At the beginning of this eighth and final week of Easter, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Pentecost. The apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary receive the promise of our Savior in receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Emboldened by the Third Person of the Trinity, the apostles begin to fearlessly proclaim the Gospel beginning in Jerusalem.

Readings:

Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1,24,29-31,34
1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13
John 20:19-23

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

Power From Above - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa

St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)

A Mighty Wind - St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

Pentecost Feast-The Gifts and Charisms of The Holy Spirit - The Crossroads Initiative

Pentecost Sunday

Eastertide concludes with Pentecost Sunday, the fiftieth day, and its commemoration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles (cf. Acts 2, 1-4), the Church's foundation, and the beginning of its mission to all nations and peoples. The protracted celebration of the vigil Mass has a particular importance in cathedrals and some parishes, since it reflects the intense persevering prayer of the Christian community in imitation of the Apostles united in prayer with Mother of Jesus.

The mystery of Pentecost exhorts us to prayer and commitment to mission and enlightens popular piety which is a "continued sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church. He arouses faith, hope and charity, in the hearts [of the faithful] and those ecclesial virtues which make popular piety valuable. The same Spirit ennobles the numerous and varied ways of transmitting the Christian message according to the culture and customs of all times and places".

The faithful are well used to invoking the Holy Spirit especially when initiating new undertakings or works or in times of particular difficulties. Often they use formulas taken from the celebration of Pentecost (Veni Creator Spiritus, Veni Sancte Spiritus) or short prayers of supplication (Emitte Spiritum tuum et creabuntur). The third glorious mystery of the Rosary invites the faithful to meditate on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Confirmation they are conscious of receiving the Spirit of wisdom and counsel to guide and assist them; the Spirit of strength and light to help them make important decisions and to sustain the trials of life. The faithful are also aware that through Baptism their bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit to be respected and honoured, even in death, and they know that the body will be raised up on the last day through the power of the Holy Spirit.

While the Holy Spirit gives access to communion with God in prayer, he also prompts us towards service of our neighbour by encountering him, by reconciliation, by witness, by a desire for justice and peace, by renewal of outlook, by social progress and missionary commitment. In some Christian communities, Pentecost is celebrated as a "day of intercession for the missions".

Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (156)

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This week's excerpt from the Catechism teaches us about what God reveals to us in Pentecost. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles is a completion of Christ's Passover and further revelation of the Holy Trinity.

731   On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.

732   On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated.

We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith: we adore the indivisible Trinity, who has saved us.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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The parish calendar for May has been posted. You can access it by clicking on the May calendar displayed in this post or by clicking here. It can always be accessed from the "Parish Calendar" link on the right side of the parish's home page.

The calender lists the events and activities which are associated with the parish including mass times, committee meetings, and opportunities for outreach. If you find any incorrect information, please send an email to the webmaster to have the calender corrected.

In addition, to information about parish events, the calendar includes other information about the Church.

The picture above shows several typical days in the parish calendar. The items circled in red are links that can be used to access the daily mass readings, information about the saints, and Bible study information on the Sunday mass readings.

1. Click on the date to access the daily mass readings. This is illustrated by the circled 12 in the picture.


2. Click on the saints' links to get more information about the saints. In the example above, to learn more about our Lady of Fatima, you would click on the link circled on the 13th.


3. Click on the Bible study links to ready Bible studies on the liturgical readings for that day. In the picture above, you would click on the PENTECOST link to read the Bible study for that Sunday's readings. Bible studies are available for every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation in addition to several other important liturgical days.

The Ascension of the Lord falls on the sixth Thursday in Easter. However, in the Diocese of Richmond, the feast is transferred to the Seventh Sunday in Easter which is May 4th this year.

Readings:

Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:2-3,6-7,8-9
Ephesians 1:17-23
Matthew 28:16-20

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• Ascension - What's in it for Me? from The Crossroads Initiative

Pentecost Novena
Novena Dates May 2-10, Feast Day May 11

Dearest Holy Spirit, confiding in Your deep, personal love for me, I am making this novena for the following request, if it be Your Holy Will to grant it:
(mention your request).

Teach me, Divine Spirit, to know and seek my last end; grant me the holy fear of God; grant me true contrition and patience. Do not let me fall into sin. Give me an increase of faith, hope and charity, and bring forth in my soul all the virtues proper to my state in life. Make me a faithful disciple of Jesus and an obedient child of the Church. Give me efficacious grace sufficient to keep the Commandments and to receive the Sacraments worthily. Give me the four Cardinal Virtues, Your Seven Gifts, Your Twelve Fruits. Raise me to perfection in the state of life to which You have called me and lead me through a happy death to everlasting life. I ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy. - St. Thérèrse of Liseaux

The Holy Father's prayer intentions for May are:

General: That Christians may use literature, art and the media to greater advantage to favor a culture which defends and promotes the values of the human person.

