Thursday, May 27, 2021

The Most Holy Trinity Sunday. Year B. - Sunday, May 30, 2021 (EPISODE: 301)

The Most Holy Trinity Sunday. Year B. - Sunday, May 30, 2021

(EPISODE: 301)

Readings for
The Most Holy Trinity Sunday. Year B.
FIRST READING: Deut 4: 32-34, 39-40
Ps 33: 4-5, 6+9, 18-19, 20+22. "Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own."
SECOND READING:
Rom 8: 14-17
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (
cf. Rev 1: 8). Alleluia, alleluia! Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. To God who is, who was, and who is to come.
GOSPEL:
Matt 28: 16-20

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed.
stock vector ID: 1747141307. Vector illustration of a Background for Trinity Sunday. By Suns Design.
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for The Most Holy Trinity Sunday. Year B. - Sunday, May 30, 2021 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-trinity-sunday-b-2020-episode-301/s-1qNZNg7A6Ms  
(EPISODE: 301)
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* (Prologue:  Fr Paul Kelly)
I think this quote from the great English writer C.S. Lewis says so much about the Trinity:

"Three persons, one God of love -
People seem not to notice that the words 'God is love' have no real meaning unless God contains at least two persons. Love is something that one person has for another person. If God was a single person, then before the world was made, He was not love…Christians believe that the living, dynamic activity of love has been going on in God forever and has created everything else… in Christianity God is not a static thing – but  (rather a personal) dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama… Almost, a kind of dance." [C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)]

I love the Trinity, it is an indispensable part of the Christian faith. It is certainly not (as some people are occasionally heard to say) merely an academic construct, but rather, the Holy Trinity is an absolute necessity to get a small grasp and glimpse into the breadth, depth and diversity of God's inner nature; which is implicitly community, and innately relational and loving.

My favourite image of the Trinity, is the very famous icon by Andre Rublev, from the 15th Century. You have most likely seen it….  It is a picture of three Angelic figures sitting at a table sharing a meal under the Oak of Mamre. It literally depicts the visit of the three angelic persons representing God, who visited Abraham and stayed to share a meal provided by Abraham and Sarah' reverent hospitality.

Firstly, all persons of the Trinity in this picture are portrayed as humans, not just two people and a dove. Although the dove is an ancient symbol for the Holy Spirit and quite valid, it can sometimes not capture the fact that we believe in three persons equal in sharing the one divine nature.

I also love this icon of the Trinity because it captures the perfect inter-relation that exists within God who is three persons. It is as if each is deferring to one another and giving each other precedence and respect, and in return, they give it right back. It is perfect harmony, perfect giving and perfect receiving, as if one is pointing to the food at the table and saying to the other, please, be my guest, you first, and the other is saying, thank you, I appreciate it, now, please take some yourself, thank you, you are kind.... and on it goes..... The community and nature of God is perfect hospitality, the perfect relationship and absolute respect and reverence. It is this wonderful life that Jesus invites us into……..  We are invited to share in this perfect harmony of the Trinity, and if we accept…. it will transform us and the world around us. We are invited into the very inner life of God. 

As the first reading tells us, we are, moved by the Spirit we have been given, to be sons and daughters of God, and heirs of God…   but as a way of keeping us humble..  we are heirs to Christ's sufferings, - for God suffers in this self-sacrificing, and generous love.. that gives without counting the cost.  And in the gospel, one of my all-time favourite Gospel passages ever…   Jesus promises us that he will be with us always, even till the end of time…..    But again..  we are reminded, that by becoming God's people, by becoming sons and daughters of God, and heirs to the Kingdom… comes with it this task..   to live with an outreaching love towards others and to the world, as God, the Trinity lives…   we are told we must go out …  out into all the world….  

The cost of entry into this eternal relationship with God is to always remain outward looking, turned out towards others..  willing to suffer for participating in the outreaching, generous and unselfish love of God…..   At the table of the Holy Trinity, there is no room here for any self-interest, stinginess and or inward-looking mentalities. God is always on the lookout for more people to be part of the family…  always reaching out….   Open and generous….. 
The more we as individuals and we as Christian communities reflect the inner life of the Trinity, the more we are participating in that Trinitarian life.

