The Holy Spirit – re-igniting in us the fire of His Love!

Pentecost Sunday 

At the Vigil Mass

Lectionary: 62

Ghid il-Hamsin 

                                                            Quddies tal-Vgili                                                             

Tifkira Solenni tal-Migja tal-Ispirtu s-Santu  

Missalin A  p 224 

Reading 1 –

GeNesis 11:1-9

The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words. While the people were migrating in the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, "Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire." They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth." The LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. Then the LORD said: "If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. Let us then go down there and confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says." Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world. It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth. This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari –

Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Genesi 11, 1-9

L-art kollha kienet ilsien wiehed u kliem wiehed.  Izda gara li, meta  telqu mill-Lvant, sabu pjanura f’art Singhar, u qaghdu hemm.  U qalu lil xulxin:   “Ejjew naghmlu gebel tat-tafal u nahmuh fil-fohharija.”   Il-gebel taghhom kien tal-fuhhar, u  flok tajn kienu jazaw iz-zift.  Imbaghad qalu:  “Ejjew nibnu belt ghalina u torri, b’quccata tilhaq is-smewwiet, u naghmlu munument ghalina halli ma nitferrxux ma’ wicc l-art kollha.” U l-Mulej nizel jara l-belt u t-torri li kienu qeghdin jibnu l-bnedmin.  U qal il-Mulej: “Arahom daqsxejn, gens wiehed huma, u jitkellmu lsien wiehed.  U dan ghadu l-bidu tax-xoghol taghhom!  Issa kull ma jfettilhom jaghmlu ma jaqtghalhomx  qalbhom.  Zul ha ninzel hemm inhabblilhom islienhom biex ma jifhmux ‘il xulxin.”  U minn hemm il-Mulej xerridhom ma’ wicc l-art kollha,u huma waqfu mill-bini tal-belt. Ghalhekk issejhet Babel, ghax hemmhekk il-Mulej hawwad ilsien l-art kollha, u  minn hemm mil-Mulej xerridhom ma’ wicc l-art kollha.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Or….. EXodus 19:3-8A, 16-20B

Moses went up the mountain to God. Then the LORD called to him and said, "Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob; tell the Israelites:  You have seen for  yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself. Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. That is what you must tell the Israelites." So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people. When he set before them all that the LORD had ordered him to tell them, the people all answered together, "Everything the LORD has said, we will do."  On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking, and God answering him with thunder. When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain.  This is the Word of the Lord.

Jew….. Qari mill-Ktieb ta’ l-Ezodu 19, 3-8;  20

F’dak iz-zmien:  Mose’ tela’ hdejn Alla, u l-Mulej sejjahlu mill-muntanja u qallu:  “Dan ghid lil dar Gakob u tgharraf lil ulied Israel:  ‘Intom  rajtu x’ghamilt lill-Egizzjani.  Jiena rfajthkom, fuq gwienah l-ajkli  u ressaqtkom lejja.  Issa, jekk tisimghu sewwa lehni u tharsu l-patt tieghi, intom tkunu l-wirt tieghi minn fost il-gnus kollha.  Ghaliex l-art kollha  kemm hi hija tieghi.  Tkunu ghalija saltna ta’qassisin, gens qaddis.’  Dan hu l-kliem li ghandek tghid lil ulied Israel.” Mose’ mar u sejjah lix-xjuh tal-poplu u qieghed quddiemhom kull ma ordnalu l-Mulej.  Il-poplu kollu, b’lehen wiehed, wiegeb”  “Kull ma qalilna l-Mulej naghmluh.” Fit-tielet jum mas-sebh kien hemm raghad u beraq. U shab ohxon ghatta l-muntanja.  Instama’ wkoll iz-zarzir qawwi tat-tromba, u trieghed il-poplu kollu fil-kamp.  Mose’ hareg il-poplu mill-kamp biex jiltaqghu ma’ Alla; u waqfu f’riglejn il-muntanja. Il-muntanja Sinaj  bidet iddahhan kollha kemm hi ghax nizel fuqha l-Mulej fin-nar.  Id-duhhan beda tiela’ ‘l fuq bhad-duhhan ta’ forn, u l-muntanja kienet tithezhez kollha.  Kull ma jmur, id-daqq tat-tromba beda dejjem jitqawwa.   Imbaghad tkellem Mose’, u Alla wiegbu b’raghda. U nizel il-Mulej fuq il-quccata tal-Muntanja Sinaj, u l-Mulej sejjah  ‘ il Mose’ biex jitla’ fuq il-quccata tal-muntanja. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Or….. EZekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the LORD
and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones. He made me walk among the bones in every direction so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain. How dry they were! He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come to life? I answered, "Lord GOD, you alone know that." Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life. I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD. I, Ezekiel, prophesied as I had been told, and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise; it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone. I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them, and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them. Then the LORD said to me: Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD: From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life. I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army. Then he said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They have been saying, "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off." Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD. This is the Word of the Lord.

