Come Holy Spirit come! Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew; wash the stains of guilt away
Bend the stubborn hearts and will; melt the frozen, warm the chill
Guide the steps that go astray…give them joys that never end.
Amen.   —  (From the Sequence of Mass on Pentecost Sunday)

Today we celebrate the birthday of the Catholic Church. In other words, we celebrate the inauguration of the Universal Church. When Jesus rose from the dead, the first gift he gave to the Church was the Holy Spirit. He said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them” (Jn 20:22-23).

Jesus’ first gift to the Church

Before his Ascension, Jesus makes a promise to his disciples. He says to them, “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)

On Pentecost day the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, and as the Bible attests, “They were devout men (and women) even in Jerusalem from every nation on the earth … and each one was bewildered to hear these men (the apostles) speaking his own language.” (Acts 2:6) They questioned: How does it happen that each of us hears them (the apostles) in his own native language? (Acts.2:8). What is the implication of this message? How does it affect us today?

What happened on Pentecost day was a miracle. The miracle was that God spoke to people of different nationalities in their own native tongues through the Apostles who were uneducated men. It was a reverse of the division that was experienced at the Tower of Babel (cf Gn 11:1-9). Praise God! The human race is once again united after many centuries of division and confusion. Through the Holy Spirit the divided world, marked by misunderstanding, conflicts, and confusion is now united.

We need inculturation

Today there is a serious attempt, by some schools of thought, to teach the whole world the same verbal language in order to unite them. That, however, seems to be an expensive joke. What we need today is “inculturation.” That is, to allow the gospel message to be born in every culture.

Today we are challenged to break down the barriers of division and sectarianism. We are challenged to bring the Gospel to every race and culture and help them understand the marvels of God in their own native languages. We are challenged to help people connect with God in their own concrete historical conditions. We do not need to learn any foreign language in order to communicate with God, our loving Father. If the Church is defined as “the people of God,” then the language of the Church must be the language of God’s people in every part of the world.

The language of Love

What we really need in today’s Church is the language of love. It is non-verbal and does not require an interpreter. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be able to speak the nonverbal language of love which cannot be taught by any human technique. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be able to understand each other in family, in the church, and in society.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, the Church will have the courage to carry out the universal mission entrusted to her by Jesus. She will be comforted, directed, and strengthened especially at difficult times. At confirmation each one of us received the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is meant to give us the courage to witness the Faith at all times, even in the face of death.

May the Holy Spirit, which came on Pentecost day, come upon each and every one of us and renew the face of the entire earth. Rejoice Always!

- – - written by Fr. Clem Oyafemi

My mother stands by me
When I’m in distress.
My father is a hero who guards me
Like a fortress.

My mother’s love shines so bright,
She never lets me out of her sight,
Her laughter fills all empty rooms,
And her love always blossoms.

My mother always smiles,
No matter what the challenges,
She still carries that true beauty,
A natural gift from God Almighty.

I see my mother’s love,
Deep within her soul,
Love keeps her above,
That touches my very core.

- – - written by Alon Calinao Dy. This poem is dedicated to all mothers in the world.

Proverbs 31:26-27 —> She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 31:25-30 —> Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

Matthew 12:48-50 —> But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Proverbs 6:20 —> My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.

Psalm 127:3 —> Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Leviticus 20:9 —> For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.

Luke 14:26 —> If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 15:4-6 —> For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

Isaiah 49:15 —> Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

Proverbs 23:22-25 —> Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

Psalm 139:13-16 —> For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Ephesians 6:2 —> “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise)

Exodus 20:12 —> Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Matthew 10:37 —> Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Proverbs 29:15 —> The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

Proverbs 22:15 —> Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Proverbs 20:20 —> If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

Proverbs 15:20 —> A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

Proverbs 22:6 —> Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 17:6 —> Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.

Exodus 21:15 —> Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.

Isaiah 66:13 —> As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

Leviticus 19:3 —> Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.

Proverbs 28:24 —> Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, “That is no transgression,” is a companion to a man who destroys.

John 2:3-4 —> When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

Mark 7:10-12 —> For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,

Proverbs 1:8 —> Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching,

1 Timothy 2:11-15 —> Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Mark 3:35 —> For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jeremiah 1:5 —> Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

2 Kings 4:30 —> Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 —> And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Hebrews 12:5-11 —> And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? …

2 Timothy 1:5 —> I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

John 19:25-30 —> But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. …

Exodus 21:17 —> Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

Ephesians 6:4 —> Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Matthew 19:19 —> Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Proverbs 30:17 —> The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.

