Happy Birthday!

Yesterday I made some more of my clay sticks, a cat, and a house: 

I also finished a flowered cross: 

I did not attach the flowers and leaves, thinking it will be easier to paint, plus if I make other flowers and leaves, each piece can be unique! 

“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, 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 Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” Acts 2:1-4

My sister Peggy and brother-in-law Charlie attended the Golden Jubilee of the Catholic Charismatic renewal in Rome in 2017. Representatives from the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches were present as well. After all, the renewal started in Duquesne University in February 1967, during a student retreat, when they invited a Pentecostal to speak about what happened in the Book of Acts and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. During that retreat, God poured down His Holy Spirit and students began experiencing Him in a new way. Patti Gallagher Mansfield's face glowed like Moses after she encountered God's presence in the upper chapel. Some spoke in tongues. Some cried. Some laughed. Some felt a burning sensation. Some, like David Mangan, experienced little explosions going on in his body.

 

Previous to that, the charismatic Pentecostal way of worship made its way dramatically to mainline Protestant churches, and then from there to the Catholics. After that Duquesne weekend, God's 'current of grace', as Pope Francis calls it, travelled around the world and changed millions of believers' lives and faith. In unity, with one body, great things are accomplished. There is more that unites us than separates us. We have to learn from one another's strengths, and recognize the gifts God wants to give us. The Holy Spirit is not a spirit of uniformity, but unity in diversity. One body, one Spirit. 

And for those who dismiss the outpouring of the Spirit as something alien, or something new, they would do well to read what the ancient prophets had to say about God’s plans for His people. We read in Ezekiel 36:27-28, “I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to observe My ordinances. You ... shall be My people and I will be your God.” And then there’s the prophecy by Joel in 2:28, 29, 32. He prophesied that “I will pour out My spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.... Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out My spirit.... All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” Isn’t that amazing? 

All these prophesies are fulfilled in Jesus, mediator and guarantor of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and today we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promise. Today we celebrate the Church’s birthday! Happy Pentecost Sunday! 

Lord, may we desire more of Your Spirit. May we not be complacent with what we have right now, but may we always want more of You!