PICKED UP AND CARRIED BY “SOMEONE”
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: We celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost today: the descent of the Spirit on Mary and the Apostles. We celebrate the birth of the Church, our birthday.
We pray that we may open ourselves to the working of the Spirit, and allow him to transform us. We ask Mary, who was with the Apostles at the birth of the Church, to continue to be with us and to intercede for us.
Penitential Rite
L: For our failure to heed the promptings of the Spirit, we ask the Lord’s pardon.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you give us the Spirit who removes fear:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you give us the Spirit who forgives and heals:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, your give us the Spirit who renews us in your love:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: Almighty and ever-living God,
grant that the people
once scattered over the face of the earth
and divided by many tongues
may be gathered by your Spirit
to confess your name with a single voice.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Acts 2:1-11
Psalm Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
Response Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
Reading 2 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Romans 8:8-17
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Gospel John 20:19-23 or John 14:15-16, 23b-26
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Be with the disciples in that upper room behind locked doors. Become aware of your fears and anxieties. Then become aware of the Lord’s presence in your midst and hear him say: “Peace be with you.” Stay with your thoughts and feelings.
Sunday Snippets
In a major football game, a player’s performance exceeded the expectations of his mates and coach. In the last five minutes of the game, with the score against his team, he scored two goals! He ran faster and dribbled better than he had ever done. In the locker room, his coach said: “I didn’t know you had it in you.” He replied: “I didn’t either! I was picked up and carried by something outside myself.”
Pentecost is when the apostles “were picked up and carried by someone outside themselves”! The Holy Spirit empowered and transformed them!
The Spirit filled them with enthusiasm (en-theos: which means ‘God within’). Armed with the power of this ‘God within’, they moved out of the Upper Room to proclaim the Good News of the Resurrection. Recall Peter’s speech: “This man… you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up.”
The Spirit gave them the gifts they needed to proclaim the Good News: belief in the truth; the courage to proclaim it; the willingness/ ability to reach out to people of other languages and persuasions.
The Spirit formed them into one community. The verses after today’s first reading: “All who believed were together and had all things in common.” This in a group which was jostling for position and power!
The same Spirit empowers and transforms us.
The Spirit empowers us to proclaim that God is our Father, and therefore beyond the tangible differences of region, language, culture, and social status, we are one family.
The Spirit gives us the gifts and resources we need (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). We need to believe and understand that the Spirit works differently in different people… and give space for that to happen; we ought to use our gifts to build up the church.
The Spirit forms us into one family.
Will I let the Spirit pick me up and carry me… to go beyond my natural strengths and abilities?
What are the gifts that the Spirit gives me, and how will I use it to proclaim Jesus and to build up his kingdom on earth?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: Everyone understood in his/ her own language what the apostles were saying. If/ when I am open to the Holy Spirit, would I have a deeper understanding of all that I hear? Am I open to “God’s surprises” or am I closed and fearful before the newness of the Holy Spirit?
Reading 2: What gifts has the Spirit given me and for what have they been given to me? How do I use the gifts I have?
Gospel: The disciples were a transformed group after the Spirit’s arrival. Has the coming of the Spirit transformed me? Do I allow the Spirit to push me beyond my comfort zone?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: God endows us with the gift of his own life by imparting the Holy Spirit. Let us come to him, alive and free in the divine presence, and pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that the Spirit may empower us to follow Christ and bring Good News to all are burdened or who have lost hope, we pray…
R: For the world: that God may heal the divisions between women and men, poor and rich, and every race so that we may work together for the good of every person and the fulfilment of God’s plan, we pray…
R: For peace: that God may heal the physical and mental wounds of all who have experienced violence and console all who are grieving the death of a loved one, we pray…
R: For all who are ill: that God’s Spirit of healing may touch them, strengthen their minds, bodies, and spirits, and restore them to wholeness, we pray…
R: For all who are overwhelmed by life: that, through the Spirit of hope, they may find new reasons to live this day and be gifted with a vision of all that could be tomorrow, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that we may recognize and use the gifts that God has given us for others and for the fulfilment of his mission, we pray…
L: Father all-powerful, send your Spirit on each of us. Let him set us afire with his love and make all your people one body and one spirit. Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
John Foley’s hymn, One Bread One Body, celebrates our oneness in Christ, a oneness wrought by the Holy Spirit. Regardless of our birth or earthly status, we are equal in God’s eyes. We pray that we may truly be one bread and one body.
Watch One Bread One Body
or pray
Fear locked the door.
But real love entered in anyway,
bringing (within its wounds) God’s peace.
This peace went all around!
Lord, you breathed upon your disciples
and sent them everywhere, to all the earth,
out of love, not out of fear.
Come, Holy Spirit of life and love, to us,
and send us out to all corners of creation.
May we experience your fruit:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
May we, though many, be one body in Christ.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: God our Father,
the Holy Spirit has opened our hearts
to understand the Word of your Son.
May he give us the courage now
to bring the Good News to the poor
and to set one another free
from all injustice and hardness of heart,
that we may enjoy together
your forgiveness, your joy, and your peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
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