Proverbs 30:11 —> There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.

Proverbs 19:26 —> He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach.

Proverbs 13:24 —> Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Psalm 127:3-5 —> Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Exodus 21:22-25 —> When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Colossians 2:1-23 —> For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. …

Galatians 5:22 —> But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Luke 2:51 —> And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

Mark 10:19 —> You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”

Proverbs 10:1 —> The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Psalm 51:5 —> Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

1 Kings 19:20 —> And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”

Leviticus 18:7 —> You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness.

John 3:1-36 —> Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. …

Isaiah 1:1-31 —> The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. …

Galatians 4:26 —> But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 —> And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Psalm 55:16 —> But I call to God, and the Lord will save me.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 —> Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.

To omit hearing Mass merely from carelessness or indolence would be proof that we were either ignorant of, or indifferent to, the divine treasures it contains. God grant that those who read this may in future appreciate more fully this pearl of great price, value it more highly, seek it more diligently.

77 Fruits of Holy Mass

1. For your salvation God the Father sends his beloved Son down from heaven.
2. For your salvation the Holy Spirit changes bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ.
3. For your sake the Son of God comes down from heaven and conceals Himself under the form of the sacred host.
4. He even abases Himself to such an extent as to be present in the minutest particle of the Sacred Host.
5. For your salvation He renews the saving mystery of the Incarnation.
6. For your salvation He is born anew into the world in a mystic manner whenever Holy Mass is celebrated.
7. For your salvation he performs on the altar the same act of worship He performed when on earth.
8. For your salvation He renews His bitter passion in order that you may participate in it.
9. For your salvation He mystically renews His death, and sacrifices for You His precious life.
10. For your salvation He sheds His blood in a mystic manner, and offers it up for you to the Divine Majesty.

11. With this Precious Blood He sprinkles your soul and purifies it from every stain.
12. For you, Christ offers Himself as a true burnt-offering, and renders to the Godhead the supreme honor which it is due.
13. By offering this act of worship to God, you make reparation for the glory which you has failed to give Him.
14. For you Christ offers Himself to God as a sacrifice of praise, thus atoning for your omissions in praising His Holy Name.
15. By offering to God this oblation which Christ offers, you give Him greater praise than do the Holy Angels.
16. For you, Christ offers Himself as a perfect sacrifice of thanksgiving, making compensation for all failures on your part to render thanks.
17. By offering to God Christ’s act of thanksgiving, you do make ample acknowledgment of all the benefits He had bestowed on you.
18. For you, Christ offers Himself as the all-powerful victim, reconciling you to the God Whom you has offended.
19. He pardons you for all your venial sins, provided you are firmly resolved to forsake them.
20. He also makes repartition for many of your sins of omission, when you did leave undone the good you might have done.

21. He removes many of the imperfections attaching to your good deeds.
22. He forgives you the sins, unknown or forgotten, which you has never mentioned in confession.
23. He offers Himself as a victim to make satisfaction for a part at least of your debts and transgressions.
24. Each time you hear Mass you can do more to pay the penalty due to your sins than by the severest work of penance.
25. Christ places to your credit a portion of His merits, which you may offer to God the Father in expiation of your offenses.
26. For you Christ offers Himself as the most efficacious peace-offering, interceding for you as earnestly as He interceded for His enemies on the cross.
27. His Precious Blood pleads for you in words as countless as the drops which issued from His sacred veins.
28. Each of the adorable wounds His sacred body bore is a voice calling aloud for mercy for you.
29. For the sake of this propitiatory victim, the petitions proffered during Mass will be granted far sooner than those that are proffered at other times.
30. Never can you pray so well as whilst present at Mass.

31. This is so because Christ unites His prayers to yours, and offers them to His heavenly Father.
32. He acquaints Him with your needs and dangers to which you are exposed, and makes your eternal salvation His particular concern.
33. The angels also, who are present, plead for you, and present your poor prayers before the throne of God.
34. On your behalf the priest says Mass, by virtue of which the evil enemy will not be suffered to approach you.
35. For you and for your everlasting salvation he says Mass, and offers that holy sacrifice to God Almighty.
36. When you hear Mass, you are yourself in spirit a priest, empowered by Christ to offer the Mass both for yourself and others.
37. By offering this Holy Sacrifice, you do present to the Blessed Trinity the most acceptable of all oblations.
38. You do offer an oblation precious indeed, of greater value than all things in heaven and earth.
39. You do offer an oblation precious indeed, for it is none other than God himself.
40. By this sacrifice you does honor God as He alone is worthy to be honored.

