Good News Reflection FOR NEXT SUNDAY: May 23, 2010 Pentecost Sunday, Cycle C

Good News Reflection
FOR NEXT SUNDAY: May 23, 2010
Pentecost Sunday, Cycle C

Day 3 of the Novena to the Holy Spirit

Parish bulletins, faith-sharing groups, RCIA:
For professionally published, printable copies of this reflection,
please go to Catholic Digital Resources:
http://catholicdr.com/calendar/May/Pentecost.htm - Preview a sample

Next Sunday's Readings:
Acts 2:1-11
Ps 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 (or Rom 8:8-17)
John 20:19-23 (or John 14:15-16, 23b-26)
http://www.usccb.org/nab/052310b.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_05_23.mp3

John 20:19-23 is one of two possible Gospel readings for next Sunday. In it, Jesus says "peace be with you" twice. First, he gives his disciples the gift of peace so that they can take their focus off of their worries to look at him and recognize him standing in their midst.

Then he says it again while giving them the vocation of continuing the mission that he had started. This time, "peace be with you" is to be the fruit of a life lived in the Holy Spirit while serving God for the sake of the world.

It's one thing to feel peaceful because we know that Jesus is with us. It's quite a challenge, though, to feel peaceful when telling others about Jesus, for we feel inadequate and overwhelmed, and we're afraid of being persecuted and rejected. That's why he gave us his Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit gives us whatever we need for doing the work that the Father asks of us, and thus we are not really inadequate nor does God fail to comfort us when people reject us.

One of the fruits of partnering with Jesus in the power of his Spirit is an inner peace that does not depend on what happens, nor on what others do or don't do to us, nor on how they respond to the Good News that we share with them. Peace is the result of being alive in the Spirit. Peace is the Spirit's activity within us.

At the end of this Gospel passage, Jesus gives the Apostles (the first Catholic priests) the authority to forgive sins as his instruments of divine presence. He is instituting the Sacrament of Reconciliation in which Jesus himself comes to us in the form of the human priest.

The same forgiving power of the Spirit enables all of us to experience peace in a sinful, tumultuous world. Even when forgiving is most difficult, in the Spirit of Christ we can do it. We can forgive those who hurt us, even if they never repent. And this is what restores our peace.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What is causing you to feel unpeaceful? Whom do you need to forgive in those situations? If you've forgiven everyone and you still lack peace, do you need to forgive yourself? Or God? Consider going to a spiritual director or counselor for help in finding all the peace that Jesus wants you to have.

Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:
Give an example of how peace is a fruit of life in the Holy Spirit. What other fruits come from depending upon God and partnering with his Spirit?

For more reflection on the Holy Spirit, see the Good News WordByte:
"Who is the Holy Spirit? What are the gifts of the Spirit? What are the fruits of life in the Spirit?"
http://wordbytes.org/doctrine/HolySpirit.htm

STARTING ON MONDAY, if you're a member of the "Emmaus Journey" e-group, share your answers by writing to EmmausJourney@gnm.org
* To join and become a member, go to:
http://gogoodnews.net/GNMcommunities/EmmausJourney/

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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