Jew …..Ezekjel 37:1-14

F’dak iz-zmien:  Id il-Mulej qabditni u haditni  bl-ispirtu tal-Mulej, u  qeghditni f’nofs il-wied.  Dan kien mizghud bil-ghadam.   Huwa ghaddieni dawramejt madwarhom;  kien  hemm kotra bla qjies fuq  wicc il-wied, u kienu mexfin qoxqox.  U l-Mulej qalli:  “Bin Adam, jista’ dan il-ghadam jerga’ jiehu l-hajja?  Jiena wegibt  “Sidi Mulej, dan inti tafu.”U qalli:  “Habbar lil dan il-ghadam u ghidlu:  Ja ghadam niexef, isma’ l-kelma tal-Mulej. Hekk qal Sidi l-Mulej lil dan il-ghadam niexef:  ‘Ara, jiena se ngib fik ir-ruh, u inti terga tghix.  U nqieghed fik in-nervi, u ntellaghalek il-laham, u nghattik bil-gilda, u nqieghed  fik ir-ruh.  U inti terga’ tghix, u tkun taf li jiena l-Mulej.” Imbaghad habbart kif ordnali.  U jiena u nhabbar  instema’ hoss, u ara, il-ghadam tqanqal, u kollha bdew resqin lejn xulxin, ghadma lejn ghadma.  Jien harist, u ara, gew fihom in-nervi,  telghalhom il-laham, fuqhom infirxet il-gilda, imma nifs ma kienx hemm fihom.  U qalli: “Habbar lir-ruh; habbar, bin Adam, u ghid lir-ruh.”  Hekk qal Sidi l-Mulej:  “Ejja, ja ruh, mill-erbat irjieh tad-dinja, onfoh fuq dawn il-mejtin, u jergghu jiehdu l-hajja.”Jien habbart kif ordnali, u r-ruh dahlet fihom, regghu hadu l-hajja, u waqfu fuq riglejhom, ezercitu kbir.  U qalli:  Bin Adam, dan il-ghadam huwa d-dar kollha ta’ Israel.  Ara, huma jghidu:  Nixef ghadamana, it-tama taghna ghabet, inqridna ghal kollox.  Ghalhekk habbrilhom u ghidilhom.  Hekk qal Sidi l-Mulej:  Ara, jiena niftah l-oqbra taghkom u ntellaghkom mill-oqbra taghkom, ja poplu tieghi, u ngibkom lura f’art Israel.  Imbaghad tkunu tafu li jiena l-Mulej, meta niftah l-oqbra taghkom u ntellaghkom mill-oqbra taghkom, ja poplu tieghi.  U  jiena nqieghed ruhi fikom, u tergghu tiehdu l-hajja.  Naghtikom il-mistrieh f’artkom, u tkunu tafu li jiena l-Mulej.  Hekk ghidt, u hekk naghmel.”  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Or….. JoeL 3:1-5

Thus says the LORD: I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; even upon the servants and the handmaids, in those days, I will pour out my spirit. And I will work wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke; the sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, at the coming of the day of the LORD, the great and terrible day.  Then everyone shall be rescued who calls on the name of the LORD; for on Mount Zion there  shall be a remnant, as the LORD has said, and in Jerusalem survivors whom the LORD shall call. This is the Word of the Lord.

