From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
1) Treasure within: An old beggar lay on his deathbed. His last words were to his young son who had been his constant companion during his begging trips.
“Dear son,” he said, “I have nothing to give you except a cotton bag and a dirty bronze bowl which I got in my younger days from the junk yard of a rich lady.” After his father’s death, the boy continued begging, using the bowl his father had given him. One day a gold merchant dropped a coin in the boy’s bowl and he was surprised to hear a familiar ring. “Let me check your bowl,” the merchant said. To his great surprise, he found that the beggar’s bowl was made of pure gold. “My dear young man,” he said, “why do you waste your time begging? You are a rich man. That bowl of yours is worth at least thirty thousand dollars.” — We Christians are often like this beggar boy who failed to recognize and appreciate the value of his bowl. We fail to appreciate the infinite worth of the Holy Spirit living within each of us, sharing His gifts and fruits and charisms with us. On this major feast day, we are invited to experience and appreciate the transforming, sanctifying, and strengthening presence of the Holy Spirit within us. This is also a day for us to renew the promises made to God during our Baptism and Confirmation, to profess our Faith, and to practice it. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021. 2) “Well, Chippie doesn’t sing much
anymore.” It happened in Galveston, TX. A woman was cleaning the
bottom of the cage of her parrot Chippie with the canister vacuum cleaner. She
was not using an attachment on the tube. When the telephone rang, she turned
her head to pick it up, continuing to vacuum the cage as she said, “Hello,”
into the phone. Then she heard the horrible noise of Chippie being sucked into
the vacuum. Immediately she put down the phone, ripped open the vacuum bag, and
found Chippie in there, stunned but still alive. Since the bird was covered
with dust and dirt, she grabbed it, ran it into the bathroom, turned on the
faucet, and held the bird under the water to clean it off. When she finished
that, she saw the hair dryer on the bathroom sink. She turned it on and held
the bird in front of the blast of hot air to dry him off. A few weeks later, a
reporter from the newspaper that originally published the story went out to the
house to ask the woman, “How’s Chippie doing now?” She said, “He just sort of
sits and stares.” — Today’s Gospel tells us that it was what happened to the
apostles. They all were traumatized by the arrest and crucifixion of their
master and bewildered by his post-Resurrection appearances and his command to
prepare for the coming of his Holy Spirit. Many of us can identify with Chippie
and the apostles. Life has sucked us up, thrown cold water on us, and blown us
away. Somewhere in the trauma, we have lost our song. Hence, we, too, need the
daily anointing of the Holy Spirit to keep us singing songs of Christian
witnessing through agápe love. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
3) “Lower your bucket– taste and see”: More than a century ago, a great sailing ship was stranded off the coast of South America. Day after day the ship lay there in the still waters with not a hint of a breeze. The captain was desperate; the crew was dying of thirst. And then, on the far horizon, a steamship appeared, headed directly toward them. As it drew near, the captain called out, “We need water! Give us water!” The steamship replied, “Lower your buckets where you are.” The captain was furious at this cavalier response but called out again, “Please, give us water.” But the steamer gave the same reply, “Lower your buckets where you are!” And with that they steamed away! The captain was beside himself with anger and despair, and he went below. But a little later, when no one was looking, a yeoman lowered a bucket into the sea and then tasted what he brought up: It was perfectly sweet, fresh water! For you see, the ship was just out of sight of the mouth of the Amazon. And for all those days they had been sitting right on top of all the fresh water they needed! — What we are really seeking is already inside us, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be embraced: the Holy Spirit of God Who has been living within us from the moment of our Baptism. The Holy Spirit is saying to us at this very moment from deep in our heart, “Lower your buckets where you are. Taste and see!” Come, Holy Spirit! Fill our hearts and set us on fire! Amen. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
1) The seven gifts in day-to-day life:
a) The gift of wisdom: 1) Four-year-old Amanda
was taken to the doctor’s office with a fever. The doctor looked in her ears
and asked, “Who’s in there? Donald Duck?” She said, “No.” He looked in her open
mouth, “Who’s in there? Mickey Mouse?” Again, she said, “No.” He put his
stethoscope on her heart and asked, “Who’s in there? Barney?” Amanda replied,
“No, Jesus is in my heart. Barney is in the pocket of my underwear.”
2) There is an old joke about a man who asked his pastor
whether it was okay to smoke while he prayed. His pastor said, “Absolutely not!
When you pray, you should be completely devoted to prayer!” So the man went to
another priest, but he changed his question, “Would it be okay to pray while I
smoke?” “Yes, of course” was the answer.
b) The gift of understanding: 1) A
kindergarten teacher was observing her the children in her classroom while they
drew pictures. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s
artwork. As she came to one little girl who was working diligently, she
asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher
paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.” Without missing a
beat, or looking up from her drawing the girl replied, “They will in a minute.”
2) “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and
gave all my money to the Church, would that get me into Heaven?” I asked the
children in my Sunday School class. “NO!” the children all answered. “If I
cleaned the Church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and
tidy, would that get me into Heaven?” Again, the answer was, “NO!” “Well, then,
if I were kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my
wife, would that get me into Heaven?” I asked them again. Again, they all
answered, “NO!” “Well,” I continued, “then how can I get into Heaven?” A
five-year-old boy shouted out, “YOU GOTTA BE DEAD!”
c) The gift of counsel: Just after
receiving his driver’s license, a Lutheran minister’s son wanted to talk about
using the family car. “I’ll make a deal with you,” his father said.
“Bring your grades up, read your Bible more often, and get a haircut.
Then you may use the car once or twice a week.” A month later the question
came up again. “Son,” the father said, “I’m proud of you. I see you
studying hard and reading your Bible every day. But you didn’t get a
haircut.” After a moment’s pause, the son replied, “Yeah, I’ve thought
about that. But Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, and even Jesus
had long hair.” “True,” the father replied, “but maybe you noticed that
they walked wherever they went?”
d) The gift of fortitude: A mother
refused to permit her little boy to go for a picnic with his
classmates. On the day of the picnic, however, she changed her mind
and gave him permission. But he sighed and confessed, “It’s too late
Mummy, I’ve already prayed for rain on the school picnic day!”
e) The gift of knowledge: 1) The story is
told of a man who went to the priest and said, “Father, I want you to say a
Mass for my dog.” The priest was indignant. “What do you mean, say a Mass for
your dog?” “It’s my pet dog,” said the man. “I loved that dog and I’d like you
to offer a Mass for him.” “We don’t offer Masses for dogs here,” the priest
said. “You might try the denomination down the street. Ask them if they have a
service for you.” As the man was leaving, he said to the priest, “I really
loved that dog. I was planning to give a five-thousand-dollar stipend for the
Mass.” And the priest said, “Wait a minute! Why didn’t tell me that your dog
was Catholic?!”