Mission: That just as she accompanied the Apostles in the early stages of the Church, may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization and Queen of Apostles, continue to guide missionaries throughout the world with maternal affection.

Pro-Life Prayer Intention

For an increase in the spirit of respectful dialogue with those who disagree with us on life issues.

In anticipation of Pentecost, the Gospel reading for the Sixth Sunday in Easter is from the Gospel of John, where Jesus says, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you.

Readings:

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20
1 Peter 3:15-18
John 14:15-21

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• Be a Paraclete for Others - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa


• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• Alive in the Spirit (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• The Holy Spirit - The Paraclete from The Crossroads Initiative

As we continue in this Easter season, we remember the incredible miracle of our Lord's resurrection. This week's excerpt from the Catechism mentions some of Jesus' appearances to His disciples and the importance of their witness to His having been raised from the dead.

641   Mary Magdalene and the holy women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus, which had been buried in haste because the Sabbath began on the evening of Good Friday, were the first to encounter the Risen One. Thus the women were the first messengers of Christ's Resurrection for the apostles themselves. They were the next to whom Jesus appears: first Peter, then the Twelve. Peter had been called to strengthen the faith of his brothers, and so sees the Risen One before them; it is on the basis of his testimony that the community exclaims: "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"

642   Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church. the faith of the first community of believers is based on the witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary "witnesses to his Resurrection", but they are not the only ones - Paul speaks clearly of more than five hundred persons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles.

643   Given all these testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical fact. It is clear from the facts that the disciples' faith was drastically put to the test by their master's Passion and death on the cross, which he had foretold. The shock provoked by the Passion was so great that at least some of the disciples did not at once believe in the news of the Resurrection. Far from showing us a community seized by a mystical exaltation, the Gospels present us with disciples demoralized ("looking sad") and frightened. For they had not believed the holy women returning from the tomb and had regarded their words as an "idle tale". When Jesus reveals himself to the Eleven on Easter evening, "he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen."

644   Even when faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful, so impossible did the thing seem: they thought they were seeing a ghost. "In their joy they were still disbelieving and still wondering." Thomas will also experience the test of doubt and St. Matthew relates that during the risen Lord's last appearance in Galilee "some doubted." Therefore the hypothesis that the Resurrection was produced by the apostles' faith (or credulity) will not hold up. On the contrary their faith in the Resurrection was born, under the action of divine grace, from their direct experience of the reality of the risen Jesus.


Catechism of the Catholic Church

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This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

The Gospel Reading for this Sunday is from St. John's Gospel. In the reading, the apostle Thomas asks Jesus how the disciples can know the way, and Jesus replies that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He continues on to tell them that if they know Him, they will know the Father. To this comment, St. Philip asks if Jesus would simply show them the Father. Jesus replies that if they have seen Him, they have seen the Father because the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son.

Readings:

Acts 6:1-7
Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
1 Peter 2:4-9
John 14:1-12

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• Man More than Dust? - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa (Courtesy of Zenit)


• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• Building His House (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life from The Crossroads Initiative

Today the Holy Father arrives in the U.S. for his first pastoral visit to our country. Here are a listing of the many links that you can access to get more information and follow along with the coverage of his visit.

• The Official USCCB Web Site for the Holy Father's Visit


• EWTN's Web Site for the Holy Father's Visit (including streaming video)


• The Vatican's Web site for the Holy Father's Visit


• Pope 2008 (Blog from the National Catholic Register)


• Benedict in America Blog


• Vatican Radio


• Liturgical Texts for the Holy Father's Visit (PDF)


• Zenit News Service


• Catholic News Service Coverage of the Papal Visit


• Catholic University's Official Web Site for the Holy Father's Visit

The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Easter reminds us the Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He calls to each of us to follow Him. When we heed His voice and follow Him, He will guide us to the pasture where we can feed. The Good Shepherd is also our Savior as the second reading from St. Peter's first epistle teaches us. He suffered and died for us who are like sheep that had gone astray. After we go astray, we must repent of our sins and return to our Good Shepherd.

Readings:

Acts 2:14, 36-41
Psalm 23:1-6
1 Peter 2:20-25
John 10:1-10

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• Sheep That Go Astray - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa (Courtesy of Zenit)


• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• What Are We to Do? from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Abundant Life from The Crossroads Initiative

Catholics Come Home is an independent, non-profit charity started and supported by a number of Catholic families and individuals. They began this ministry to welcome back those who have left the Church, for whatever reasons. The apostolate utilizes the media to inspire, educate and evangelize inactive Catholics and others, and invite them to live a deeper faith in Jesus Christ, in accord with the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.

The "Catholics Come Home program" began in 1998, with the creation of a multimedia campaign for the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. In a matter of only a few weeks, the ads helped 3,000 inactive souls return to their Catholic faith!

This is an excellent site. Although much of the material consists of links to external sites, it provides a useful organization of information.

From Catholic Culture

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This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.