Jew….. Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Goel 3, 1-5

Dan jghid il-Mulej:  Jiena nsawwab l-Ispirtu tieghi fuq il-hlejjaq kollha. Uliedkom ihabbru,  subien u bniet, ikollhom holm ix-xjuh taghkom, iz-zghazagh taghkom jaraw vizjonijiet. U fuq l-ilsiera wkoll, irgiel u nisa, insawwab l-Ispirtu tieghi f’dawk il-jiem. Fis-sema  u l-art nuri sinjali, demm u nar u kolonii ta’ duhhan!” Ix-xemx tinbidel fid-dlam u l-qamar f’demm qabel ma jasal jum il-Mulej, kbir u tal-biza’! Jehlisha kull min isejjah isem il-Mulej; ghaliex fuq il-muntanja ta’ Sijon u Gerusalem ikun hemm il-mehlusin, kif qal il-Mulej; u fost il-mahrubin ikun hemm min isejjahlu l-Mulej. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSalm 104:1-2, 24, 35, 27-28, 29, 30

R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:    R. Alleluia.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.                                                  R.

How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them allC
the earth is full of your creatures;
bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia.                                     R. 

Creatures all look to you
to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things     R/

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

Salm Responsorjali

Salm 103

            R/  Hallelujah.

Bierek ruh tieghi, il-Mulej!

Mulej, Alla tieghi, int kbir bil-bosta!

bis-sebh u l-gmiel inti mlibbes,

bid-dawl int mkebbeb bhal b’mantell.              R/

Kemm huma kotrana l-eghmejjel tieghek, Mulej!

Kollha bil-gherf int ghamilthom,

mimlija hi l-art bil-hlejjaq tieghek.

Bierek ruh tieghi, il-Mulej.                                R/

Il-hlejjaq kollha minnek jistennenw

li taghtihom l-ikel taghhomf’waqtu;

inti taghtihom, u humajigbru,

tiftah idejk, u jixbghu bil-gid.                            R/

Jekk tehdilhom nifishom imutu,

u lejn it-trab jergghu jmorru.

Meta tibghat l-Ispirtu tieghek, jinhalqu;

u inti ggedded il-wicc ta’ l-art.                         R/.

                      

Reading 2

ROMans 8:22-27

Brothers and sisters: We know that all creation is groaning in  labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see,  we wait with endurance. In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God's will. This is the Word of the Lord.

                                   

It-Tieni Qari  -  

mill-Ittra lir-Rumani 8, 22-27

Huti:  Ahna nafu li l-holqien kollu ghadu s-issa jitniehed u jokrob bhal wahda fl-ugigh tal-hlas; u mhux hu biss,  imma wkoll  ahna li ghandna l-ewwl frott ta’ l-Ispirtu, ahna wkoll nitniehdu fina nnifisna waqt li nistennaw l-adozzjoni ta’ wlied Alla,  il-fidwa ta’  gisimna.  Ghax ahna wkoll salvati bit-tama.  Meta wiehed jara l-hwejjeg li jkun ittama, ma  jkunx hemm aktar tama;  ghax kif jista’ wiehed  jittama l-hwejjeg li ga qieghed jara? Imma dak li qeghdin nittamaw, jekk m’ahniex narawh, qeghdin  nistennewh bis-sabar.  Hekk ukoll l-Ispirtu, min-naha tieghu, ighinna fin-nuqqas ta’ hila taghna.  Ghax ahna  anqas biss nafu x‘ghandna nitolbu kif imiss, imma l-Ispirtu stess jidhol ghalina fit-talb tieghu bi tnehid li ma jistax jitfisser bil-kliem; u Dak li l-harsa tieghu tinfed il-qlub jaf x’inhi x-xewqa ta’ l-Ispirtu, kif bit-talb tieghu jidhol ghall-qaddisin skond ma jrid Alla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej               

Hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Hallelujah

………………….

Ejja, Spirtu s-Santu , imla l-qlub tal-fidili tieghek u kebbes fihom in-nar ta’ mhabbtek.

Hallelujah.