2) A little boy wanted $100 badly and prayed for two weeks,
but nothing happened. Then he decided to write a letter to the Lord requesting
the $100. When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to the
Lord, USA, they decided to send it to the White House so the President could
have a look at it. The President was so impressed, touched, and amused that he
instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill, as this would
appear to be a lot of money to a little boy. The little boy was delighted with
the $5.00, and sat down to write a thank-you note to the Lord. He wrote: “Dear
Lord, Thank You very much for sending me the money. However, I noticed that for
some reason You had to send it through Washington, DC, and those jerks
deducted 95%.”
3) The Two Ushers: Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old
brother Joel were sitting together in Church. Joel giggled, sang, and
talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough. “You’re not supposed
to talk out loud in church” “Why? Who’s going to stop me?” Joel
asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, ”See those two
men standing by the door? They’re ‘hushers.’”
f) The gift of piety: A pious man, who had
reached the age of 105 suddenly stopped going to synagogue. Alarmed by the old
fellow’s absence after so many years of faithful attendance, the Rabbi went to
see him. He found him in excellent health, so the Rabbi asked, “How come
after all these years we don’t see you at services anymore?” The old man
lowered his voice. “I’ll tell you, Rabbi,” he whispered. “When I got to be 90,
I expected God to take me any day. But then I got to be 95, then 100, then 105.
So, I figured that God is very busy and must have forgotten about me, and I
don’t want to remind Him.
g) The gift of fear of the Lord: Do not ride in
automobiles: they are responsible for 20% of fatal accidents. Do not stay
home: 1% of all accidents occur in home. Do not walk on the streets or
sidewalks: 14% of all accidents occur at such times. Do not travel by
air, rail, or water: 16% of all accidents happen on planes, trains or boats.
Only .001% of all deaths occur in worship services in Church, and these are
usually related to previous physical disorders. Hence, the safest place
for you to be at any time is at Church!!!
31 Additional anecdotes for Pentecost Sunday
1) The Spirit of God is the melody that energizes
the Church: In the last years of his life, the great cellist and
conductor Pablo Casals suffered greatly from rheumatoid arthritis and
emphysema. At 90, he was badly stooped, and his head pitched forward; his
breathing was labored. He needed the help of his wife, Marta, to get
dressed in the morning. Marta would then help him shuffle into his studio
where he would, with great difficulty, arrange himself on the piano
bench. Casals would then manage to raise his swollen, clenched fingers
above the keyboard. A visitor describes what he saw next one particular
morning: “I was not prepared for the miracle that was about to happen.
The fingers slowly unlocked and reached toward the keys like the buds of a plant
toward the sunlight. His back straightened. He seemed to breathe
more freely. Now his fingers settled on the keys. Then came the
opening bars of Bach’s Wohltemperierte Klavier [Well-tempered Clavier], played
with great sensitivity and control . . . He hummed as he played, then said that
Bach ‘spoke to him here’ – and he placed his hand over his heart. Then he
plunged into a Brahms concerto and his fingers, now agile and powerful, raced
across the keyboard with dazzling speed. His entire body seemed fused
with the music; it was no longer stiff and shrunken but supple and graceful and
completely freed of its arthritic coils. Having finished the piece, he stood up
by himself, far straighter and taller than when he had come into the
room. He walked to the breakfast table with no trace of a shuffle, ate
heartily, talked animatedly, finished the meal, then went for a walk on the
beach.” (From Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient:
Reflections on Healing and Regeneration by Norman Cousins).
— Like music that inspires and exhilarates, the Spirit of God is the
melody that energizes the Church, uniting our many different voices into the
song of the Love of God. God has formed us into a community, or Church,
an instrument for bringing His life and love into our world. But what
makes our Church more than just a gathering of good people is His “Breath”
infusing the Church with the music of His Divinity. Today we celebrate
that presence. In Jesus’ breathing upon the assembled disciples on Easter
night the new life of the Holy Spirit, the community of the Resurrection — the
Church — takes flight. That same Holy Spirit continues to “blow” through
today’s Church giving life and direction to our mission and ministry to preach
the Gospel to every nation, to immerse all of humanity into the music of God’s
love and the symphony of the Resurrection. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
2) Paderewski immortalizing a boy’s music: Once,
a mother took her five-year-old son with her to a concert by Ignace Paderewski,
the great Polish pianist. The mother and her son got their seats close to the
stage. Then the mother met her old friend and got involved talking with her.
She failed to notice that her son had slipped away to do some exploring. At the
right time the lights dimmed and the spot light came on. Only then did the
mother see her five-year-old son on the stage, sitting on the piano bench,
innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little star.” Before she could retrieve
her son, Paderewski walked on to the stage. Walking over to the piano, he
whispered to the boy, “Don’t stop! Keep playing.” Then, leaning over the boy,
Paderewski reached out his left hand and began to fill in the bass. Later, he
reached around the other side of the boy and added a running obbligato.
Together, the great maestro and the tiny five-year-old mesmerized the audience
with their playing. — The image of the great maestro and the tiny five-year-old
at the piano makes a fitting image of the Holy Spirit coming upon the
disciples. On the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit whispered encouragement to
the disciples. The Holy Spirit transformed the feeble efforts of the disciples
into something powerful. (John Pichappilly in The Table
of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
3) Why are the Swiss watches gone? If in 1968
someone had asked which country would dominate watch-making in the 1990s, most
people would have said Switzerland. This is because Switzerland had dominated
the world of watch- making for the preceding sixty years. They had led the
search for new ways to manufacture better and more durable watch parts. They
had developed the best waterproofing techniques. In fact, in 1968 the Swiss
made 65% of all watches sold in the world, and laid claim to 90% of the
profits. However, by 1980 in Switzerland, watchmakers had been laid off by the
thousands and the Swiss controlled a paltry 10% of the watch market. Why? The
Swiss had ignored an important new development, the Quartz Movement.
