[John 13:31] is the start of John’s report of the great final teaching of Jesus at the Last Supper about the future of His Church and His disciples. [It is] a great discourse of Jesus about the obligations, duties and dangers which will come upon His disciples after His own death and resurrection, [a time we also live in. So, like the Apostles,] as we approach the Birth of the Church at Pentecost, we need to listen to how Jesus envisaged His community. [This discourse immediately] gives the essentials. At the head of the Christian community stands [Christ,] the glorified Son of Man, in Whom God is glorified. But this is no distant figurehead, for He will come to be present among His disciples. And how? In the love which His disciples show for one another. One is reminded of the legend about the aged Saint John, wheeled into the church at Ephesus. When asked for the message of Jesus, all he would say was, ‘My little children, love one another.’

Dom Henry Wansbrough; Commentary on John 13:31-35

As we prepare for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost and prepare for the renewal of our own mission to the world, we begin [to ready our hearts] with a firm demand for faith in Jesus, which is the same as belief in the Father. Faith is not just an intellectual assent but includes trust, a confidence that we can leave everything in the hands of Jesus.

Dom Henry Wansbrough

“Some fell on good soil and produced
a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even
a hundred times as much
as he had planted.”
   MATTHEW 13:8

1. Overflowing Wisdom

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to Me on the
mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets
of stone, and the law and commandments which
I have written, that you may teach them.’”
                    Exodus 24:12

2. Overflowing Anointing

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.”
                      Acts 1:8

3. Overflowing Prosperity

“I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to
Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My
voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a
special treasure to Me above all people…”
                        Exodus 19:4-5

4. Overflowing Financial Blessing

“Honor the LORD with your riches, and with the
first of all you grow. Then your store-houses will
be filled with many good things and your barrels
will flow over with new wine.”
                   Proverbs 3:9-10

5. Overflowing Spiritual Blessing

“Honor the LORD with your riches, and with the
first of all you grow. Then your store-houses will
be filled with many good things and your barrels
will flow over with new wine.”
                Proverbs 3:9-10

6. Opening Windows of Heaven

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…
and see if I will not throw open the floodgates
of heaven and pour out so much blessing
that there will not be room enough to store it.”
                   Malachi 3:10

7. Rebuking the Devourer

“I will speak sharp words to the destroyer for you,
so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground.
And your vine in the field will be sure to give
its grapes,” says the LORD of All.“
                    Malachi 3:11

pentecost:confessions by augustine of hippo // directory of catechesis: usccb

pentecost//06.05.22

Celebrating the fullness of the Easter Season and offering a Psalm of praise with the joy of the Spirit on Pentecost Sunday!

mademoiseli:

“1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.”

Psalm 107:1-9, ESV

mademoiseli:

“28 And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
29 Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.“

Joel 2:28-32, ESV

mademoiseli:

Acts 2:1-12

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

"Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and 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 proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

anniespositivity:

I will never truly understand why people choose to be mean, condescending, racist, unsupportive and so, so negative when the world is already falling apart. We need more love, we need more positivity, we need more kindness. And if you, dear reader, have said or done something nice for someone else (or even yourself) today, I want to remind you that you have made the world a better place. We need more people like you. We need people who choose peace; we need people who choose love; we need people who choose kindness. Thank you for being a light. You are a star.