-------------------------------------------------------
CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD
Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at:
http://www.goacom.org/casa-de-goa/noticias.html
-------------------------------------------------------
20-May-2007
Dear Friend,
We have all met people who are enthusiastic about something or another.
Whatever it is that they are enthusiastic about there appears to be a passion,
a fire that has taken hold of them which they cannot restrain, it spills over
and all can feel it. God can bring about newness in us if we let his Spirit
take over our lives. Let him in! Have a blessed weekend letting the Spirit
enthuse our daily life. Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: Pentecost SundayCome Holy Spirit and renew. 27-May-07
Readings : Acts 2:1-11; Romans 8: 8-17; John
14:15-16, 23-26;
On the fiftieth day of Easter, (which is what Pentecost means) the Jews of
Jesus' time recalled the gift of the Law on Sinai. In this context, the gift of
the Spirit, the birth of the Church, and the salvation of all mankind in Jesus
Christ the Christian Pentecost is presented by Luke as the promulgation of
the new law, and the beginning of the mission of all men. The narrative from
the Acts is full of signs and symbols of the gift of new life given to all
mankind. There are the strange sounds that all heard, the tongues of fire that
descended and rested on each one, and the gift of tongues so that all spoke the
language of love, understood by all peoples. Pentecost is truly a divine gift,
which has to be gratefully accepted by all.
Speaking the same language
Almost hundred years ago Dr. Zamenhof, a Polish linguist, constructed a new
language that could be shared by people throughout the world. The artificial
language Dr. Zamenhof created is called Esperanto, "the language of hope." The
name signifies hope for humankind that a common language might heal the
divisions that exist among the different peoples of the earth. -The feast of
Pentecost is the Church's celebration of her unity and universality in the Holy
Spirit, and so some of the readings used express this in terms of language. Dr.
Zamenhof's invention of a universal language like Esperanto has been followed
by: establishing the United Nations Assembly, holding of Summit meetings,
having cultural exchanges and reviving Olympic Games. But Pentecost is more
than a work of human creation, more than a work of art and music. Pentecost is
a new outpouring of God's Spirit into our hearts to kindle in us the fire of
his love.
Albert Cylwicki in 'His Word Resounds'
In the second reading from Paul's letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us that
thanks to the Spirit, the power of the resurrection is already at work in our
lives. The Spirit helps us to rid ourselves of the power of sin and to live as
the family of God. We do not have to follow our sinful inclinations and evil
tendencies provided we listen and follow the promptings of the Spirit. Above
all the Spirit gives us the power and the possibility of calling God by that
most intimate of terms, 'Abba Father.' We cannot only call God our Father but
we can live as his favoured children. Paradoxically, thanks to Jesus, we have
the right to call God our Father.
Carnal versus Spiritual
There was once an Eskimo who used to take his two dogs for a bet-fight in the
town square. One was a black dog the other was white. The people gathered week
after week to see the dogs fight and betted heavily. On some days the black dog
won and on others the white. No matter which dog won, the Eskimo made money.
The secret behind duping the people was that he would feed the dog which he
wanted to win well.- Do you feed your spiritual self and keep it strengthened
to win over the carnal person? "For I delight in the law of God after the
inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members"
(Rom 7:22-23)
Daniel Sunderaj in 'Manna for the Soul'
In today's gospel Jesus reminds his disciples that a true follower cannot be
contented with words, he must express his love for Christ by keeping his
commandments, in order to live as Jesus lived. We cannot on our own strength
keep the commandments of God, for sin and its consequences affect our lives and
we remain in bondage. That is why we need God's spirit to set us free and to
direct us on the path to God. The Spirit reminds us of our commitment to God
and helps us constantly to be faithful to God by making us experience His
presence in our lives. We need the Spirit to remind us of the way to the
Father; to refresh us when we are weary and faltering due to our weaknesses; to
encourage us so that we do not give up our fight against sin in us and around
us. Left to ourselves we cannot manage, but with his Spirit we are assured of
final victory. "Come Holy Spirit
"
Something happened at Pentecost
.
The Holy Spirit not only changed the disciples into the Body of Christ but also
breathed into them the mind of Christ. They received a whole new understanding.
They became a new creation in Christ. A story illustrates how remarkable their
new understanding was. A newspaper reporter once asked a biblical expert this
question: "If by some miracle you could trade the four gospels for a film of
everything Jesus said and did in his lifetime, would you make a trade? In other
words, if a film crew got into a time machine, flew back into history, and
recorded on film the complete life of Jesus, would you trade the Gospels for
that film?" Without a moment's hesitation, the biblical expert said, "No!" Then
he explained why. He explained that even the disciples didn't always understand
everything Jesus said and did. It was only after Jesus rose from the dead and
sent the Holy Spirit that they understood everything fully. In other words,
what makes the gospels so valuable is that they
were written in the light of the Holy Spirit's coming on Pentecost. The Holy
Spirit gave Jesus' followers a new understanding of the teachings of Jesus. It
is this understanding that's recorded in the Gospels. So on Pentecost day the
Spirit not only formed the Body of Christ, but breathed into them the mind of
Christ.
Mark Link in 'Sunday Homilies'
"Pentecost: the Spirit of God poured out as gift on the apostles, made them
who covered indoors in terror into a great people, jubilantly singing God's
praises. This is not a time for fear, for withdrawal into oneself; rather it is
the time of the Spirit to break down all barriers and to lead humanity to the
place where God awaits it. Pentecost, formerly a Jewish harvest festival is
inseparable from Easter, because it offers us the fruits of Easter. We realize
that although we have not yet achieved anything, all has been given us with
this fruit which the flowering of Easter promised: the Spirit of God, aflame
with his fire, who fills the universe and the earth. Pentecost is, with the
sending of the supreme Gift, the vindication of the prodigious generosity of
the Father, of the superabundance of his life given to mankind. The Spirit both
stimulates and encourages, and tells of the future: a new heaven and a new
earth! Is not the Spirit this very eternal life, already
commenced here below? Let us then listen to the murmur of this living water
saying: "Come to the Father." In this rising wind let us set sail to live for
the God who is man's destiny." Glenstal Bible Missal
The after effect
..
A little girl was visiting her grandmother in a small country town in the
South. They attended a very emotional Charismatic prayer service, where people
expressed their feelings by jumping and clapping and shouting, "Praise the
Lord1 Alleluia!"
., what might be called a "Holy Roller" service. The little
girl asked her grandmother if all the jumping meant that the Spirit was really
there. Her Grandmother said, "Honey, it does not matter how high they jump up,
it's what they do when they come down that will tell you if it is the real
thing." It would be good if we were a little more enthusiastic about our
religion, but what matters is what we do in everyday life. Does the Holy Spirit
have a practical effect on our daily life? In what way?
Gerard Fuller in ''Stories for all Seasons'
May His Spirit bring newness into our insipid lives!!
Fr. Jude Botelho
www.netforlife.net
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been
collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and
from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever
possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you
could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in
these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site
www.netforlife.net Thank you.
---------------------------------
Office firewalls, cyber cafes, college labs, don't allow you to download CHAT?
Here's a solution!
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/attachments/20070521/e856be65/attachment.htm
-------------------------------------------------------
Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with,
'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era.
This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone
wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by
Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim & internationally
by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-------------------------------------------------------
