharing with and caring for one another. It was the Spirit that transformed the lives of millions in such a way that they could praise and sing alleluiah for everything that happened in their lives. It was the Spirit that manifested itself in many healings – healing of body, mind and soul. It was the Spirit that has kept and is keeping peoples of different races, cultures, languages, united in the one family of the Church. We are called to be prophets. We are called to be men and women who would question the accepted norms and values of the world. We are called to reject the unjust, oppressive and dehumanizing elements in our society. This will not keep us in the good book of the authorities who are encouraging such elements. We can be sure of receiving persecutions and death. But that is the only way to keep the Spirit alive and active. The temptation to conform ourselves to the values of the world is rather strong. We need the fire and storm of the Spirit for a total purification and change of values. Let us pray today that the Church as a whole and we as individuals may have the faith and courage to be instruments of the Holy Spirit so that we can be dynamic in whatever we do. May/June 2007 READINGS  OF  THE  WEEK (Psalter Week 4) 28/Mon (G) Sir 17:24-29; Ps 31:1-2,5,6,7; Mk 10:17-27 29/Tue (G) Sir 35:1-12; Ps 49:5,6,7,8,14&23; Mk 10:28-31 30/Wed (G) Sir 36:1,4-5,10-17; Ps 78:8,9,11&13; Mk 10:32-45 31/Thu (W) THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY – Fst Zeph 3:14-18 or Rm 12:9-16b; Ps Is 12:2-3,4bcd,5-6; Lk 1:39-56 1/Fri (R) S. Justin, m – mem Sir 44:1,9-13; Ps 149:1-2,3-4,5-6a&9b; Mk 11:11-26 2/Sat (G/R/W) Or Ss. Marcellinus & Peter, mm Or BVM on Saturday Sir 51:12-20; Ps 18:8,9,10,11; Mk 11:27-33