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Spirit Enter In

24/5/2023

A Reflection on the Psalm for May 28th, 2023:
Pentecost Sunday

Psalm 104

R. Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
The earth is full of your creatures.

R. Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

When you take away their breath,
they die and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth.

R. Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.

R. Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

This week, it’s hard to feel great about God. Maybe it’s my mood, or stress from work; maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been grappling with great big questions about faith and the Church and identity and vocation. In any case, I’m definitely writing from a place of needing renewal from the Spirit.

When I feel like this, I usually turn to music as solace. One of the balms of the last few years has been a playlist of praise and worship music that I started building in late 2021. I’ve listened to it pretty much continuously ever since. It’s my running playlist, my cooking playlist, my commuting playlist, my spiritual solace. (It’s 10 hours long, and counting.)

The funny thing is, I used to hate praise and worship music. I would cringe every time I heard it played at church with electric guitars and drums and electric bass. As a fervent fan of secular pop, rock, alternative, and indie – and as a songwriter and musician myself – all I could think was: Why are they singing this style of music so firmly entwined with the secular, the sexual, the unsacred, here in this most sacred and reverent of places? It felt unimaginable to me that one could sing about Jesus in a song that, melodically and structurally, felt no different than a song about lust or broken hearts.

But there was another reason, maybe more important than my snobby musical and moral indignation. The fact was that any time I went into a church and heard praise and worship music, I would begin to weep. Uncontrollably. In confusion. Not understanding why. Because what I hated even more than this music was the feeling of not being in control of my own emotions, of being flooded, of being overwhelmed.

A friend explained to me that I was crying because of the Holy Spirit. I didn’t fully buy her reasoning at the time, and I still don’t. There’s a big part of me that clings to control and being in charge of my feelings even now. I’m still not ready to surrender.

But I’m learning that this is the way of the Holy Spirit.

To flood.

To rush in.

To overwhelm, to take charge, to sweep you off your feet, to roar, to blaze, to move like a hurricane and a gale and to cleanse and change everything in its wake.

This holy fire, this holy breath, leaves nothing untouched, no heart unmoved. And in its force, it can be terrifying. What human can stand before this force and not tremble? (Probably only Mary, the Immaculate Conception.)

Renewal isn’t a quiet, delicate process. Renewal is fire and weeping and holy awe and change.

Renewal is holy breath, holy tongues of flame, the rush of a violent wind finding the cracks in your broken heart and pushing in, seeking to scour out the hurt and pour in the salve of love. To be filled with this love means to surrender, to give up trying to hold the edges of these cracks in your heart together and to welcome God in and to weep and be held.

Suffice to say my attitude towards praise and worship has changed. I still weep. And I’m still struggling, I’m still not all the way there yet – I find it hard to hold open my hands, palms upturned – my body wants to remain closed, afraid of what the Spirit can and will do with my heart when it enters in.

So let me be open, Lord. Let me be open to your love, your greatness. Come and renew me. Send your Spirit to rest on me and find a way in through the broken places, that I may glory in your love.

Holy Spirit, come.

Kim Tan

3 Comments

The Shepherd's Voice

23/5/2023

1 Comment

A Reflection on the First Reading for May 28th, 2023:
Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2
1-11

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in their own language. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts, Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

The last reflection I wrote for Ora was for Good Shepherd Sunday, about how God speaks to each of us in the voices of those around us, and particularly in using our own voice interiorly. It strikes me that the first reading for Pentecost picks up on this theme most beautifully.

The Apostles are together after Jesus has departed, waiting for direction, praying for guidance, wanting to hear God’s voice telling them what to do. And God does speak. God uses the voices of those people whom He has drawn to himself to speak His good news to all who are willing to listen. The gift of tongues here at Pentecost has always seemed to me the most practical gift God could bestow on the disciples at this point. They have many people to preach to, many places to go and spread the word. They cannot speak in ways that will be understood by all the people to whom God is sending them, so God takes care of that problem.

