The Silent Helper of the Lord

PENTECOST SUNDAY
31 May 2009



Alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world. Come, let us worship him, alleluia.

First reading Acts 2:1-11
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 103:1,24,29-31,34

Second reading 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13
No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

Gospel John 20:19-23
In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.

‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’
After saying this he breathed on them and said:
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’

Reflection
by Grace Madrinan

For some reason, my friend was not in good terms with his manager. Just seeing her gets his head to a boil, how much more talking to her for an hour! His exasperated face is still very vivid in my memory, and still amuses me each time. Yet the moment he sings this song, his face lightens up. After a few moments, he is ready to face his manager composed and coherent. It was a mystery to me back then.

Before I attended the Life in the Spirit Seminar, I was not aware of how the Holy Spirit played a role in our faith. I am familiar with the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. I knew that the Father loved us so much that He sent His Son to the world so that we may believe in Him and be saved. And I knew how our Lord Jesus Christ died for us in the cross and rose on the third day. I can clearly picture them in my mind. As for the Holy Spirit, the only illustration I got from the Bible is the ‘tongue of fire’ during Pentecost.

But later on I realized that the Holy Spirit is always present wherever the Son is. It may not have a distinct face, as it take on many forms, but it have a distinct presence. It is the tears when you repent during a confession, the lightness of heart when you sing praises during worship, the flood of inspiration when you give advice to a friend in conflict and the compassion when you give alms to the needy … the Holy Spirit is at work. It is the driving force that moves us to action, the silent Helper of the Lord.

So whenever we are in trouble, weakened and in doubt, we need only call on the Holy Spirit and soon the fire will come rushing in to awaken our weary heart. We just have to prepare our hearts and minds to be overwhelmed by Its presence, and be ready to be led to wherever our mission is.






Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we rely on You to fire up our hearts, instill to us a burning passion to do Your will. Amen.