(Vigil) 1 st Reading: Genesis 11:1-9

The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of Easter)/Year A Coffee/Donuts (Youth Ministry/Steubenville Trip) /Pitch for Liturgy of the Word with Children Catechists Continuation of The Introductory Rites 3/4 June 2017 Our Lady of Victory Parish Community (Vigil) 1 st Reading: Genesis 11:1-9 - The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words... Let us go down there and confuse their language.... That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the speech of all the world. It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth. Leaving an opportunity for the Spirit to regather and build from their diversity... (Solemnity) 1 st Reading: Acts 2:1-11 - When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.... And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in diferent tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.... but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language..... yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God. Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 104 - Sung (Vigil) 2 nd Reading: Romans 8:22-27 - We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,....For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees is not hope.... But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with

Page 2 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of endurance. In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness;... (Solemnity) 2 nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 - No one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;... different forms of service but the same Lord;... different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. (Vigil) GOSPEL: JOHN 7:37-39 - Let anyone who thirst come to me and drink. As Scripture says: Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me. He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. (Solemnity) GOSPEL: JOHN 20:19-23 - On the evening of that first day of the week,... Peace be with you.... The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.... Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I sent you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained. The Sunday assembly is the original gift of the Holy Spirit s work in the life of the Church.

Page 3 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of I. No matter which of the readings are proclaimed this weekend... whether (the ones we hear this night on the Vigil of Pentecost) or (the ones we will hear tomorrow on the Solemnity; the ones we hear today on this, the Solemnity of Pentecost)... there are several common instructions running through them... and one purpose... to pass along the truth about God s Holy Spirit... the promised Advocate... the third person of the Blessed Trinity who gathers humankind from the ends of the earth... from wherever we are... and despite our differences... unites us under one God and Savior and for one purpose... God s Holy Spirit... the promised Advocate... who purposefully and intentionally, disperses, as we hear in the Vigil reading from Saint Paul s first letter to the Corinthians, different kinds of spiritual gifts and who reminds us that there are different forms of service but the same Lord;... different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

Page 4 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of Lest we doubt this... in the John s Gospel from the Solemnity of Pentecost... Jesus does not disappoint those, huddled together in that upper room waiting, fearful... concerned... doubting... Jesus does not disappoint, and he appears before them... breathes on them and FILLS them with the gift of this wondrous Spirit... not simply intending to fill them with particular blessings... but having a specific purpose... filling them with the Spirit for some benefit... not private nor personal... but so they might be formed as a community and communion of believers and so that the Church... the people of God... you and me and others... could and would ultimately continue the mission of Jesus Christ... II. This gathering... this celebration of Eucharist... this Mass... this liturgy... is intended to be a clear reminder that we have been called together... gathered from all ends of the area... that we are diverse... but united by one Spirit, under one God, to become more... the one Body of Christ... and all of this for some benefit... some purpose. Last week... we moved through all that has taken place up to and through the Procession...

Page 5 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of some of its historic development and some of its purpose... this week... landed in the Sanctuary toward which we focus our attention throughout this celebration... we, once again, continue these Introductory Rites... with the Sign of the Cross... certainly, not foreign to us in our prayer life for it is the Cross that is the symbol of our salvation... of God s love for us... of Jesus Christ s sacrifice for us and of the Spirit s gift to us... This particular liturgical gesture was very common among the 2 nd century Christians and in the 4 th century was incorporated into many places in the celebration of the sacraments, but it was not until Medieval times that it appeared at the beginning of Mass... placing all the work that we do under this great symbol of salvation and under the power and presence of the Trinity. Also, while slow to develop, in time, a Greeting made its way into these rites... I have, at times, been asked as to why it seems so formal... realizing that many, if not all of us have certainly experienced greetings that not only are less formal but certainly seem to be much more homey...