It is no wonder that Our Lord, Jesus, is made really present to us, in the Eucharist, encountered in the form of a sacred meal and it is very poignant that Jesus was put to death because of, among other reasons, the people he ate with. God is love, and God is relational. It is great to share a meal and encounter a glimpse of what God (a Trinity of Persons), shares all the time.
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(Homily:  Fr Peter Dillon).
Homily Trinity Sunday Year B 2021

Some years ago a Brisbane man in his fifties appealed to the public to help him find out who he was. An accident had resulted in the complete loss of his memory. He did not know his name, where he lived, what his family background was etc. Eventually a daughter was found and with her he began to put together the story of his life. It was eventually discovered that he had been born and raised in New Zealand. He had brothers and sisters and cousins still living. He was not alone in the world and there were people who loved and cared for and about him. His identity was bound up with the lives of others.

An essential part of who we are involves others. To be fully human is to be in relationship. A small infant does not fully know who he or she is, but from the earliest moments forms a bond with parents and family. We can only find out who we truly are by living out these relationships. That is also true of our relationship with God.

On this feast of the Trinity, the Church asks us to consider a doctrine rather than an event in the life of Jesus. The Trinity, who God is, is the central mystery of our faith. Today we celebrate mystery (the Godhead) and relationship (Father, Son and Spirit), which is the fullness of who God is.

Of course, we do need to ask ourselves what does that relationship mean to us? Why is this mystery something to be celebrated? The great mystic Julian of Norwich said, 'I beheld the working of the Trinity'. She did not say that she understood the Trinity, and there is an odd comfort in her honesty.

 
The three persons of God as a Trinity is not just a phrase or definition.  Our God is an active God. The God of creation, the God who sends us his son, who stands by us now through every crisis through the peaceful presence of the spirit. Trinity Sunday is a bit like Einstein's theory of relativity - easy to say but almost impossible to fully comprehend. We can make all the analogies we like to shamrocks and three leaved clovers but, in the end, the trinity will always remain a mystery beyond our grasp. But Jesus is the key to a clearer understanding of what is at the heart of this relationship.

 Jesus is the mirror in which we can finally see the Lord, made human flesh, born of a woman by the intervention of the Spirit!

We will never find the trinity anything but an exercise in geometry until we focus on Jesus. I am the way, he said. We are not interested in pure being, we only want to know does this divine geometry love us and care what happens to us and can reveal that to us somehow. All this we can see in Jesus. He shows the love of God to the world.

After the resurrection, the disciples reflected on their relationship with Jesus: who he had been for them, what he had said and done. They remembered his words of encouragement, experienced the Spirit of his presence among them still.

At our baptism we were drawn into the union of Father, Son and Spirit, as the water of Baptism was poured over us. While in the person of Jesus, much about God has been revealed to us, so much remains hidden and a mystery. Even if we study all our lives, our faith will remain a mystery, but a mystery to be experienced. The more we come to know and love Jesus the more we will be led into the mystery of God's being.
He came to lead us into the heart of that mystery.

We know that God created the world and us and delighted in his creation. He rescued us after we had sinned, by sending his Son; he stands by us now in our crises through the presence of his Spirit. We can see how God acts but we cannot always understand why.

  Again Julian of Norwich had an insight into the mystery of how God's creative relationship might be better understood. She beheld God as:

 "The father who gives us life and who is the source of all life, God our mother, in wit and wisdom in whom we have our keeping, our life, our pain, and our fulfilment - the nourisher. The high might of the trinity is our father, and the deep wisdom of the trinity is our mother, and the great love of the trinity is Jesus, our Lord.
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References:

Homily – fr peter Dillon

Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly


Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. stock vector ID: 1747141307. Vector illustration of a Background for Trinity Sunday. By Suns Design.


The Most Holy Trinity Sunday. Year B.  (Sunday, May 30, 2021(EPISODE: 301 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{May Our Lord's Fidelity strengthen you.}} welcome everyone, we gather -  Silence, reflection, prayer and contemplation of our God. 

Coming together as brothers and sisters, with confidence let us ask the Fathers forgiveness, for he is full of gentleness and compassion
Heavenly Father, your love gives life to all of creation  
Lord, have mercy.  
 