The gift of tongues at Pentecost also underlines the global scope of the mission that is here entrusted to Jesus’ followers. In giving them the ability to speak and be understood by all those who hear them, God is showing that they are not to go only to those who speak like them, look like them, act like them, live in the same geographical area or even in the same era. God’s word will be announced to every person on earth. No one will be left out from this proclamation by something as simple as a difference in language.

As followers of Christ, we are also filled with the gifts of the Spirit at Pentecost and at our confirmation. It might take some discernment to see how the gift of tongues manifests in our lives, but I believe that we are all touched by it at one time or another. The times when we have the word of encouragement to share with someone in need. The times we have the word of correction to bring back the one who is erring. The times we preach the Gospel more with actions than words. These are all Pentecost moments, when God uses our voices to speak with love and truth. May we always be open to allowing Him to work through us.

Sr. Gemma MacLeod

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Obey Everything

19/5/2023

2 Comments

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, May 21st, 2023:
Ascension of the Lord

Matthew
28.16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This Easter season, I have had the privilege of spending time with Jesus in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As I journey in my faith, I find a lot of comfort in these moments when I get to spend one-on-one time with Jesus in personal prayer. Through the medium of lectio divina, I have come to realize that Jesus does speak to me through His Word as well as through the voices of friends and loved ones. I can no longer ignore that Jesus is offering me His peace and patience so that I may have the courage to explore my unknown future. In this time of uncertainty, one thing is certain: Jesus asks of me to stay obedient through regular prayer and discernment about His will for my life.

Like the Apostles, I, too, have my doubts. Where is my life going? Does Jesus really know how all this pans out? I know that Jesus offers me peace of mind, repeatedly. However, time and again, I am the one who deflects that peace and chooses to worry about the unknown. I choose to worry about the future. I choose to be anxious. Instead, what I need to do is trust and be assured that all is going according to His plan. I am exactly where I am meant to be, and things are falling into place at the pace at which they should be falling into place. I am precious in God’s sight and He is doing something new in my life. I have not seen the riches in store for my future, yet I believe that God has a perfect plan tailored to what I need, not what I want. The Holy Spirit wants to give me peace and patience. I only need to work on accepting them by being obedient in everything.

Lord Jesus, how easy it is for me to assume that you could not be bothered about the intricacies of my life. Forgive me for every time these thoughts have crossed my mind. I trust You, Jesus. Please banish my fears. You have already consecrated me for the mission that You have for me. Help me recognize the mission You have for me and help me obey everything. Amen.

Rebecca Dmello

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Your Great Power

18/5/2023

1 Comment

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, May 21st, 2023:
The Ascension of the Lord

Ephesians
1.17-23

Brothers and sisters: I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.

And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Father, please heal my understanding and perception of Your power. When I hear of its “immeasurable greatness” there is a kind of fear in my heart. Instead of beholding You with awe and reverence, when I hear of power I associate it with examples of human misuse.

I think of instances where people who possessed power acted in self-interested or purposefully destructive ways. The wounds and traumas of historic, and present, abuse of power are impossible to ignore, and they shape the way we interact in every community. I feel as if I have been trained to be suspicious and cautious of nearly anyone in a position of authority – even encouraged to cooperate in the dismantling and redistribution of power. The world proposes many solutions, but I question how effective any of our efforts can ever be without Your love, freely given.

Help me understand how power can be held and used with perfect justice and mercy. Saint Paul points to the resurrection as the prime example of what power can accomplish with love as its source – it brings new, and eternal, life. I understand this to some degree, but, Holy Spirit, I want to know Your power experientially. I don’t want to be ruled by fear, but instead to rely on You and trust in Your goodness. Help me know You and learn to love all Your qualities, including Your power. Teach me to accept how power is woven into Christ’s identity and mission and, if it is your will, work through my many weaknesses to demonstrate to me and to others the greatness of Your power and love. Amen.

Kendra L.