There are many readings from Scripture on the Solemnity of Pentecost.
My favorite one is Ezekiel 37:1-14:
The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the LORD and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones.
He made me walk among them in every direction so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain. How dry they were!
He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come to life? “Lord GOD,” I answered, “you alone know that.”
Homily for the Solemnity of Pentecost
Here is a question for you: Has anyone ever seen the Holy Spirit? Has anyone ever watched the Holy Spirit, like you watch a movie?
The Holy Spirit has always been God, always the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, and He always will be. With the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit dwells in unapproachable light for all eternity. With the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit created the universe out of nothing. With the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit sustains everything in existence. With the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit called and guided the Chosen People of old.
King Herod Agrippa II came to the seaport city of Caesarea to greet the new governor. The king’s great-grandfather had built the city to curry favor with the waxing Roman empire.
Festus knew little of Judaism and nothing of Christianity. Nonetheless, in his conversation with Herod Agrippa, the new Roman governor unwittingly distilled the life of St. Paul into one single, perfect sentence.
If you haven’t seen the new Star Trek movie,
…and you intend to see it,
…and you don’t want ANY surprises spoiled,
then: do NOT click…
Look, I am not trying to gloat when I point this out:
I predicted that the Magic would beat the Cavaliers back on April 16 (scroll down if you click through)!
I am not gloating. I am simply joining ranks with my man Charles Barkley. Last week, he also predicted the dethronement of King James.
As you can see below, my fellow prognosticator took a lot of abuse. He was humble and understated. He stuck to his guns:
Pass the Twinkies, brother! We are one game away from utter vindication!
(As of this moment, it is not possible to read his essay on-line–unless you are a Commonweal subscriber. Maybe this will change in a few days.)
Are the Sacred Scriptures true? Certainly they are. Here is why:
Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and said…
In the Sacred Liturgical Year of the Church, this is the final week of the Easter Season.
During this week, at Holy Mass, we read the Priestly Prayer of Christ.
This prayer is recorded in John 17.
The prayer is explained in Part IV, Section 1, Chapter 3, Article 3 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The Lord Jesus prays this prayer to the Father in every Holy Mass. It reveals the unfathomably intimate friendship of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit.
You and I are invited into this friendship.
On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge opened.
On May 24, 2003, a certain knucklehead entered the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception a deacon. He left the building a priest.
Six years. Domine, non sum dignus. But You said the word…
…Last night, LeBron got his revenge. He beat the clock.
The man IS amazing.
[On] the day He was taken up…, the disciples asked Him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” –Acts 1:1,6
This is what the disciples asked Christ after He had risen from the dead. It was an honest question. A thousand years earlier, the Lord had consecrated King David as the shepherd of His people. But for centuries, the people of God had lived under the unjust yoke of foreign overlords.
Faithful Jews longed for the Messiah to come and restore the kingdom of David. Now the Messiah had come. He had conquered death. He was restoring the Kingdom. In fact, He was restoring the entire human race to the friendship of God. His next step was to ascend personally to heaven. The disciples were to persevere patiently until all things were fulfilled.
The disciples, however, had a different idea. They wanted immediate satisfaction. “Hasn’t the time come to straighten everything out now, Lord?”
Father Mark White Blog 