Lord Jesus, you are the Resurrection, inviting us into your inner life.  Christ have mercy.  
 
Holy Spirit, you empower us to work for justice and compassion, Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are mighty God and Prince of peace. Lord have mercy// You are Son of God and the Son of Mary. Christ have mercy// You are Word made flesh, the splendour of the Father. Lord have mercy.  

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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Ps 33: 4-5, 6+9, 18-19, 20+22. "Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (
cf. Rev 1: 8). Alleluia, alleluia! Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. To God who is, who was, and who is to come.
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PREFACE:
Preface of the Most Holy trinity
ep iii
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{thanks everyone. And may God sustain you with his grace and love. }

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to our weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of  William John Kelly -     Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.


- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.

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Sunday, May 23, 2021

Our Lady Help of Christians. (Solemnity in Australia - Patron Saint), May 24th, 2021 (episode: 300)

Our Lady Help of Christians. May 24th, 2021 (episode: 300)


Our Lady Help Of Christians - May 25th - (Episode: 300)


Mass of the Solemnity, Gloria, Creed

Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary I

 


Readings:  
Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

**Ps 112:1-8 R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.

James 3:13-18; 


**Alleluia, alleluia! Happy are you, O blessed Virgin Mary; without dying you won the martyr's crown beside the cross of the Lord. Alleluia!

Lk 1:39-56


**(please note our apologies that the Psalm and Alleluia Verse is not as recommended in the Ordo for year B. This was an error that was detected too late for editing).

 

 

Image Credit: 290438420 -TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - MARCH 2, 2015: The Icon of black Madonna from st. Peters church in old Jaffa by an unknown artist from end of 19. cent.- By Renata Sedmakova


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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Solemnity in Australia of Our Lady- Help of Christians. By clicking this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/our-lady-help-of-christians-2021-episode-300/s-P6sAIyy7ZMZ   

(Faith Hope and Love, Podcast (2016-  ) with Fr Paul Kelly- Episode 300).

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
{{Kindness and grace to you all}}

On this special (feast of) Our Lady Help Of Christians
My brothers and sisters, trusting in Gods mercy and love let us call to mind our sins.

Lord Jesus, you affirm Mary, as the mother of Mercy. Lord have mercy.
You honour her as the mother of good counsel. Christ have mercy.
You present her to us as Help of all Christians. Lord have mercy.

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
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PREFACE:  Preface I of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  
Euch.Prayer:  II

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Dismissal:
Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
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Prologue: The Virgin Mary has often been invoked in times of religious strife under the title of Help of Christians. In thanksgiving for the release of Pope Pius VII from captivity in 1814, the feast was established the following year on the anniversary of his restoration. The first Australian provincial synod held in Sydney in 1844 placed the Church in Australia under Mary's patronage invoked by the title Help of Christians. The solemn feast is an occasion to seek Mary's help and protection for our Church and nation.

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HOMILY:
MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS HOMILY

There are two inscriptions from the first centuries of Christianity in Greek related to the Virgin Mary: θεοτοκος, (Teotokos, Theotokos, Mother of God) and βοηθεια (Boetheia, the Helper). SO Help of Christians is one of the very earliest of titles for Mary.

Asking for the intercession of Mary as Help of Christians is part of the oldest prayer addressed directly to Mary, the Sub tuum praesidium, which was found on a papyrus dating, at the latest, from the end of the 3rd century. 

Saint John Chrysostom used this Marian title in year 345 as a devotion to the Virgin Mary

Saint Don Bosco also strongly and fruitfully promoted Marian devotion under this title throughout his order which became a world-wide ministry….

How fitting, when we see Mary's life portrayed in the gospels…  what a perfect intercessor, who knows all too well hardship and suffering.
Her trust, humility and complete faith in God as she said yes to what God was asking of her in her life.
The arduous journey to visit and care for her cousin Elizabeth
Her journey as a refugee with Joseph and Our Lord.. to Egypt..
Her pain at losing Jesus in the temple for three days..  when he was twelve.. and her pondering all these things in her heart..
He disciple and mother of Christ..  equally.
The sword of sorrow that pierced her heart through her life
Her trust in and intercession to her son at the wedding in cana…  concerned for the good of her hosts….
Her discipleship
Her faithfulness at the foot of the cross…  bearing the indescribable pain of her son's suffering and death.
Her presence in prayer and faith with the apostles at Pentecost.

