Gospel Reflections - Pentecost Sunday, Year A



Most of this reflection was written while my daughter and I were visiting the Carmelite Monastery in Loretto, PA.  Like the disciples in the Gospel, these sisters are locked away, although not in fear, but by choice.  

The disciples were a diverse group of men from various walks of life answering a vocational call – fishermen, an accountant, a zealot, etc.   So too are these sisters a diverse group of women of various ages and life experiences. Despite their differences, they have been joined together, “...baptized into one body…” as the second reading says.  Filled with the Holy Spirit, they raise their voices together in contemplative prayer throughout their days.  They’re not active in the sense of the disciples, traveling from town to town, yet they fulfill their vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience in prayer and work – “...a gift of the Spirit to the Church.” (as stated in their Carmelite Constitutions, #21)

No matter your vocation in life, The Holy Spirit is working within you, too.  It may be a dramatic, visible sign as the disciples experienced.  More often, though, it’s that gentle nudge or to call a long-lost friend or family member, to pause an extra second at the traffic light & avoiding a catastrophic accident, or the thought to put a little extra into the collection basket.  Whatever it may be, know that the Holy Spirit has been sent to guide you and will not steer you wrong.

How do you sense the Holy Spirit working to draw you closer to God in your life?

What outside interferences distract or block you from hearing the Holy Spirit?  How can you refocus your attention? 


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