Homilies | Father Nathan

Father Nathan | Homily

Solemnity of Pentecost

Today’s Readings for Mass During the Day:

First Reading — ACTS 2:1-11

Responsorial Psalm — PS 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Second Reading — 1 COR 12:3B-7, 12-13

Sequence

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

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.

Gospel Reading — JN 20:19-23

Readings for the Vigil Mass can be found here.

“Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

– JN 20:19-23

Today we are celebrating the solemnity of Pentecost Sunday which means the descending of the Holy Spirit. When you think of the Holy Spirit, we are called to remember these few things in our lives and we are called to remember what we are and who we are…

The role of the Holy Spirit in Christian life:

1) As an indwelling God, the Holy Spirit makes us His Living Temples (I Cor 3:16).

2) As a strengthening God, He strengthens us in our fight against temptations and in our mission of bearing witness to Christ by our transparent Christian lives.

 3) As a sanctifying God, He makes us holy through the Sacraments:

a) Through Baptism He makes us children of God and heirs of Heaven.

 b) Through Confirmation, He makes us temples of God, warriors, and defenders of the Faith.

c) Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, He enables us to be reconciled with God by pardoning our sins.

 d) Through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, He gives us spiritual nourishment by converting bread and wine into Jesus’ Body and Blood through Epiclesis.

e) Through the Sacraments of the priesthood and matrimony, He makes the Church community holy.

4) As a teaching and guiding God, He clarifies and constantly reminds us of Christ’s teachings and guides the Magisterium of the Church to teach Christ’s teachings correctly. 

5) A listening and speaking God, He listens to our prayers, enables us to pray, and speaks to us, mainly through the Bible.

6) As a Giver of gifts, He gives us His gifts, fruits, and charisms, thus enriching the Church

Come Holy Spirit Come

This is the day when, true to his promise, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles. The coming of the Holy Spirit changed the apostles and saw the launching of the new community.

The Birth of the Catholic Church

Today, we are celebrating the birthday of the church. Happy birthday to Holy Mother Catholic Church! Happy birthday to you, who are the body of the Church! We’re all familiar with our own birthdays, and we celebrate them because they mark the day of the year in which we entered into this life.

But did you know you have a second birthday? Because you are part of the body of the Church, Pentecost is the Church’s birthday, and yours as well. And like any birthday, it’s a cause for celebration.

At Pentecost, the Apostles and their followers were gathered in a room. Jews from all over the world were gathered with Peter, the leader of the Apostles, and the Eleven. At this time, a great wind blew and a flame appeared as a tongue of fire, which split itself into many individual flames above the heads of all those present. The Holy Spirit came upon these people and each began to speak in tongues. Despite the fact many had no common language, they were perfectly able to understand one another.

Others who were not so blessed, accused those speaking in tongues of being drunk, but Peter arose and addressed the crowd, explaining that it was only 9 o’clock and that this phenomenon was not intoxication, but rather this was the work of the Holy Spirit, prophesized in the scripture.

Peter then called all those present to be baptized and about three thousand people were baptized that day. We read all of these in the Acts of the Apostles 2 chapter.

It’s so beautifully narrated there. What a wonderful way our Holy Mother Church came to be. After 2000 years the church still stands erect and firm just because it’s founded by Christ himself and the Holy Spirit seals it.

Let us remember the Pentecost experience that took place 2000 years ago, reenacted again when we received our confirmation.

Let us allow ourselves to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. God Bless you all.

Let us repeat St. John Henry Cardinal Newman’s favorite little prayer,

“Come Holy Spirit:”

“Come Holy Spirit

Make our ears to hear,

Make our eyes to see,

Make our mouths to speak. 

Make our hearts to seek. 

Make our hands to reach out

And touch the world with your love. 

AMEN.”

Welcome Back to Worship!

Stay safe and be reassured that God is with you in this time of crisis and isolation!

Stay connected to others during this time through phone, email, and social media.

Have a Blessed Week,

Fr. Nathan