The infant church in Australia had a special reason for turning to Mary. No priests were sent to the colony in its early days and Mass was not allowed except for one brief year until 1820. It was largely the Rosary, and strong devotion to Mary, in those early days that kept the faith alive.

Catholic Australia remained faithful to Mary and was the first nation to choose her under the title Help of Christians, as principal Patroness.

Mary Help of Christians both intercedes for us and inspires us in these trying times.

Also, even to this day, Australia is highly secularized and still we see signs at times of a concerning and deep anti-Catholic sentiment, that comes bursting out at unexpected times and in unfortunate ways….   . We need to invoke Help of Christians  to pray for and ask the Lord to transform any hardened hearts, headstrong… hearts and minds.

St Mary's Cathedral was dedicated in her honour by the Irish pioneer priest, Fr John Therry, who arrived in Sydney in 1820 and assumed responsibility for the planning and initial construction of the Cathedral.
When Australia became the first country to have Mary Help of Christians as Patroness, it became the first country to have a mother-cathedral under the same title.

The statue of Mary, Help of Christians, stands in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart in the Cathedral.

The Church has traditionally focused on two aspects of Our Lady's help on this feast day.

Firstly, upon the role of Our Lady's intercession in the fight against sin in the life of a believer.

Secondly, Our Lady is one who assists Christians as a community, through her intercession, in fighting against anti-Christian values and principles.

In the Opening Prayer for Our Lady Help of Christians, we rightly (and in heartfelt determination), prayed that through Our Lady's intercession God will "grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our citizens", so that "under her protection Australia may be granted harmony, justice and peace". This is longed for and treasured more than ever before.

Mary Help of Christians is not only the patroness of Australia but also the Australian Military Ordinariate

And the following prayer is quite fitting…. 

Almighty God, deepen in our hearts
our love of Mary Help of Christians.
Through her prayers and under her protection,
may the light of Christ shine over our land.
May Australia be granted harmony, justice and peace.
Grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our citizens.
Bless especially the men and women
of the Australian Defence Force and their families.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Mary Help of Christians, pray for us.
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

From- Catholic Weekly 2012:  https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/24-may-our-lady-help-of-christians/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Help_of_Christians
Gabriel Chow   in https://sacrosancta.blogspot.com/2019/06/australia-and-our-lady-help-of-christians.html

Image Credit: 290438420 -TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - MARCH 2, 2015: The Icon of black Madonna from st. Peters church in old Jaffa by unknown artist from end of 19. cent.- By Renata Sedmakova
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria. Copyright © 2011 
ccwatershed.org.

Hymn – "Rainfall – Mother of  Mercy." Music by Paul W. Kelly. 1994, 2021. Words adapted by Paul W. Kelly, based on the Traditional Salve Regina Hymn. Arranged & with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2021. https://www.airgigs.com/user/stefankelk

Marian Hymn -   "Salve Regina Mater Misericordiae." (Traditional 11th Century). Melody: Mainz (1712), Hymn #783 - Brébeuf Hymnal. From https://www.ccwatershed.org/hymn/

[ Production - KER - 2021]

May God bless and keep you.

 

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Pentecost Sunday. Year B - Sunday, May 23, 2021 (EPISODE: 299)

Pentecost Sunday. Year B - Sunday, May 23, 2021
(EPISODE: 299)

Readings for Pentecost Sunday. Year B
FIRST READING: Acts 2: 1-11
Ps 104: 1+24, 29-30, 31+34. "Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth."
SECOND READING: Gal 5: 16-25
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (no bibl. ref). Alleluia, alleluia! Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love.
GOSPEL: John 15: 26-27; 16: 12-15


Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed - stock photo ID783792871 -Bayeux, France - February 12, 2013: Stained Glass window depicting Pentecost, in Bayeux Cathedral, Calvados, France. - By jorisvo

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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Pentecost Sunday. Year B - Sunday, May 23, 2021, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/pentecost-sunday-year-b-2021-episode-299  
(EPISODE: 299)
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* (Prologue:  Fr Paul Kelly)

Today's feast day of Pentecost is, in many ways, a birthday celebration.  With the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, on that first Pentecost Sunday, Christ's church was born.  And, as the readings this weekend tell us, we become beloved sons and daughters of God, and heirs to God's kingdom. We have been given the freedom of the children of God.  But the second reading supplies an essential 'qualifier' (lest we get too proud and indulgent), that this freedom is given to us in order that we too can live as Christ did. So we are reminded that Pentecost and our membership of God's family is never meant to be self-serving or indulgent, but all about service, sacrifice and self-forgetting love.
 