Ironically, it was a Swiss who invented the Quartz movement, but the innovation
was rejected because the resulting watch had no mainspring or knob. That was
too much of a paradigm shift for them to embrace. It was too new and too
strange. –Today’s text from Acts tells of a powerful paradigm shift in the
people of God demanded by “God’s deeds of power,” the miraculous activities
that accompanied the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and Mary, the
Mother of God and of the Church. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
4) Speaking the same language: In 1887, Dr.
Ludwig Zamenhof, a Polish linguist, constructed a new language that could be
shared by people throughout the world. The artificial language Dr. Zamenhof
created is called Esperanto, “the language of hope.” The name
signifies hope for humankind that a common language might heal the divisions
that exist among the different peoples of the earth. — The feast of Pentecost
is the Church’s celebration of her unity and universality in the Holy Spirit,
and so some of the readings used express this in terms of language. Dr.
Zamenhof’s invention of Esperanto as a universal language has been followed by
the establishment of the United Nations Assembly and simultaneous translation,
by Summit meetings of the heads of nations, by cultural exchanges, and by the
revival of the Olympic Games.– But Pentecost is more than a work of human
creation, more than a work of art and music. Pentecost is a new outpouring of
God’s Spirit into our hearts to kindle in us the fire of his love (Albert
Cylwicki in His Word Resounds). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
5) All Mr. Yates needed was suddenly provided. During
the Great Depression, a man by the name of Yates owned a sheep ranch in West
Texas. Day by day he grazed his sheep and wondered how he was going to pay his
bills. It was in the middle of the Depression, and even government subsidies
would not give him enough income to break even. Then one day an oil company
came to town. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well on Mr. Yates’ land.
At 1,115 feet, they struck oil to the tune of 80,000 barrels a day. All Mr.
Yates needed was suddenly provided. — When I read that old story, one that Bill
Bright tells, I wondered if it might be a parable of our spiritual life. “All I
have needed Thy hands have provided,” sings the hymn, Great is Thy
Faithfulness. That is a parable of our spiritual life. The power we need to
become what God intended us to be is already in our souls in the form of the
indwelling Holy Spirit. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
6) “Oh, it sleeps about eighty.” A family
driving a large camper pulled up in front of the Church just as the pastor
started toward home. Desiring to be friendly, the pastor introduced himself and
expressed his admiration for the camper. The man of the family told him rather
proudly: “This camper sleeps eight people.” Then he asked: “What is the
capacity of your Church, Pastor?” The beleaguered pastor replied rather glumly,
“Oh, it sleeps about eighty.” It is embarrassing sometimes how little the
modern-day Churches resemble the Church that first Pentecost: the sound of a
wind-storm, tongues of fire, disciples speaking in different languages,
thousands being added to the Church and lots of excitement – excitement
everywhere! Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
7) “I’m gonna run her through that thing one time.” Two
brothers grew up on a farm in a rural area near Cairo, Georgia. One brother
took to education like a duck to water. He graduated from Georgia Tech and
became a renowned engineer in Chicago. The other brother was content to stay
home and farm. Some years later, the learned brother was invited to give a
speech in Atlanta at the Peachtree Plaza Hotel. He had not seen his brother in
a long while so he invited him to bring his family to the hotel and spend a
little time with him. The rural brother had never been in a town bigger than
Cairo. He and his wife and son piled into their pickup truck and headed for
Atlanta. After a fearful experience on the interstate highways, they pulled up
in front of the Peachtree Plaza. The farmer left his wife in the truck. He and
his son went inside to check in. Just inside the entrance were a number of
elevators. The farmer had never seen one before. He watched a large, very
plain, middle-aged lady step inside one of those little rooms. The doors
closed. After about a minute, the doors opened and out stepped a young lady who
was a vision of loveliness. The farmer’s eyes bugged out. Quickly he punched
his son and said, “Boy, go get your Maw. I’m gonna run her through that thing
one time!” — At Pentecost, a ragged aggregation of misfits was transformed into
a disciplined cadre of spiritual storm troopers. The wimps became warriors! Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
8) Wilma Rudolph winning Olympics gold medals: Neil
T. Anderson, in his book Victory over Darkness, tells a thrilling
story about a little girl born with major health problems which left her
crippled. She had a large, wonderful Christian family. Her mother used to tell
her. “If you believe, God will make it happen. You will be able to run around
like your brothers and sisters.” She took her mother’s counsel to heart and
began to believe that God could heal her. She practiced walking without her
braces with the aid of her brothers and sisters. On her twelfth birthday, she
surprised her parents and her doctors by removing her braces and walking around
the doctor’s office unassisted. She never wore the braces again. Her next goal
was to play basketball. The coach only agreed to let her play as a means of
getting her older sister on the team. One day she approached the coach and
promised him if he would give her an extra 10 minutes of coaching each day, she
would give him a world-class athlete. He laughed, but seeing she was serious,
half-heartedly agreed. Before long her determination paid off. She was one of
the team’s best players. Her team went to the state basketball championships.
One of the referees noticed her exceptional ability. He asked if she had ever
run track. She hadn’t. He encouraged her to try it. So after the basketball
season she went out for track. She began winning races and earned a berth in
the state championships. At the age of 16, she was one of the best young
runners in the country. She went to the Olympics in Australia and won a bronze
medal for anchoring the 400meter relay team. Four years later in Rome she won
the 100-meter dash, the 200meter dash and anchored the winning 400-meter relay
team “all in world-record times.” Wilma Rudolph capped the year by receiving
the prestigious Sullivan Award as the most outstanding amateur athlete in
America. Her faith and hard work had paid off. [Neil T. Anderson, Victory
over Darkness (Ventura, California: Regal Books, 1990), pp. 107-108.]
— In a sense, that is what Pentecost is about. People opened themselves to the
Holy Spirit, and the Spirit empowered them to do things they never dreamed
possible. Pentecost is about empowerment: “a small group of folks turned the
world upside down.” Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
9) In yachting, no wind means no race! Rev. Alan
Walker of Australia often tells about the race of the sailing yachts in which
Australia finally defeated the USA for the prized America’s Cup. For 132 years,
the cup was kept and defended by the United States. Again, and again there were
challenges for the cup, but each time it was retained by the USA. Finally, in
1983 Australia mounted a serious challenge. The event took place as scheduled,
and after six races, the two yachts were deadlocked at three wins each. Now the
whole world seemed to take notice. Australia was alive with anticipation. The
sporting world was focused on the race. The day came for the final race. After more
than 100 years, the United States was in danger of losing its very precious
cup. Thousands of people came to watch the race. Television cameras were ready
to beam the race by satellite around the world. The crews were ready. The boats
were polished. The yachts pulled into place at the starting line. All was
ready, but there was no race! There was not enough wind. In yachting, no wind
means no race!” — In the life of the Church, as in yachting, no wind, no race.