Gospel

JohN 7:37-39

On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed,  "Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. As Scripture says: Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me." He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Evangelju –

skond San Gwann  7, 37-39

Fl-ahhar jum tal-festa, il-jum l-aktar solenni, Gesu’ qam jghid b’lehen gholi:  “Min jiehdu l-ghatx, jigi ghandi u jixrob.  Kif tghid l-Iskrittura, min jemmen fija minnu  johorgu xmajjar ta’ ilma haj.” B’dan ried ifisser l-Ispirtu s-Santu li kellhom jircievu dawk li jemmnu fih—ghax l-Ispirtu  s-Santu kien ghadu ma giex moghti  billi Gesu’ kien ghadu magiex igglorifikat. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Viewing the Church through the Lenses of Pentecost

A reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

Pentecost is the 50th day after Easter that signals the start of the universal mission of the Church – a mission that overcomes human obstacles and has the Spirit as its driving force. The mighty breath of God and the fire of the Spirit’s presence engulf the group of disciples gathered in prayer around Mary, Mother of the Lord, in the Upper Room.

Luke’s narrative of Pentecost in Acts contains today’s first reading (2:1-11) and consists of: an introduction (2:1-13), a speech ascribed to Peter declaring the Resurrection of Jesus and its Messianic significance (2:14-36), and a favourable response from the audience (2:37-41). The Twelve were not originally in a position to proclaim publicly the Messianic office of Jesus without incurring immediate reprisal from those religious authorities in Jerusalem who had brought about Jesus’ death precisely to stem the rising tide in his favour.

He breathed on them

The Gospel of John (19:20-23) describes another way the Holy Spirit is given to the apostles: the Risen Jesus breathing on the apostles to impart the Holy Spirit. The power of the Spirit not only authorizes, but also empowers the apostles to forgive and to retain sins. Jesus formally sends out his apostles to the world, as he had been sent to the world by the Father. Jesus’ breathing on the apostles huddled in the Upper Room recalls Genesis 2:7, where God breathed on the first man and gave him life; just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus.

In a similar vein, Sunday’s Psalm 104 reminds us that the Holy Spirit, this breath of God that we as Christians have received, is the same Spirit that sustains the constant renewal of all created things.

The lenses of Pentecost

In my work at Salt and Light Television Network in Canada, I have had to quickly learn about broadcast technology, and all that goes into making a good film. One important aspect of television is the intricate camera work “behind the scenes.” The close up and wide-angle camera shots make all the difference in filming and telling a story. If we use too many close-ups, we lose sight of the bigger picture. If we overuse the wide-angle lens without attention to the particulars, it doesn’t make for good television. Good television combines the wide-angle or panoramic shots, the intermediate views of the surface, and finally the close-ups that offer attention to detail and often provide necessary depth for understanding the whole picture.

I would like to offer three lenses through which we might consider this feast:-

1) the wide-angle lens that looks at our belonging to the Church;

2) an intermediate lens that focuses in on the ideologies at work in the Church today; and

3) a zoom lens to sharpen our hope, the great manifestation of the Holy Spirit to the Church.

“Sentire cum ecclesia”

Pentecost is considered to be the birth of the Church. Our baptismal consecration in service to Christ cannot be separated from consecration in service to the Church. One of the main themes permeating the thought of St. Ignatius of Loyola is his exhortation Sentire cum ecclesia or “think with the Church.” Sentire cum ecclesia also means to feel with the Church and to love the Church. Pentecost invites us once again to walk with the Church, breathe with the Church, hope with the Church, feel with the Church: Sentire cum ecclesia. What does the Church mean for me as an individual? What is my personal relationship with the Church? Do I love the Church? Do I feel loved by the Church?

Moving Beyond Ideology

From the wide-angle view of the Church, let us take a closer look at our current ecclesial reality. Today, some of us seem to be stuck in the ideological battles that followed the Second Vatican Council. Perhaps we are frozen in categories of left and right; traditional vs. avant-garde; male vs. female; hierarchical vs. lay-led; or prophetic vs. static. Our inter-ecclesial and inter-community fixations and polarizations on all sides of the ecclesial spectrum can distract us from addressing with requisite depth and discernment the issues facing us today. Whatever is not purified and transformed within us is transmitted to others – especially to the next generation. When we sell ourselves to cynicism and despair, meanness of heart, smallness of spirit, and harshness in ecclesial discourse, we betray our deepest identity as bearers of joy, hope, and truth. Is joy present in our Christian witness? What prevents me as an individual and us as a community from giving a robust, joyful witness to Jesus Christ, the Catholic faith, and the Church?