"If you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing, and it is precisely because the two are so opposed that you do not always carry out your good intentions. If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you. When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious… What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires. Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit." (Galatians 5:16-26)
 
The Gospel this weekend also reminds us that the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the lives of the church, will always work to remind us of all that Christ did and said, and keep us close to Christ and his values. The Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of Truth." All who live by the Spirit, strive to live authentic, honest, integrated lives built on truth. 
 
The Gospel today, from Saint John, tells us that Jesus gives his followers the peace they need, because that is the first greeting of the Lord to them:  Peace be with you!  May we (too) know the peace of Jesus in our own lives!  With peace comes the capacity to forgive the sins of others.  This forgiveness is clearly a gift of the Lord who loves us.  This gift is given to each of us individually and also to the Church, through its ministry.
 
At the heart of our Christian life, fear is taken away, peace and forgiveness are given.  May we dispel the fears of others and proclaim the peace and forgiveness given to us in Jesus.
 
In the first reading too, the disciples were not yet able to go out and speak publicly and to proclaim Jesus to others, even though they now knew he was Risen and Ascended to the Heavenly Father.  They had to wait for the Holy Spirit to take hold of them and give them courage in the face of doubt, persecution, ridicule and rejection.  Perhaps at times we too may be shy about proclaiming our faith in the Lord Jesus.  Perhaps today we can pray for this Spirit to come on us and to give us courage so that our faith becomes so much a part of ourselves that it is so natural and easy to speak of our faith, in an unforced manner.
 
Our gifts are different, each person having different gifts.  We need all the gifts that each person has so that we can continue the work of Christ in our world.  How different our world looks when we begin to recognize that each person brings his or her own gifts and that we need everyone's gifts to live in the fullness of Jesus Christ.
 
In the 'everyday' and unexceptional, that is also where we encounter and KNOW the Spirit is at work in our lives; especially when the love and sacrifice we show is clearly coming from a loving hand bigger than our own lives and our own limited motives and actions
 
When we do actions that are loving and unselfish, we are deeply aware that there is a power and a loving presence at work in us that is outside of just ourselves. Transcending our limitations … and not explainable by our own actions… but bigger, ……. And "of which we are just a cooperating part…."
 
It is God, …. It is God's Spirit at work in and through us.  At work in the world.   A power of unselfish, sacrificing love and service. Unconditional love. That is at the heart of creation.
 
Finally, after the Spirit descended, people of different languages and cultures could all hear and understand. But what is interesting is that  the people were still not speaking the same language. They were still speaking in the language of those different nationalities and cultures. The miracle is that even though they were speaking different languages, they could miraculously understand each other. They were all proclaiming the same message-  and the same truth. This is a reminder that the Spirit brings not uniformity, but diversity and variety, where we are all "one" in that diversity, because the common language we speak is the language of God… and that language is true and overflowing LOVE…..
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(Homily:  Fr Peter Dillon).
Pentecost Sunday Year B 2021

We sometimes hear that the feast of Pentecost to referred to as the birthday of the Church, which might be true except when the first Pentecost happened there was no church, as least as we know it today.

In fact there was very little that we would recognise as connecting with our modern day understanding of church. There were no cathedrals or chapels, no popes, priests, monks or religious sisters. These did not come into being for many centuries later. In these early days there was no real estate, no bureaucracy, laws or titles.

Of course, once the physical churches were established they became magnificent works of art and architecture, established to let God and his followers how he was to be praised. Throughout the world and across the ages many churches were built and fortunately many of them still stand as a great testimony to the deep faith of those who gathered in them. Yet as magnificent as many of these buildings are they are simply the shell in which the actual church gathers, that is, the people of God, and the faith community.

