The Third Glorious Mystery- Pentecost

The Third Glorious Mystery- Pentecost

Acts 2

Just as we celebrate Christmas for nearly 2 weeks after December 25th, we can't be content to give Easter just one day. The Church celebrates Pentecost on the 8th Sunday of Easter ( which is the 7th Sunday after Easter, 50 days- hence, PENTEcost), the entire time between Easter Sunday and Pentecost is the Easter season.

It is so much fun to wish everyone "Merry Christmas" after January 1st, and "Happy Easter" well after all the chocolate bunnies have met their demise! Try it sometime....

Pentecost is actually a Jewish feast ( this will be important to remember next paragraph). Recall that Jesus' death and resurrection occurred at the time of the Passover feast... giving a Christian meaning to the shedding of the Blood of the Lamb to save the people. Immediately after the first Passover, what did the Israelites do? They left Egypt and began their Exodus.

And what happened as they began that journey? Moses went up the mountain ( think back to the blog entry here on the Transfiguration) and received the Ten Commandments. Fifty days after the Passover. That is why there were Jews from all over in Jerusalem in Acts 2: they were there to celebrate Pentecost, the giving of the Law. It is called the Festival of Weeks, and is considered by many Jews to be the birthday of their religion. (remember that!)

So, Jesus' disciples were gathered together and a "noise like a strong, driving wind" came and "tongues as of fire" came to rest on each of them ( Acts 2:2-3).  We know the fire was the Holy Spirit... but remember the Jewish feast? Immediately before giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, we read in Exodus 19:18, "Mount Sinai was all wrapped up in smoke, for the Lord came down upon it in fire. "  The presence of the Lord, symbolized by fire.

Then the disciples began speaking in "foreign tongues." "Staying in Jerusalem at the time were devout Jews of every nation under heaven. These heard the sound and assembled in a large crowd. They were much confused because each one heard the men speaking in his own language." (Acts 2: 5-6)

Think about this for a moment... the listeners could each understand what the disciples were saying. 

****The following I say as my own observation about the event: the miracle of Pentecost was not the gift of speaking in tongues, it was that everyone understood.  I make this point because I have been present at conferences and prayer gatherings of Catholic and ostensibly rational people who announce "I am going to speak in tongues now," as if they can turn the Holy Spirit on and off like a light switch.  I even had one woman tell me that I did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling because I have never spoken in tongues.  Well, I gotta tell you, I believe the Lord God can do anything he pleases, whenever he pleases. I also believe that speaking in tongues ( known as glossolalia ) is pointless unless the people understand the message. I am more likely to listen to someone filled with the Holy Spirit speaking words I can take to heart than I am to someone who claims the un-intelligible words they mutter are of God...because we just never know.  *****

In  the first week of December of 2008, I was planning a retreat for the 7th and 8th graders I was taking to Washington DC for the March for Life. It was an overnight lock-in that I dubbed the "Lock-in for LIFE." Throughout the evening, we were going to have a LIFE marathon, with game sessions interspersed with discussions about the various life issues we face as Catholic Christians: genocide, euthanasia, death penalty, suicide, birth control, pre-marital sex, and- of course- abortion.  Forty youth were supposed to be there, so I needed SEVEN  LIFE games, and with so many varieties, I knew I just needed to buy them, I didn't want to deal with different sets of rules. Besides, you have no idea how few teens know how to play board games anymore!

So, I went shopping. In our town, we are blessed to have many places to choose from, all close. I checked WalMart ( $17), KMart ($18), Meijer ($20), Big Lots( no luck). I needed to watch the money.  I was southbound on Cable Road at the 309 light. Toys-R-Us was to my left. I had intentionally NOT gone there. 

Something inside me said- go to Toys-R-Us.

No, I said. I'm not wasting my time.

Go to Toys-R-Us.

No. They are overpriced on everything.

Go to Toys-R-Us!

Ugh. FINE. I will go- but only to prove to myself they are too expensive.

So I made the turn and went into the store...only to find that original LIFE was the loss-leader game for the week. At $7 each. I bought seven of them...despite the looks I received.

When I got into the car, I sat for a moment and thought about what had happened. I could have ignored the message and would have spent the extra money at WalMart, believing I found the best price. 

I called our pastor at the time, and when he answered the phone, I said, "Never, ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever,ever...doubt the Holy Spirit when he tells you to do something." He laughed at me. Come to think of it, he does that a LOT. 

Some may call it coincidence.

Some might say I saw it in the Sunday ads and my sub-conscious recalled it.

Some might say it was just common sense to at least check.

I still believe it was the Holy Spirit: the $70 I saved was 1/3 the cost of one student's way to Washington. This trip was for students from two inner-city parishes, and we worked very hard to raise 90% of the money for each of them, so no one had to stay behind because of money. And every time we met, every fundraiser we held- we prayed. We prayed to St Therese, Blessed JPII ( although he wasn't a blessed at the time), and Our Lady of Guadalupe. And we prayed to the Lord, too. We needed help raising that money, and we knew the heavenly intercessors would speak up on our behalf. You see.... Therese of Lisieux is patroness of the missions, and this was a mission trip....JPII loved young people and traveled the world... and Our Lady of Guadalupe? She is patroness of the Americas and of the unborn.  And, of course, we can go to the Lord for anything... but how nice to have a cheering section!

In the end, we raised $200 per student. for 35 students. Not bad for a bunch of junior high kids!

That was a sidetrack, but I wanted to show how it all came together. We all worked together: the Lord, the Saints, and our hard work.

The Holy Spirit is pointless unless we are open to his working in our lives. This is called being docile to the Spirit, and it takes work on our part...and trust. That is the lesson of the Third Glorious Mystery.