Hope: a manifestation of the Spirit

Finally, let us zoom in on hope, a true manifestation of the Spirit at Pentecost. Is it not true that for the past few years, many of us in the Church have felt like we are frequently caught in a flash flood that is unexpected, powerful, destructive, and filled with despair? The flame seems to have gone out and our influence was terribly diminished. The flash flood bears down with immense force on all of us. Some can easily view our present situation with great pessimism and grow disheartened, depressed, and even cynical. But so much of that mood has changed drastically since the night of March 13, 2013, when Pope Francis first appeared on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. Many have said that the Cardinal who came “from the ends of the earth” in Buenos Aires ushered into the Church the new Pentecost of which Pope John XXIII spoke so beautifully when he convened the Second Vatican Council over 50 years ago. For the world of sound bites, hope usually means that we make ourselves believe that everything is going to turn out all right. We use the word hope lightly and cheaply. This is not the hope of Christians. We must be icons of hope, a people with a new vision, a people that learn to see the world through the lenses of Christ, the Spirit, and the Church.

Signs of the times and signs of hope

The Second Vatican Council encouraged Christians to read the signs of the times, and for Pope John XXIII these were signs of hope and glimpses of the Kingdom’s presence in our midst. It is not a kingdom of this world, so that it cannot be identified specifically in this or that location, but it is nevertheless here already fostered by the Eucharist, which is the pattern to be reproduced in all society, as well as still to come. The Kingdom manifests itself through the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. And the Spirit’s fruits make the Kingdom palpable and palatable: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continence, and chastity.

It is also possible to follow a via negativa and to say where the Kingdom is not. Where there is no justice, no peace, no sharing, no mutual trust, no forgiveness – there is no Kingdom. Where there is rancour, envy, distrust, hatred, ignorance, indifference, unchastity, and cynicism – there is no Kingdom and certainly no life.

“Duc in altum!”

We cannot weigh the life of faith and judge the vitality of the Church solely on the basis of demographical or sociological indicators, numbers, polls, and outside statistics, as helpful as they may be. The fire of Pentecost invites us to rediscover the depth, beauty and vastness of the Church’s mission. What is required of those imagining and building the Church is to think big, and to cast our nets into the deep. “Duc in altum!” We must shape our vision on our firm conviction in the victory of the Cross and in Jesus Christ’s triumph over sin and death. Individuals and communities without vision and a Church without a mission are like a person without relationships. Unless we are able to go beyond ourselves, we will remain undeveloped personalities. When the Spirit truly dwells within us, we will be blessed anew with creativity, imagination, and hope.

Guarantee of the Spirit’s presence

What is the deepest and surest assurance and intimation that the Holy Spirit is present in our world and Church today? The answer is: joy. If there is joy present you can bet that the Holy Spirit has something to do with this precious gift. St. Augustine, who was the most musically passionate of the Fathers of the Church, memorably evokes the experience of this joy with these words (Exposition of Psalm 32, Sermon 1, 7-8):

Whenever people must labour hard they begin with songs whose words express their joy. But when joy brims over and words are not enough they abandon even this coherence and give themselves to the sheer sound of singing. What is this jubilation? What is this exultant song? It is the melody that means our hearts are bursting with feelings that cannot express themselves. And to whom does this jubilation most surely belong? Truly to God who is unutterable, if words will not come and may not remain silent what else can you do but let the melody soar? This is the song of the Holy Spirit.

On this great feast of the birth of the Church, let us ponder anew the whole reality of the Church: from the wide-angle view of its vastness and beauty, to the sometimes turbulent and complex surface, zooming in finally on hope, one of the deepest manifestations of the Spirit alive in the Church. In doing so, we can marvel once again at the mercy and generosity of God and give thanks to the Lord who continues to call us to fidelity and joy.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,

and reignite in us the fire of your Love!

Make us joyful witnesses to your hope in the Church!

Move us beyond our ideologies that divide and blind us.

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

The face of our Church, the face of our local communities,

our own faces, our own hearts. Amen.