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THE FEAST OF PENTECOST SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013
THE FEAST OF PENTECOSTSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013
IN YOUR NOTES, MAY SURE YOU ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING:1. WHAT IS PENTECOST?2. WHAT ARE THE 7 GIFTS OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT?3. WHICH GIFT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE
MORE OF IN YOUR LIFE? WHY?
BEFORE WE BEGIN Some symbols for the Holy Spirit are:
FIRE
WATER
WIND
What do these have in common? (Think of wildfires, oceans, and strong winds…) ELEMENTS UNPREDICTABLE UNCONTROLLABLE ALL-CONSUMING– THEY CAN GO EVERYWHERE FAST!
WHAT IS PENTECOST? 50th day after Easter The “birthday” of the Church Acts of the Apostles chapter 2:
Story of the original Pentecost Jews from all over were gathered in Jerusalem to
celebrate the Jewish feast. On that Sunday, ten days after the Ascension of Our
Lord, the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary were gathered in the Upper Room, where they had seen Christ after His Resurrection:
Christ had promised His Apostles that He would sent His Holy Spirit, and, on Pentecost, they were granted the gifts of the Spirit.
The Apostles began to preach the Gospel in all of the languages that the Jews who were gathered there spoke, and about 3,000 people were converted and baptized that day.
ACTS 2:1-11When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,and it filled the entire house in which they were.Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.And they were all filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak in different tongues,as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heavenstaying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE CHURCH! On the Feast of Pentecost, special things
happen!; The Holy Spirit comes down Christ's mission is completed The New Covenant is inaugurated St. Peter (the first pope) was already the leader
and spokesman for the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday
1 COR 12:3B-7, 12-13 Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
As a body is one though it has many parts,and all the parts of the body, though many, are one
body,so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
WISDOM UNDERSTANDING COUNSEL FORTITUDE KNOWLEDGE PIETY FEAR OF THE LORD
WISDOM Wisdom is the first and highest gift of the
Holy Spirit It is the perfection of faith Through wisdom, we come to value what we
believe through faith The truths of Christian belief are more
important than the things of this world Wisdom helps us to love Creation for the
sake of God, rather than just loving Creation for its own sakeCreation is a gift from GodAt the same time, we must care for
Creation
THE HOLY SPIRIT
WHAT IS ONE EXAMPLE IN WHICH YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS
GIFT?
UNDERSTANDING Understanding allows us to grasp, at least in
a limited way, the very essence of the truths of the Catholic Faith
Through understanding, we become certain about our beliefs
WHAT IS ONE EXAMPLE IN WHICH YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS
GIFT?
COUNSEL Counsel is the perfection of the cardinal
virtue of prudence Prudence can be practiced by anyone, but
counsel is supernatural Through this gift, we are able to judge how
best to act almost by intuition—the gut feeling inside of us that guides us in life
Because of the gift of counsel, we don’t need to be afraid of standing up for the truths of the Faith, because the Holy Spirit will guide us in defending those truths
WHAT IS ONE EXAMPLE IN WHICH YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS
GIFT?
FORTITUDE Fortitude is both a gift of the Holy Spirit and a
cardinal virtue Fortitude gives us the strength to follow
through on the actions suggested by the gift of counsel
Fortitude is sometimes called courage, but it goes beyond “normal” courage
Fortitude is the virtue of the martyrs that allows them to suffer death rather than to give up our Christian Faith
WHAT IS ONE EXAMPLE IN WHICH YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS
GIFT?
KNOWLEDGE Knowledge is NOT the same as Wisdom and
Understanding Like wisdom, knowledge is the perfection of
faith BUT although wisdom gives us the desire to
judge all things according to the truths of the Catholic Faith, knowledge is the actual ability to do so Like counsel, it is aimed at our actions in this life
In a small way, knowledge helps us to see the situations and road signs of our life the way that God sees them
Through this gift of the Holy Spirit, we can determine God's purpose for our lives
WHAT IS ONE EXAMPLE IN WHICH YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS
GIFT?
PIETY Piety is the perfection of the virtue of religion Religion means a “binding together” of
people in faith “Religion” refers to the willingness to worship
and to serve God Piety gives us a desire to worship God and to
serve God out of love
WHAT IS ONE EXAMPLE IN WHICH YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS
GIFT?
FEAR OF THE LORD No other gift of the Holy Spirit is so
misunderstood Fear of the Lord confirms the theological
virtue of hope It doesn’t mean that you’re “afraid” God is
going to do something bad This gift of the Holy Spirit gives us the desire
not to offend God It makes us certain that God will supply us
the grace that we need in order to keep from offending Him
Our desire not to offend God is out of love
WHAT IS ONE EXAMPLE IN WHICH YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS
GIFT?
JN 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”When he had said this, he showed them his
hands and his side.The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”And when he had said this, he breathed on them
and said to them,“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Do the words Jesus says in this passage sound familiar?
The priest says them in Mass! After Jesus dies, He sends the Holy Spirit, the
Third Person of the Trinity, to remind the disciples of what Jesus has taught them AND to teach them new things
The Holy Spirit is with us today, guiding us in many ways!
Jesus “breathes” on them the Holy Spirit Wind is a symbol for the Spirit God also breathes life into the first human in
Genesis