On this day of Pentecost, which is actually the fiftieth day after Easter, the gathering of the disciples, was probably to celebrate the Jewish feast which celebrated the ancient covenant which God gave to his people through Moses.  In the Acts of the Apostles Luke turns this gathering into a powerful and dramatic event when the Holy Spirit descended on to people, not commissioning structures to be built, but inspiring the disciples to spread the message, and in that sense the church was born.

There was a leader, a blundering fisherman named Peter, who was joined by a small group of very ordinary people, marginal people who were connected by three important things: baptism into Jesus, breaking of bread and a readiness to tell others of what they heard, seen and learned? We know very little about how and where they met, possibly in houses or in secret to avoid the attention of the Roman authorities, but we can assume there was plenty of robust discussion about what was going to be the most effective way of delivering their new message to a sometimes hostile audience.

There was the assumption that each person upon whom the Spirit fell, had gifts to use to spread the message, and that was all they had to start with. Simple people with a variety of gifts, as St. Paul so confidently states: "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it". Not necessarily great orators or wealthy merchants, not politicians or law makers, just people who had met and became convinced that Jesus was who he said he was, and that they would be accompanied by the Spirit of God in all their future work.

That was and still is the essence of "church", not that anyone completely understood what each other was trying to say, but that was the real miracle of that first Pentecost. That ordinary people who had spent time hiding and in fear, were now making bold proclamations as the Spirit prompted them.

As Luke tells us, in the quite outstanding reading from Acts, that the Spirit filled these first disciples with words to speak to all these people from unpronounceable places. The various languages are symbols of the many varied ways that we too can use our unique gifts to bring the Gospel alive. The great variety of gifts emerge from the one Spirit in which we were all baptised. Part of our task is to discover how the Spirit has gifted us.

It is not rare to find people not wanting to find out their giftedness or even wanting to display it, since having accepted the gift, it only comes to its fulfilment when shared with the community. It is when we witness to our faith through action that we become the church – at least the community that Christ established. Everything else – the buildings, the Vatican, the encyclicals, while helpful are basically peripheral and incidental to the primary identity of discipleship.

As we gather this Sunday, in a building constructed in modern times, it is good for us to remember we have all that we need to experience what the apostles experienced. We have the simplicity of the Gospels. We are a group of disciples listening to the Word of God, and receiving the broken bread in memory of Jesus, as well as the constant presence of the Holy Spirit who binds us together and helps us to witness Christ in the world.

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References:

Homily – fr peter Dillon

Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly


MISSION 2000  – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR B. BY MARK LINK S.J,

SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ.,

KARL RAHNER SJ, (1904-1984), IN BELIEF TODAY, 40-41,

MONASTERY OF CHRIST IN THE DESERT. ABBOT'S HOMILY}
 
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed - stock photo ID783792871 -Bayeux, France - February 12, 2013: Stained Glass window depicting Pentecost, in Bayeux Cathedral, Calvados, France. - By jorisvo


Pentecost Sunday. Year B  (Sunday, May 23, 2021(EPISODE: 299 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{May Our Lord's justice sustain you}} welcome everyone, we gather -  To Pray, listen and reflect upon God and God's Kingdom.

As we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery, let us admit our failings and ask the Lord for pardon and strength. 
Lord Jesus, you have revealed yourself as the way to the Father: Lord, have mercy

You have poured out on your people the Spirit of truth: Christ, have mercy

You are the Good Shepherd, leading us to eternal life: Lord have mercy

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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Ps 104: 1+24, 29-30, 31+34. "Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (
(no bibl. ref.)). Alleluia, alleluia! Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love.
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PREFACE:
Preface of Pentecost
EP III
(theme "Come Holy Spirit Hymn - PWK )

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{heartfelt thanks to you all , for uniting in prayer and for reflection, upon God's overflowing goodness and care.}

Go in peace.(glorifying the Lord by your life)

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to our weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

"Come Holy Spirit" Hymn: inspired by the Hymn by the 9th Century Hymn by Rabanus Maurus. Music and lyrics by Paul Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk, 2020. Sound effects by Mark DiAngelo, (soundbible.com, 05.11). https://www.airgigs.com/user/stefankelk

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.


[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.

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