Who would deny that the Church today lacks power, life, energy, excitement? The
Church today needs the power of the Holy Spirit. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
10) Torch and Bucket: There is the story of a
person who saw an angel walking down the street. The angel was carrying a torch
in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. “What are you going to do with
that torch and that bucket of water?” the person asked. The angel stopped
abruptly, looked at the person and said, “With the torch, I’m going to burn
down the mansions of Heaven, and with the bucket of water, I’m going to put out
the fires of hell. Then we’re going to see who really loves God. The angel’s
point is that many people obey God’s Commandments out of fear of punishment of Hell
or hope of reward in Heaven. They don’t obey him for the reason Jesus gives in
today’s Gospel: they don’t obey them out of love. “If you love me,”
Jesus says in today’s reading, “you will obey my commandments.” (Mark Link in Sunday
Homilies). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
11) Do you belong to a Pentecostal church? During the
Italian occupation of Ethiopia in the days of Mussolini, Christian believers
suffered considerable persecution. In his book, Fire on the Mountains,
Raymond Davis tells of the love demonstrated by believers for each other during
this period of affliction, which in turn made a major impression on
unbelievers. For example, no provision had been made by the invading army to
feed the prisoners they had taken. This was the responsibility of relatives and
friends. Christians in the prisons had no problem, though. They were well cared
for by friends and family. In fact, so much food was brought them by fellow
believers and Church groups that enough remained to feed the unbelieving
prisoners also. This observable love, vibrant though nonverbal, brought
many to seek the Lord. Such love had previously been unheard of. As a result
the word spread far and wide. Non-believers sought out believers to learn more
about the Christian Faith. When prisoners who had come to know Christ while in
jail were released, they went back home and attended the nearest Church.
[Leslie B. Flynn, You Don’t Have To Go It Alone, (Denver, Colorado:
Accent Books, 1981).] — It is only right, then, that we should
pray that we might be a “Pentecostal Church,” if we understand what that means.
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
12) “I need to know if you are Pentecostal.” The
well-known author and preacher, Fred Craddock, tells a rather funny story about
a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the West Coast
speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students
stood up and said, “Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal.”
The room grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the
Seminary! He was nowhere to be found. The student continued with his quiz right
in front of everybody. Craddock was taken aback, and so he said, “Do you mean
do I belong to the Pentecostal Church?” He said, “No, I mean are you
Pentecostal?” Craddock said, “Are you asking me if I am charismatic?” the
student said, “I am asking you if you are Pentecostal.” Craddock said, “Do you
want to know if I speak in tongues?” He said, “I want to know if you are
Pentecostal.” Craddock said, “I don’t know what your question is.” The student
said, “Obviously, you are not Pentecostal.” He left. — What are we talking
about this morning? Is the Church supposed to use the word Pentecost only as a
noun or can it be used as an adjective? And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal?
If the Church is alive in the world, it is Pentecostal. The Church is alive if
we are in one accord, sharing our blessings with the less fortunate ones, if we
are joined together in prayer and if we are repenting people asking forgiveness
from God and others every day. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
13) “It was the Holy Spirit.” Fr. Bob Spitzer, a
Jesuit priest who was the president of Gonzaga University for 12 years tells
about a powerful prayer to the Holy Spirit. It involves asking for the healing
of hurts and memories, not just for own self, but for those one has harmed, always
seeking forgiveness. He tells the story of making an offhand comment that
afterwards he regretted. Unable to call the man, he went to the chapel and
asked the Holy Spirit to heal any harm he had done. A few days later, something
extraordinary happened. Fr. Spitzer ran into the man walking on the
campus, and the man said, “You know Father, I’ve been thinking about what you
told me. At first I was kind of angry, but the more I thought about it,
the more I realized what you were getting at. You actually helped me a
great deal.” As Fr. Spitzer remarked later: “It was the Holy Spirit.” (http://www.magisreasonfaith.org/files/pdfs/spitzerbio.pdf).
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
14) The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of communication: There
have been numerous books written on the difficulty that men and women have in
communicating. It has been estimated that women say something like 6,000 –
8,000 words a day and that men utter 2,000 – 4,000 words a day. At the end of
the day the man has spoken his 4,000 words and doesn’t want to communicate any
more. He simply wants to sit quietly, watch TV and go to bed. A woman most
likely won’t have spoken her 8,000 words for the day yet. She may have 2-3,000
words to go and uses them to share every event of the day. This conversation
may sound familiar. Wife: Hi darling …it’s good to see you home. How was your
day? Husband: Good. Wife: I heard that you were going to finalize that big deal
today. How did it go? Husband: Fine. Wife: That’s good. Do you think the boss
will give you a raise? Husband: Maybe. Wife: Hey! Today I found out that I’m
pregnant. Husband: That’s good. and so on… and then she goes on to
tell everything that happened in her day. — The Holy Spirit communicates with
men and women equally through the Holy Bible and inspires them and guides them
in their communication with God. May God’s Spirit guide and help us as we go
out from here today and give us the courage and power to speak his Word to
others. (Rev. Gerhard) Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
15) Come, Holy Spirit: There was, in Europe, a period of
human history called the Dark Ages. It started in about the fifth century and
continued for the next 600 years. You might say it was a 600-year depression –
food was scarce, people lived hand-to-mouth – and Western civilisation barely
hung by a thread. The one bright spot was the local Cathedral. Building
Cathedrals, even in small towns, gave work to thousands of people. These
buildings became the cultural, social and spiritual centres of life. Murals,
stained glass windows, sculptures and pageantry helped teach the great stories
of the Bible at a time when very few people could read. With this in mind, some
of the cathedral builders chose to impress on the people the meaning of
Pentecost. In the great domed and richly painted ceilings were a number of
small carefully disguised doors. During worship on Pentecost when the whole
town was gathered in the cathedral, some unlucky parishioners were drafted to
climb up on to the roof. At the appropriate moment during the liturgy, they
would release a live dove through the one of the small doors. This dove would
swoop over the congregation as a living symbol of the presence of the Holy
Spirit. At the same time the choir boys would make whooshing noise, the doors
in the ceiling would be opened again and this time rose petals would be
showered on the congregation, symbolizing tongues of flame falling on the
worshippers below. You can imagine the impact that this had on those medieval
Christians whose lives were drab and hard. They might not have been able to
read about Pentecost from the Bible but nevertheless this visual demonstration
must have left a lasting impression. (Rev. Gerhard). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
16) Together they finished the race. Derek
Redmond ran in a semi-final of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Halfway round the
track this British athlete collapsed with a torn hamstring. For some strange
