Where Is Your God?

During times when the only voice you hear is your own, echoing back to you, as one lost, empty and forgotten, let not you voice fall silent, for no one who prays is ever forsaken or abandoned; and in the silent wilderness of your heart, you will learn to recognize His Voice once again.

Psalm 42

Like the deer that yearns

 for running streams,

 so my soul is yearning

 for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God,

 the God of my life;

 when can I enter and see

 the face of God?

My tears have become my bread,

 by night, by day,

 as I hear it said all the day long:

“Where is your God?”

Why are you cast down, my soul,

 why groan within me?

 Hope in God; I will praise him still,

 my savior and my God.

By day the Lord will send

 his loving kindness;

 by night I will sing to him,

 praise the God of my life.

I will say to God, my rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

 Why do I go mourning

 oppressed by the foe?”

With cries that pierce me to the heart,

 my enemies revile me,

 saying to me all day long:

“Where is your God?”

Why are you cast down, my soul,

 why groan within me?

 Hope in God; I will praise him still,

 my savior and my God.

Father in heaven, when your strength takes possession of us we no longer say: Why are you cast down, my soul? So now that the surging waves of your indignation have passed over us, let us feel the healing calm of your forgiveness. Inspire us to yearn for you always, like the deer for running streams, until you satisfy every longing in heaven.

Pentecost 2014

The following are some of the voices of Pentecost

to assist in your prayer and reflection

Dear brothers and sisters, we have now begun our Pentecost Vigil, after the example of the Apostles and disciples, who with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, persevered in prayer, awaiting the Spirit promised by the Lord; like them, let us, too, listen with quiet hearts to the Word of God. Let us meditate on how many great deeds God in times past did for his people and let us pray that the Holy Spirit, whom the Father sent as the first fruits for those who believe, may bring to perfection his work in the world. (from the Vigil Mass of Pentecost)

On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. As Scripture says: Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.” He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. Jn 7:37-39

 Brothers and sisters: No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Jn 20:21-23

The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills. Rom 8:26

We have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. With all who are baptized, let us give glory to the Lord, and ask him:

Lord Jesus, give us your Spirit to make us holy.

Send us your Holy Spirit,

– that we may acclaim you before the world as Lord and king.

Lord Jesus, give us your Spirit to make us holy.

Give us a sincere love,

– that the Church may be a loving family.

Lord Jesus, give us your Spirit to make us holy.

Give your life-giving grace to all the faithful,

– that they may receive with joy the gifts of the Spirit.

Lord Jesus, give us your Spirit to make us holy.

Give us the power of your Holy Spirit,

– to heal our wounds and make us strong.

Lord Jesus, give us your Spirit to make us holy.

                                        (Morning prayer, Pentecost)

O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast sanctify your whole Church in very people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and, with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed, fill now once more the hearts of believers. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. (Mass of Pentecost)

+   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +   +

Click here for the link to Fr. Robert Barron's podcast for the feast of Pentecost

The SPIRIT of TRUTH

As Jesus approached his HOUR, when he would defeat Satan by his perfect submission to the will (the Truth) of the Father, by rejecting Satan's seductions, characterized in the threefold temptations in the wilderness, Jesus reveals the Father's plan of salvation for all peoples.

The most popular depictions of Satan is that of a fierce, fiery, beast devouring his victims. A more accurate depiction might look more like one who is benignly teaching another what well may be true - but not what is the whole truth.

   

Now (Satan) was the most cunning of all ... He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from "ANY" of the trees in the garden’?” Gen 3:1

Chesterton rightly noted that the Devil takes facts that are true and strings them together in such a way that they lead to a conclusion which is false. As sincere and intelligent as one may be, we are no match for the "Father of Lies". The scripture is the Word of God, but see how Satan twists it to endorse his deception. 

This is why Pentecost is so important. It is God's plan that the Spirit will lead us to what is TRUTH. 

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. John 16: 12-13

In Jesus' priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus refers to the "world". But this is not the world that is God's good creation of the natural order. Rather, it is the worldly systems created by man to reorder nature for his own purposes; systems that are inevitably so vulnerable to the deceits of the Devil. 

We live out our lives in this world and so we must deal each day with its complexity and its confusing mix of fact and error. Jesus tells his disciples that they do not have to confront this challenge alone, he is sending the the Spirit to guide them.

In John 16 Jesus refers to the Spirit as "the Advocate" and "the Spirit of Truth".

