Pentecost Sunday
Last Sunday, we as a Catholic school celebrated Jesus’ lasting gift to his people, the Holy Spirit. We at St Edmund’s pray our college prayer to “Grant that we may live each day to the full, inspired by the Holy Spirit.” To live a full life is to not live one that is full of fear and doubt, as witnessed by the disciples in the upper room. We call on the Spirit of God to assist us as we try to respond to each situation we face. Our community is challenged to walk in the light of Christ through making good decisions, looking our for one another and praying for people and things that concern us. Please find a Pentecost reflection below from Fr Trenton Administrator of St Christopher’s Cathedral.
Fr Trenton
Friends, Pentecost is upon us again. The Holy Spirit which Jesus had promised, now descends upon the disciples huddled in the Upper Room; and the Church is born! In this tremendous moment, the Body is animated, as She receives Her Breath.
Yet we should never forget that Pentecost began in a place we would least expect. A room which at first, held the disciples as prisoners. Full of fear, and unsure of the next step… they waited, faithfully around Mary, holding to the promise Jesus had left them.
Fear grips them – impelled by the response of many around them, to the challenge of Jesus’ radical teaching of love to the world. How little the cultural ambience has changed. The disciples, who know and follow Jesus, now ask: how can we be an instrument of this life changing Truth, we have known, touched and experienced? They saw Truth Himself, tortured and crucified – and they had every reason to believe that they would be next.
At points in life, we too can experience a feeling similar to disciples following that first Easter. What’s next? Where does this leaves me? And where is the Lord in all of this?! Yet a question too is asked of us. What are we afraid of? As a church? A culture? As individuals? What is the fear which locks us in the ‘upper room’, not daring to venture out in faith? In but a moment, everything changes for Jesus’ closest friends, and so for us. An absent joy is restored, a confidence and clarity returned; as God breathes life into His Church.
Jesus now walks through the locked door of the human heart, and so reveals to you and I – as He did to those in the entombing upper room– what the Love He breaths into us, with the Father, is truly capable of. Casting out fear and disillusionment, the first words of Jesus are words of peace; words no less for us today amid the fear and uncertainty which surrounds us.
These are clouded times; a cacophony of voices via for our attention and affection. The question becomes however: will the voice of Jesus – the voice which speaks of truth and peace, pierce the human heart and take us beyond the lock door? Because the world’s locked ‘upper room’ only promises death.
Friends, this moment of Pentecost, Jesus’ frightened followers are emboldened by the power of the Holy Spirit to open the doors of the Upper Room and go forth to spread the Good News. From cowering, to evangelising . We too, encounter Christ in our own ‘upper room’, and from here alone, sent out into the world. Note Jesus reveals His glory by pointing to his wounds. And any reflection on Jesus’ wounds is a reflection on the wounds of you and I. Once the embodiment of the disciples greatest fear, they now radiate like the sun. and this knowledge sets us free. Free from becoming self-referential and reminding us of our life and dependence in Christ, and the Spirit of life that He breathes into us this day.
In Jesus our wounds are transformed and our weakness becomes the place of joy, because it is the place where Jesus is found. It is the Holy Spirit breathed into each of us, the Church, this day that makes such a life possible! The doors burst open, and the disciples are no longer trapped and nor are we!
These days can be confusing, but take courage – these are good times, because in many way, they are dark times. And the darker the darkness, the brighter the light shines! The Holy Spirit is working in His Church; breathing Life where death lingers and Hope where despair treads. God is close, and today He breaths once more the Spirit of Truth and Life, the Spirit of Comfort and Joy into his Body – you and I, instructing: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Fr Trenton Van Reesch
Upcoming events:
ST THOMAS MORE FORUM DINNER 2022— Friday 24 June at the Mercure Hotel, Ainslie. This year Paul Kelly, editor-at-large for the Australian will speak on ‘Politics and Religion: The Growing Clash’.. For $90.00 you get a two course dinner, with pre-dinner canapés and wine. Bookings are essential and close on 10 June. To book through Eventbrite, please go to https://bit.ly/36OhlIO. Or please contact the Campbell parish office campbell@cg.org.au
THE INAUGURAL TIM FISHER ORATION ON THE ETHICS OF IN PUBLIC AND POLITICAL LIFE – 18 August 2022 in the Great Hall, Parliament House, 6pm. Tickets $30 Visit tfo.org.au The event is a great opportunity for parishioners to either attend or sponsor a young person from their parish. Enquiries: jeanie.alberto@cg.org.au
St Edmund’s College Sacramental Program
Please pray for three students who will be baptised into the Catholic Church this week as part of our St Edmund’s College Sacramental program. Next week on the 14th of June at the Cathedral we have twenty nine students who are making either their First Holy Communion or Confirmation in the Catholic Church. We keep these young men who have made a commitment to the Church in our prayers. May they come to know Christ as a friend and source of strength and hope in their lives.
Mr Monagle
Assistant Principal Mission and Identity