reason, he wanted to finish the race, and he struggled to his feet. Derek’s Dad
got up out of the stand, and he broke his way through security. His Dad picked
up his crying son, and together they finished the race. — That man did what the
Holy Spirit does for us. It’s when we are spiritually exhausted, when we find
ourselves giving into the spirit of slavery again and again, when we can’t
pray, when we don’t want to pray, when our Faith is just not strong enough –-
when there is no way we can finish the race — that is when the
Spirit picks us up and drags us to the finish line. (Rev. Gerhard). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
17) Some Pentecost traditions: Some parishes
have begun the tradition of encouraging people to wear red clothing on
Pentecost, since red is the liturgical color of the day. This reflects the old
custom of decorating homes and churches with colorful flowers on this day. In
Poland, for example, and among the Ukrainians, Pentecost is sometimes called
the “Green Holiday,” and in Germany the “Flower Feast.” In some Latin
countries, there is the term Pascha Rosatum, Latin words that mean
“Pasch [“Easter,” we would say] of Roses.” And in Italy there is the name Pascua
Rossa, meaning “Red Pasch [“Easter,” again],” inspired by the red vestments
worn on Pentecost. Medieval Christians liked to dramatize the Pentecost symbols
of the dove and flames of fire. Historical accounts tell us, for example, that
in France, when the priest intoned the words “Come, Holy Ghost,” trumpets would
blow, signifying the violent wind of which the Scriptures speak. In other countries,
choirboys would hiss, hum, make odd noises with wind instruments, and rattle
their benches. Then from a hole in the wall above, called “The Holy Ghost
Hole,” a great swinging disk with a beautiful image of a dove would descend,
and remain suspended above the middle of the church. From the same opening in
the wall would follow a shower of flowers, representing the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, and water symbolizing Baptism. In the thirteenth century, French
cathedrals would release white pigeons inside the buildings, and drop roses
from the Holy Ghost Hole. Some towns in central Europe even dropped pieces of
burning straw, representing the flaming tongues of Pentecost. This last custom
eventually found disfavor, as more and more churches and worshipers caught
fire, spiritually and literally. (Fr. Hoisington). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
18) “Did you and Grandma ever get into any fights?” A
little girl asked her grandfather, “Did you and Grandma ever get into any
fights?” The grandfather replied: “We don’t talk about it very often, but there
was a time when we were not getting along very well. We seemed to be picking on
each other a lot and finding all kinds of things to argue about and really getting
on one another’s nerves. Well, one day I came in from the garden and I heard a
voice upstairs. I went to the stairs and heard your grandmother telling God
what she could not bring herself to tell me.” “Well, what did you do?” asked
the grand-daughter. “I quietly walked up the stairs,” he replied, “and knelt
down beside her and told God my side of the story. And from that day to this,
we have never had a problem which we couldn’t resolve by talking it over with
each other and with God.”– Do you think the Holy Spirit was active in that
couples’ marriage? There can be no doubt. Conflict will always remain part of
every relationship. The fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control – will always
remain critical for happy relationships with others. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
19) The Holy Spirit clean-up job: The Holy
Spirit not only gives life but even brings dead bones to life. In Greek
mythology, we read about the demi-god Hercules, son of Zeus and Alcmena. He was
noted for his strength and was commanded by the King (whom he was serving in
expiation of a crime), to clean the stables of Augeas, which housed 3000 oxen.
The stable had not been cleaned for 30 years and Hercules was told to do the
job within a day. This was a herculean job to complete. He
could not do it by his own enormous power, so he directed the river Alpheus to
run through the stable and so completed the task. — The apostles themselves did
a great job of cleaning and giving life to people by serving as conduits for
the Holy Spirit Who moveed through the Apostles and into all who were willing
to listen to their words and receive Him into their lives. (Elias Dias in Divine
Stories for Families). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
20) Unseen Guest: Rossini was a great
composer of beautiful music, and the King of France, in gratitude and to honor
him, presented Rossini with a watch which he kept in his showcase with great
pride. One day he showed it to his friend. His friend was surprised to know the
real worth of the royal watch. He touched a button on the watch and a beautiful
photograph of Rossini popped up. All stood in awe! — Rossini had had the watch
for several years and but had never realized its value and importance. Many
people do not know much about the Holy Spirit and His importance in our lives.
(Elias Dias in Divine Stories for Families; quoted by Fr.
Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
21) “Life after Delivery?” In a mother’s womb
were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”
The other replied, “Why, of course! There has to be something after delivery.
Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.” “Nonsense”
said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that
be?” The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here.
Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouth. Maybe we will have
other senses that we can’t understand now.” The first replied, “That is absurd.
Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical
cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so
short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.” The second insisted,
”Well I think there is something, and maybe it’s different from life here.
Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.” The first replied, “Nonsense.
And moreover, if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there?
Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but
darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.” “Well, I don’t know,”
said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of
us.” The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s
laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?” The second said.” She is
all around us. We are surrounded by Her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we
live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.” Said the
first: “Well I don’t see her, so it is only logical that she doesn’t exit.” To
which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and
listen, you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.” — Today is
Pentecost: The Church’s birthday! “Before Pentecost, the disciples were unsure
of what they were to do next, and spent most of their time in hiding. After
Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit, they understood their mission to
spread the Good News of Jesus, and they had the courage to come out of their
hiding and speak openly about who Jesus was, and what he had accomplished by
his dying and rising. (http://www.staugustinechurch.net/homilies/pentecostSundayhomily.htm) Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
22) The Shakespearean Advocate who saved a life: One
of the popular comedies of William Shakespeare is The Merchant of
Venice.” Antonio, a successful merchant of Venice, got into trouble
because of his generosity. His friend Bassanio asked Antonio for a loan.
Antonio agreed, but, as all of his assets were tied up at sea, the two went to
Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Shylock agreed to lend them 3000 ducats, but
only if Antonio would sign a bond offering a pound of his flesh if the loan was
not repaid in three months’ time. Antonio assented to the arrangement.
Unfortunately, Antonio was not able to keep his word. The case reached the court.
Shylock refused Bassanio’s offer of 6,000 ducats, twice the amount of the loan.
