Pentecost,
Cycle A
General Intercessions
Celebrant: Filled with the Holy Spirit,
we have confidence to present all our needs before the Lord.
Deacon/Lector:
That the Church, filled with the Spirit of
Christ, may be ever renewed to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world, we
pray to the Lord...
That the wisdom and strength of the Holy
Spirit fill all entrusted with public office, we pray to the Lord...
That on this Mother's Day, all mothers may
receive the Holy Spirit's wisdom, strength, and joy, we pray to the Lord....
That we who have the Holy Spirit as our
Advocate may in turn be advocates for the vulnerable, the forgotten, and the
unborn, we pray to the Lord...
That those completing their studies in
various academic institutions may always be grateful to the Holy Spirit for
the gift of knowledge, we pray to the Lord...
That the sick may experience the presence and
healing power of the Holy Spirit, we pray to the Lord...
That those who have died may be purified by
the Spirit and share eternal life, we pray to the Lord...
Celebrant:
Father,
Grant us the continuous help
Of Your Holy Spirit.
As you answer our prayers,
Fill our lives with His gifts of grace.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bulletin Insert
Pentecost Voice
The Holy Spirit, who came on Pentecost, gave
voice to the apostles to proclaim the truth of the Gospel. The Spirit, the
Soul of the Church, continues to enable the Church to speak, and enables us
to speak in our individual capacity. As Bishop Elio Sgreccia, Vice-President
of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life has said, “The Church must
speak out in today's context on fundamental rights, the right to justice,
the right to peace, but above all and in the first place, the right to life.
If the Church did not speak, did not proclaim the truth, it would be
abandoning its duty; it would be unfaithful to society, to the good of
society. Therefore, its precise duty is the very liberty to intervene with
word, and also with example -- the example of promoting human life, of
intervening for the salvation of mankind."
Homily Suggestions
Vigil: Gn 11:1-9 or Ex 19:3-8a, 16-20b or Ez
37:1-14 or Jl 3:1-5
Rom 8:22-27
Jn 7:37-39
Day: Acts 2:1-11
1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13
Jn 20:19-23
Fifty days after the Passover, the People of
Israel celebrated “Pentecost,” observing the giving of the law on Mount Sinai,
when God wrote the law with his own finger on the tablets of stone. The feast
was originally rooted in the celebration of the harvest. It was on that
Pentecost Day that the apostles reaped the harvest of the Lord’s Passover of
suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection, and received the Holy Spirit, who
writes the law on our hearts.
This same Holy Spirit who came mightily on
Pentecost comes to us. The same Spirit is in us, by our baptism and confirmation
– the same Spirit who transformed the apostles, who raises the dead, and who
changes bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. That same Spirit is in us,
and this should give us tremendous confidence in following Christ.
The Holy Spirit, the “Lord and Giver of Life,”
brings us back to our truest selves as he illumines us regarding the sanctity of
life. The Spirit brings many gifts, and one of them is to enable us to see
creation in its proper relationship to God – including the crowning of his
creation, the gift of human life.
When we do not have this light of the Holy
Spirit, the law we have to follow seems like an imposition from the outside that
limits our freedom. That’s what people in the world sometimes feel about our
attitude toward abortion and euthanasia. They think we are “restricting rights.”
But when the Holy Spirit fills us, he gives us an inner attraction to all that
is right and good, so that we do not feel pushed where we would rather not go,
but rather pulled by the attractiveness of what is good and right.
The Holy Spirit is also the Advocate, who pleads
our cause. When he fills us, he makes us advocates for all our brothers and
sisters in need, including the most vulnerable, the unborn.
Liturgical
Resources