But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.  And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. John 16:7

Using the term "Advocate" to describe the Spirit is most revealing to us. An Advocate is akin to a defense lawyer who stands at your side, before the judge, and defends you again the false accusations being leveled against you. (Remember the text in Revelations: 

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death. Rev 12:10

All through our journey of faith we must cope with falsehood in the world, attempting to persuade us to follow. Without the Advocate at our side, challenging such falsehood, pointing out the error and deception it contains, our faith cannot survive, intact, strong and vital. The Spirit is present to us in many ways, principally through the magisterium of the Church. Remaining in communion with the Church is vital. So too is personal prayer. It tunes our hearts to the Voice, the voice of the Spirit of Truth.

PRAYER FOR THE GRACE OF RENEWAL: 

Jesus my Lord, I confess to you and to all the world my need for your presence in my life. I am alone and in darkness without you. I am influenced and controlled by the many forces that surround me. Even though I struggle against them, it is sin that so easily dominates my life. Who can save me but you alone, my Lord and my God. Deliver me from the Evil One. Touch my life with that power which flows from your resurrection. Cause your Holy Spirit to be born in me anew. Prince of Peace and Lord of Glory reign now in my heart. Baptize me with your Holy Spirit and Fire. Raise me up to a New Life in you. Amen.

Toward Pentecost: One

While Apollos was in Corinth,

Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples.

He said to them,

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

They answered him,

“We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

He said, “How were you baptized?”

They replied, “With the baptism of John.”

Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them,

and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.. 

Altogether there were about twelve men. Acts 19:1-8 (Monday 7th Wk. Easter)

Relections:

We generally think of Pentecost as that day the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus' disciples gathered in the upper room. But Luke, in his Acts of the Apostles, tells us that, this same outpouring of the Spirit of Pentecost, was experienced by many throughout this whole apostolic  period, as the Spirit worked to bring to life Christ' Church. We might actually sight five Pentecost experiences described by Luke.

1. The day of Pentecost with the disciples in the upper room. (Acts 2:1)
2. The baptism of the Ethiopian and the Spirit coming upon the Samaritans. (Acts 8:1)
3. The conversion of St Paul. (Acts 9:1)
4. The Gentile Pentecost and the baptism of Cornelius and family. (Acts 10:1)
5. The baptism of the disciples of John the Baptist. (Acts 19:1)

In each of these accounts, we see the effects of the Holy Spirit at work in these people. These effects are evident and clearly perceptible, to those being baptized in the Spirit, as well as those who are witnessing this extraordinary gift.

On Pentecost day: 

• Those being filled with the Holy Spirit broke out in joyful praise of God, seen and heard by everyone around them. So uninhibited and expressive was their praising, that some thought they had been drinking.  
• They experienced the charism on speaking discernible languages they had not learned, so that other could understand them.
• They showed no fear of reprisal where earlier they had been in hiding. 

The Baptism of the Ethiopian Official and the Spirit Coming Upon the Samaritans:

• The charism of the True Christian Faith comes through the Spirit filled preaching of Philip, under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
• The Samaritans had been baptized in the name of Jesus, but were yet to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The Conversion of St. Paul:

• Paul sees the apparition of the glorious, risen Christ.
• He hears the Lords voice speaking to him. His companions also heard his voice.
• The physical effect of temporary blindness was experienced by Paul.
• The zealot Paul became humble and docile to the direction of the Spirit.
• Paul is given his true vocation by the Spirit.
• Visions are seen by Paul and Ananias.
• The True Christian Faith is born in Paul.  

The Conversion of Cornelius and the Gentiles.

• Peter is taught of the plan of universal salvation through visions.
• Visions prepare Cornelius for Peter's coming.
• Everyone in the household is filled with the gift of the Spirit.
• The charism of Praise and Tongues was manifested.
• The gift of True Christian Faith was given to all.

The Baptism of John the Baptist Disciples:

• They had been baptized in John's baptism.
• At Paul preaching they were baptized in the name of Jesus.
• When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

In earlier postings, I include a series on the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" 
(go to - SPECIAL SERIES SECTION - side column) I recommend these for your review and prayer at this time. 

See also Novena to the Holy Spirit (click)

PRAYER FOR THE GRACE OF RENEWAL: 

Jesus my Lord, I confess to you and to all the world my need for your presence in my life. I am alone and in darkness without you. I am influenced and controlled by the many forces that surround me. Even though I struggle against them, it is sin that so easily dominates my life. Who can save me but you alone, my Lord and my God. Deliver me from the Evil One. Touch my life with that power which flows from your resurrection. Cause your Holy Spirit to be born in me anew. Prince of Peace and Lord of Glory reign now in my heart. Baptize me with your Holy Spirit and Fire. Raise me up to a New Life in you.