He demanded his pound of flesh from Antonio. Everyone present at the scene
pleaded for the life of Antonio. But Shylock was adamant that he wanted the
will to be carried out. Thus, the court must allow Shylock to extract the pound
of flesh. At that very moment, a young Advocate arrived offering to serve as
Defense Lawyer for the case of Antonio. When his turn came to speak, the
Defense Advocate argued that the bond allowed Shylock to remove only the flesh,
not any drop of “blood”, of Antonio. Thus, if Shylock were to shed any drop of
Antonio’s blood, his “lands and goods” would be forfeited under Venetian laws.
— The young Advocate stepped in at a moment when Antonio was in utter
hopelessness. He was sure that he would lose his life. But the Defender’s
arguments and reasoning brought hope to Antonio who began to be reassured. In
this crisis, the presence of an Advocate brought great change to the troubled
life of Antonio. — The disciples of Jesus, too, were in great hopelessness
after the Ascension of Jesus. The message of Resurrection gave them hope and
courage. However, that lasted only for forty days. Again, after the Ascension
they confined themselves behind locked doors. Then came the great miracle. They
found the Great Advocate in their midst. The Holy Spirit descended upon them
like tongues of fire, rekindled their hopes and ignited their courage. It was
the Holy Spirit Who transformed the ignorant men into possessors of Divine
Wisdom. It transformed the cowards into heroes and desperate men into dreamers.
(Fr. Bobby Jose) Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
23) Carnal versus Spiritual: There was once
an Eskimo who used to take his two dogs for a bet-fight in the town square. One
was a black dog the other was white. The people gathered week after week to see
the dogs fight and bet heavily on the outcome. On some days, the black dog won,
and on others the white prevailed. No matter which dog won, the Eskimo made
money. The secret behind his duping of the people was that he would feed well
the dog which he wanted to win. — Do you feed your spiritual self and keep it
strengthened by the daily anointing of the Holy Spirit to win over the carnal
person? “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see
another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Daniel Sunderaj
in Manna for the Soul; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
24) Film: Being John Malkovich: In
the very strange 1999 surrealist movie, Being John Malkovich, someone discovers
a portal into Malkovich’s mind, enabling visitors to see and experience things
through his body and to influence his actions. He becomes aware of what’s
happening and finds the portal himself. At the climax of the movie, there is a
bizarre but powerful scene when he enters the portal, being swept down a dark
tunnel with a roaring sound to emerge as a participant/observer in his own
world. He discovers that everyone has his face and his voice, and every word
spoken is in his name.– Connections with the Pentecost story: the paradox of
the Creator entering his own creation by an unexplainable power; the potential
of the portal to connect people in an unprecedented kind of indwelling. But the
exploitation of the portal by those who find it — selling access, allowing it
to be used to violate someone’s integrity — reminds me of all who abuse the
gift of the Spirit for their own ends or to manipulate others. Seeing the face
of Malkovich everywhere reminds me of the Spirit making Jesus present through
us in a new and all-encompassing way. We are recognizably Christ-like, though
still ourselves, and all we say and do is “in his Name.” It’s a frightening
moment in the movie, because Malkovich has no wish to become omnipresent as a
Christ-figure, but the image is powerful. (Marnie Barre, Film
insights in The Text this Week; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
25) Holy-Roller Service: A little girl was
visiting her grandmother in a small country town in the Southern United States.
They attended a very emotional religious service, where people expressed their
feelings by jumping about and shouting; it was what we might call a “Holy
Roller” service. The little girl asked her grandmother if all that jumping meant
the Holy Spirit was really there. Her grandmother said. “Honey, it don’t matter
how high they jump up! It’s what they do when they come down that will tell you
if it’s the real thing!” — It would be good if we were a little more
enthusiastic about our religion, but what matters is what we do in everyday
life. Does the Holy Spirit have a practical effect on our daily life? In what
way? (Gerard Fuller in Stories for all Seasons; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
26) High tide of the Holy Spirit: A ship strayed
off course near San Diego some years back. It became stuck in a reef at low
tide. Twelve tugboats were unsuccessful in their attempts to budge it. Finally,
the captain instructed the tugs to go back home. He sighed, “I’ll just be
patient and wait.” He waited until high tide. All of a sudden, the ocean began
to rise. What human power could not do, the rising tide of the Pacific Ocean
did. It lifted that ship and put it back into the channel. — Something like
that happened to the early Church on the Day of Pentecost. They were all
together in one place – confused, unmotivated and fearful, when suddenly the
tide of Holy Spirit rolled in. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
27) Niccolo Paganini on one string: The renowned
Italian violinist, violist, cellist, guitarist, and composer, Niccolo Paganini,
was due to perform one night in a very prestigious Concert Hall in Paris. Even
as he walked on to the stage, the audience stood up and cheered with irrepressible
excitement and heart-warming esteem. Resting his violin under his chin, the
celebrated musician began to play with such dexterity and brilliance that the
audience listened with spellbound silence. Suddenly one string of the violin
snapped. But the consummate professional was not deterred. On the contrary, he
continued to play with three strings, and the music was just as fascinating and
impressive. Moments later a second string snapped; and minutes later the third.
The audience gasped in stunned disbelief. What was Paganini going to do? Would
he bow and leave regretfully? Without losing his cool, the famous maestro
raised his hand, called for silence and announced: “Ladies and gentlemen, you
are about to hear Paganini on one string.” What followed thereafter literally
took everyone’s breath away – the performance was flawless, the music
exquisite, the entertainment heavenly and just on one string! Such is the
incomparable touch of the Master’s hand. –This extraordinary story aptly
describes the singular and marvelous role of the Spirit in our personal lives.
(J. Valladares in Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They Are Life; quoted by
Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
28) Why Isn’t the Holy Ghost Included? A woman
wrote to Reader’s Digest. She wanted to tell about an experience
that she had when she took a young girl from India to Church with her. It was
the eleven-year-old girl’s first exposure to a Christian worship service. The
young lady’s parents were traveling on business and had left her in the care of
their American friends. The little Hindu girl decided on her own to go with the
family to Church one Sunday. After the service was over, they went out to
lunch. The little girl had some questions. She wondered, “I don’t understand
why the West Coast isn’t included, too?” Her Christian friends were puzzled and
asked, “What do you mean?” She responded, “You know. I kept hearing the people
say, ‘In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the whole East Coast.’” Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
29) Different gifts, the same Giver: Max Herr,
aged 75, retired in March, 1981 after 52 years as the official Vatican
clock-winder. Pope John Paul II received this German-born clockmaker and his
family in a special audience at the time of his retirement. There are some 50
pendulum clocks in the Vatican. Since 1929, Herr had made the rounds every
Friday winding and resetting them. When they or the many non-pendulum clocks
needed repair, he would clean and overhaul them. Six popes had been his
friends, and he had many “professional” memories of them. Pope Pius XII used to
have him set all the clocks fifteen minutes ahead. Pope Paul VI found ticking
clocks a distraction, so he kept only one timepiece in his rooms: a small alarm
clock he had used since seminary days. American friends gave John Paul II a
grandfather chime clock when he was installed as Pope. Max Herr was certainly
not the most important figure in the central offices of the Catholic Church.
