Reflection for Pentecost- May 23, 2021

Written on: May 19, 2021

1st Reading: Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
Gospel: John 20:19-23

Reflection on the image: Just as the Spirit came upon Mary, depicted here as a flower, the Spirit hovers over our world as God’s Providence, creating ever new opportunities for God’s grace to enter our own hearts.

(Chapel window, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, Yardley, PA)

Pentecost comes from the Greek word, “pentekoste,” which means fiftieth.

“When 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…there appeared to them tongues of fire…And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:1-5)

We Grey Nuns may not have seen tongues of fire nor heard a strong driving wind, but we do remember when the Holy Spirit “came upon us” calling us to religious life as Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart.

We remember all of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart who, responding to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, welcomed us and served with us for so many years.

We, the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart still serve because of God’s gift of the Spirit.

Deo Gratias!

And so, on this Pentecost of 2021, we pray for ourselves and for our world,

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end.

Amen.  Alleluia.

Pentecost Sequence

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