Page 6 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of Formal, or not... the purpose of the greeting is to simply and clearly proclaim the presence of God in our midst and draws on Scripture to do so... for it is God who has called us together and it is those gathered who respond... Perhaps, the one we are most familiar with... taken from Saint Paul s Letter to the Galatians, is: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all., to which, our heartfelt response is: And with your Spirit. This is but one reminder, to any who might suggest that the Roman Catholic Church does not depend upon or incorporate Scripture into our worship and way of life... this Greeting, as well as so much more of the Mass, incorporates a lot of Scripture throughout. The words of greeting are intended, as previously stated, to remind us of more than Well, I hope that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ... the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit are with me. The words of greeting are a declaration that they are indeed with us... God is here, at this time and in the place and with each and every one of

Page 7 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of us. The response, And with your Spirit, is much more than an expression of good will... It is an acknowledgement of the ordained minister whose spirit has received the gift of the Spirit of God in ordination and as such, is now a unique servant of Christ... something Saint Paul speaks of in his 1 st Letter to the Corinthians... and through this simple dialogue between priest/presider and assembled believers... the mystery of the Church gathered is made manifest... not only comes into being but is visible. At this point, when appropriate and necessary for good, pastoral reasons, there is an opportunity given to provide a brief explanation, or, as the General Instruction to the Roman Missal states, exhortations so as to direct their attention to the celebration and ensure that they are better disposed for understanding it.... This would not include something like, Please, refrain from taking pictures during the Mass, or, Be certain to turn off your cell phones... at least, not at this place in the Mass. This, according to the General Instruction of the Missal, is either carried out by the priest/presider, Deacon, or, the sole function a Commentator, if

Page 8 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of there is one, and not to be done from the Ambo... the Table of the Word, as that should always be reserved from the proclamation of Scripture, leading the Responsorial Psalm, and the Homily. We ve been signed, greeted, perhaps introduced... and now, we are invited to pause, to acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries. For centuries, this Act of Penitence was not part of the Roman Mass... while the Confiteor... I confess to Almighty God...... did appear among some of the prayers that the priest/presider and other ministers prayed at the foot of the Altar... some of us Pre-Vatican II folks can well remember this... as well as the minister prior to distributing communion... and these were private... not public... At the Second Vatican Council, when the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy was being formulated, this came under great debate since our long-standing Catholic understanding has been that the Eucharist is very much a sacrament of reconciliation... the incorporation of this portion of

Page 9 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of the Introductory Rites is what we have today... placing this Act of Penitence where we find it today, rooted very much in the Scripture passage from the Gospel of Matthew: Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then, come and offer your gift., but also in the first century Didache, known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, the oldest written text on liturgical, sacramental and other matters like this, that has been discovered... There, it is written, on the Lord s Day people are to come together to break the bread and give thanks after first confessing their sins so that the sacrifice will be pure. This Penitential Act has 4 distinct parts: it begins with an Invitation to call to mind our sins... never intended to be an examination of conscience but an acknowledgment of our need for continual conversion AND a proclamation of faith in God who is loving, kind, and the source of all reconciliation and healing... it is a call and action to focus, not so much on us, but on this merciful God.

Page 10 - The Vigil and Solemnity of Pentecost (End of the Season of Still, as human persons... when we hear a statement such as call to mind, we need time to do that... silence... a sacred silence that is called for throughout the Liturgy... here... after the Collect and Prayer after Communion, after each Reading... following the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel, Homily and after Communion... and it is up to the priest/presider to allow for those periods of sacred silence... rather than moving on to the next action... It is up to the priest/presider to stop, especially at these particular times in the liturgy... and not simply race through as if he needs to catch the Chapel Hill bus before it pulls out... Again, there will be more on topic of sacred silence, as well, in the weeks ahead.... and completion of the Introductory Rites the weekend after next... picking up on the Act of Penitence, and continuing with the Glory to God and the purpose of the Collect, which concludes the Introductory Rites and moves us into the Liturgy of the Word.