But the role he played in the Vatican, however humble, was expert and
indispensable. — The popes are called by God to save eternal souls, but they
must do their work in a world where time rules. In a sense for 52 years this
German clockmaker had kept the whole Church going! That is what St. Paul meant
when he said, “There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are
different ministries but the same Lord.” Whether great or small, we should all
be happy to use our God-given talents for the benefit of others. “To each
person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Cor.
12:7. Today’s second reading). –(Father Robert F. McNamara. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
30) “Now you know where God lives.” (In a Reader’s
Digest’s article, quoted by Fr. Simplicio Apalisok in his homily book, an
author tells how as a child, he was captivated by the sight of an old man prayerfully
peering into an old cistern. Intrigued about what the old was looking at, the
boy edged up to the cistern and tried to see over the ledge. The old man held
him with his shovel-like hands helped him over the ledge of the wheel. “Do you
know who lives there?” the old man asked. The frightened boy shook his head.
“God lives there. Look!” but the boy only saw his reflection in the still
water. “But that’s me,” said the boy. “That’s right,” said the old man. “Now
you know where God lives.” (https://justmehomely.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/pentecost-sunday-year-b/)
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
31) Teilhard de Chardin , Karl Rahner and Hans Küng on
Pentecost: “The day will come,” said Teilhard de Chardin,
“when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall
harness for God the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in
the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire.” In a sense the annual
feast of Pentecost is another opportunity, placed in the path of the believer,
for discovering and participating in the ever-present fire which is God’s love.
Pentecost rounds out and climaxes the Easter event. All that we have remembered
and celebrated, viz., Jesus’ saving death, His Resurrection and His Ascension
to glory, all of these sacred events took place so that the Holy Spirit might
be unleashed upon the world. As Karl Rahner (The Great Church Year, the
Crossroad Pub. Co., New York: 1994) once explained, Pentecost calls us to the
realization that the Center of all reality, the innermost Heart of all
infinity, the Love of the all-holy God, has become our Center, our Heart. God
is ours. God has been given to us as gift, without reserve. God has made our
own the joy, freedom, knowledge and peace of the Divine life. Hans Küng (Why
I Am Still a Christian, Abingdon Press, Nashville TN: 1987) suggests that
before the power of the Holy Spirit can truly take hold, all contrary spirits
must be exorcized… to “… make room for the Spirit who is both tender and
strong, who reconciles and unites.” (Sanchez Files). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021. (L/21)
From Fr. Jude Botelho:
At Pentecost the Spirit breaks through all the barriers and comes dramatically with all the signs that accompany it. The Spirit comes like a mighty wind, unstoppable and unpredictable; the Spirit comes as fire that enlightens, warms and purifies; the Spirit comes in the shape of tongues descending on each of the apostles giving each one the gift of speaking, of communicating. The miracle of Pentecost is not seen only in the external signs that accompany it, but is seen in the transformation brought about in the apostles themselves. At Pentecost the apostles become fearless and face the crowds and are proud to proclaim Jesus Christ. Before Pentecost they did not understand things that Jesus explained to them, now they not only understood but they themselves were understood by people who listened to them. When they were least expecting it, the promise that Jesus gave was fulfilled. God cannot be controlled or put on our time-table. So often God is at work in our lives but we do not recognize it.Did you ever notice the Spirit in yourself or others around you?Some days ago I asked some school children to tell me about the Holy Spirit. They told me about fire, the storm, Peter on the balcony, the languages and the baptisms in the street. When I asked them: "Did you ever notice the work of the Spirit in yourself or others around you?" No one knew what to answer. They looked at me with their large querying eyes. I changed the question. I asked them: "Did you ever do anything really good?" Again they had no answer. Again I asked: "Did your parents, father and mother, ever do anything good?" No answer. So I said: "Sit down comfortably. Close your eyes ask yourself, what good did I do?" They sat down as comfortably as they could. They closed their eyes and suddenly the answers came. One had saved a small child from a river. One had forgiven her sisters. One said: "My mother takes care of me. That is good." Another said: "My father is helping a poor man." Slowly, slowly they became aware of the good, the love, the care in their daily lives: the work of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph Donders in 'Praying and Preaching the Sunday Gospel'
In today's gospel John shows how closely the presence of the Spirit in the Church was connected with the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The descent of the Spirit ushers in the blessing of peace, "Peace be with you! Shalom!" Secondly, the Spirit is the gift of the Father breathed on them, given to them by Jesus. It is always a gift given from the abundance of the Father, and the gift becomes valuable when we accept it with open hands and with an open heart, believing in the power of this Holy Spirit. Those who receive the gift experience the forgiveness of sins; they are healed and set free from the bondage of sin in all its varied forms. The Spirit brings reconciliation with God and we in turn are called to be instruments of peace and forgiveness towards all our brothers and sisters. By tying the gift of the Holy Spirit to Easter, the gospel emphasises that the Spirit is the gift of the Risen One, and as such conveys the benefits of His death and resurrection. The Pentecost imagery of wind and fire emphasises the replacement of the Mosaic Law by the gift of the new law of the Spirit as the basis of life for the new community gathered together and bound together by the Holy Spirit.
The important lesson
I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl playing in the sand. They were hard at work, by the water's edge, building an elaborate sand castle with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand. I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me. Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands and sat down to build another castle. I realized that they had taught me an important lesson. All the things in our lives, all our complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships with other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh.