41. By this sacrifice you do give infinite satisfaction to the Most Holy Trinity.
42. You may present this glorious oblation as your own gift, for Christ Himself gave it unto you.
43. When you hear Mass aright, you do perform an act of highest worship.
44. By hearing Mass you do pay the most profound reverence, the most loyal homage, to the Sacred Humanity of Our Lord.
45. It is best means whereby to venerate the Passion of Christ, and obtain a share in its fruits.
46. It is also the best means of venerating the blessed Mother of God, and increasing her joy.
47. By hearing Mass, you can also enrich your soul more than aught else in the world.
48. By hearing Mass devoutly, you can give greater honor to the angels and the saints than by reciting many prayers.
49. For this in act you do perform a good work of the highest value.
50. It is a signal exercise of pure faith, which will receive a great reward.

51. When you do bow down before the Sacred Host and the Sacred Chalice, you do perform a supreme act of adoration.
52. For each time you gaze reverently upon the Sacred Host you will receive a recompense in heaven.
53. Each time you do smite your chest with compunction, some of your sins are remitted to you.
54. If you hear Mass in a state of mortal sin, God offers you grace of conversion.
55. If you hear Mass in a state of grace, God gives augmentation of grace.
56. In Holy Mass you spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink His blood.
57. You are privileged to behold with your eyes Christ hidden under the sacramental veil, and to be beheld by Him.
58. You receive the priest’s benediction, which is confirmed by Christ in heaven.
59. Through your diligence in hearing Mass, you will also obtain corporal and temporal blessings.
60. Furthermore, you will be preserved from many misfortunes that would otherwise have vanquished you.

61. You will also be strengthened against temptations which would have otherwise have vanquished you.
62. Holy Mass will also be to you a means of obtaining grace of a holy death.
63. The love you has shown for Holy Mass will secure for you the special succor of angels and saints in your last moments.
64. The remembrance of the Masses heard in your lifetime will be a sweet solace to you in the hour of death, and inspire you with confidence in the divine mercy.
65. They will not be forgotten when you stand before the strict Judge and will incline Him to show you favor.
66. You need not fear a long and terrible Purgatory if you has already to a great extent atoned for your sins by frequently assisting at Holy Mass.
67. One Mass devoutly heard will do more to mitigate the pains of Purgatory than any act of penance, however difficult of performance.
68. One Mass in your lifetime will be of greater service to you than many said for you after death.
69. You will attain a high place in heaven, which will be yours to all eternity.
70. Your felicity in heaven will, moreover be increased by every Mass you hear on earth.

71. No prayers offered for your friends will be as efficacious as a single Mass heard and offered on their behalf.
72. You can amply recompense all your benefactors by hearing Mass for their intention.
73. The best help, the greatest consolation, you can afford the afflicted, the sick, the dying is to hear Mass for them.
74. By this same means you can even obtain for sinners the grace of conversion.
75. You can also earn for all faithful Christians saving and salutary graces.
76. For the suffering souls in Purgatory you can procure abundant refreshment.
77. And if it is not within your power to have Mass said for your departed friends, you can by devout assistance at the Holy Sacrifice release them from the tormenting flames.

What do you now think of the Holy Mass, O Christian? Can it be supposed that in the whole world there is any other good work whereby so many graces and fruits are placed within our reach? It is no longer possible to question the truth of the words of Father Sanchez: If Christians only knew how to profit by Holy Mass, they might acquire greater riches than are to be found in all things God has created.

We have indeed a precious storehouse in the Mass: happy he who can earn treasures so great at the cost of so little labor! Who would willingly miss Mass? Who would not delight in hearing it? Let us resolve never to lose an opportunity of hearing Mass, provided the duties of our state of life do not prevent us from doing so.

- – – written by Father Martin von Cochem (1625-1712)

Play the song ‘God is in control’ by Avalon

Lyrics:

This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith and determination
Don’t lose the vision here carried away by emotion

Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
For there is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together

God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
Oh, God is in control, oh, God is in control

History marches on
There is a bottom line drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan, oh but the line never changes

No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing that has always been true
And it will be true forever

God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
Oh, God is in control, oh, God is in control

Oh, He has never let you down
Why start to worry now? Why start to worry now?
He is still the Lord of all we see
He is still the loving Father watching over you and me

Watching over you, watching over me
Watching over everything
Watching over you, watching over me
Every little sparrow, every little key, every little key

God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
Oh, God is in control, oh, God is in control
Oh, God is in control.