Rabbi Harold Kushner from 'Stories for a Man's Heart'
Pentecost everywhere, all the time
I was in an underground train, a crowded train in which all sorts of people jostled together, sitting and strap-hanging -workers of every description going home at the end of the day. Quite suddenly I saw in my mind, as vividly as a wonderful picture, Christ in them all. But I saw more than that: not only was Christ in everyone of them, living in them, dying in them, rejoicing in them, sorrowing in them -because He was in them and because they were here, the whole world was here too, here in this underground train: not only the world as it was at this moment, not only all the people in all the countries of the world, but all the people who had lived in the past, and all those yet to come. I came out into the street and walked for a long time in the crowds. It was the same here, on every side, in every passerby-Christ!
Caryll Houselander in 'A Rocking-horse Catholic'
The Indwelling Spirit
Rossini was an Italian who composed some beautiful music. He was once given a beautiful watch by the King of France. He was very proud of this watch because it was a royal gift. A few years after he had been given it, he showed it to a friend. His friend told him that although he had the watch for years he did not know its real value. "Impossible" said Rossini. "Lend it to me for a moment", said his friend. Taking the watch, he touched a secret spring and an inner case flew open revealing a beautiful little painting of Rossini himself. The composer had never known that the painting was there.
Anthony Castle in 'Quotes and Anecdotes'
The Spirit of Reconciliation
There were two brothers living on adjoining farms who developed a bitter conflict. It began with a small misunderstanding that grew into a major difference, and exploded into bitter exchange of words. They stopped talking to each other as well as visiting each other. One day a man came knocking at the door of John the elder brother. It was a carpenter looking for a day's work. John said, "Look across the creek at that farm. Once there was a meadow between our farms but my brother bulldozed it and now there stands a creek between us. Well, he might have done it to spite me. But I got the better of him. I have a pile of lumber in my barn and I want you to build an 8-foot tall fence so I don't have to look at his place anymore. Okay?" Meanwhile, John needed to go to town for supplies. When he returned he stood horrified because there was no fence but a bridge. And to his amazement his younger brother came across the bridge with arms outstretched. The two brothers embraced one another. Sometimes we need a third person to reconcile us. No wonder Jesus sent his Spirit to us to do that job. Peace and forgiveness are the two signs of a transformed people. Pentecost is the right time to renew our commitment to peace and forgiveness.
John Pichappilly in 'The Table of the Word'
Every Sunday, a tribal from the mountain used to come to the market place along with two dogs - a white dog and a black dog. He had trained the dogs to fight on command. Every Sunday afternoon there used to be a dogfight in which the people in the market-place used to take bets. One Sunday the black dog won; another Sunday the white dog won - whichever dog won, invariably the tribal always won. His friends asked him what the secret of his winning was. He said, "I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger." -We have two natures within us, fighting for mastery -the carnal and the spiritual nature, or the sinful and Christ-filled nature. The one we feed the most wins in the end. If we feed our spiritual nature and allow the Holy Spirit to empower us, He rules over us. But if we feed our sinful nature, the flesh rules over us. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. "Come Holy Spirit!"
John Rose in 'John's Sunday Homilies'
May the Spirit of Jesus fill you and bring newness into your life!\
2. We Are To Join Together Constantly in Prayer
3. We Are To Repent
- pulling the heavy trash bags along the ground,
- trying to keep her worn-out robe closed by holding her arms close together,
- sliding her feet along to keep her house-shoes on,
- and sporting huge pink plastic rollers in her hair.
- Can you polish the silver and wash the dishes? "Yes Sir!"
- Can you keep things picked up and neat... and the lawn mowed? "Yes Sir!"
It's like the story of the shark and the whale. Both were swimming in the sea when the shark swam up to the whale to engage in conversation. As they swam along, the shark said to the whale, "You are so much older than I, and wiser too. Could you tell me where the ocean is?" The whale responded, "The ocean is what you are in now." The shark would not believe it. "Come on, tell me where the ocean is so I may find it!" The whale repeated, "The ocean is here, now; you are in it." Unbelieving, the shark swam away searching for the ocean.
Today's holy solemnity puts new heart into us, for not only do we revere its dignity, we also experience it as delightful. On this feast it is love that we specially honor, and among human beings there is no word pleasanter to the ear, no thought more tenderly dwelt on, than love.
The love we celebrate is nothing other than the goodness, kindness, and charity of God; for God himself is goodness, kindness, and charity. His goodness is identical with his Spirit, with God himself.
In his work of disposing all things "the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world" from the beginning, "reaching from end to end of the earth in strength, and delicately disposing everything; but as sanctifier the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world" since Pentecost, for on this day the gracious Spirit himself was sent by the Father and the Son on a new mission, in a new mode, by a new manifestation of his mighty power, for the sanctification of every creature.
A wealthy family from Massachusetts used to take a month's vacation every summer to the coast of Maine, taking their maid with them. The maid had an annual ritual at the beach. She wore an old-fashioned bathing suit, complete with a little white hat, and carried enough paraphernalia to stock Wal-Mart. She would settle herself on the beach, cover every inch of her exposed flesh and journey down to the water's edge. There she would hesitate while taking deep breaths and working up her courage to enter the icy-cold water. Finally, she would daintily extend one foot and lower it slowly into the water until she barely had her big toe submerged. Then she repeated the act with the other foot. Then, having satisfied her minimal urge for a swim, she would retreat to her chair and umbrella and spend the remainder of the vacation curled around a book.
I'm afraid that may be a parable of our Christian commitment. Are we afraid to give in to the Pentecost experience, fearful that we might lose control? That's what it is really all about, isn't it? Control. We want to be in control. Well, if Pentecost is to do nothing else, it should remind us that we are not in control, not even - or perhaps I should say especially - of ourselves.
Randy L. Hyde, Time to Deliver
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They All Come Together
John Ortberg tells the story of a friend who made his first trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line from Chicago to Georgia. On his first morning in the South he went into a restaurant to order breakfast, and it seemed that every dish included something called grits...which, as my Tennessee friends tell me, is exactly the way God intended it. Not being familiar with this southern delicacy, he asked the waitress, "Could you tell me, exactly what is a grit?" Looking down on him with a mixture of compassion and condescension, she said, "Sugar, you can't get just one grit. They always come together."
John Wesley knew there was no personal holiness without social holiness, and Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Dillard says, "You can no more go to God alone than you can go to the North Pole alone." We're just like grits...you can't get just one. They come together.
John E. Harnish, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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Peace
The peace Jesus gives to us through the Holy Spirit is more than we can ever imagine:
Peace means a feeling of inner well-being, but it also means much more.
Peace means an end to psychological tensions, but it also means much more.
Peace means halting interpersonal conflicts, but it also means much more.
Peace means the settling of silence on the soul, but it also means much more.
