Allocution Sunday 23 May, Feast of Pentecost

By: S.E.R. Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García

Thanks to all who make this radio broadcast possible, today Sunday, May 23, Feast of Pentecost or Coming of the Holy Spirit, which we celebrate 50 days after Resurrection Sunday. The first reading of the liturgy is taken from the Book of Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2 verses 1 and following.

(GOSPEL)

Who is the Holy Spirit? Jesus insistently announces the coming of someone, a divine person who will change us and make it possible for us to live like Him. Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit, defense lawyer, will be with his followers and exhorts us to ask God the Father. When you have to give an account of your Faith to the powerful, it will not be you who speak, but the spirit of God will speak for you. This same Spirit will make all disciples of all times understand the teaching of Jesus and the meaning of God’s action in all the events of history.

The hour of the Spirit has come on the day of Pentecost. Gathered in the same place, suddenly a noise from heaven, like a strong wind, resounded throughout the house and tongues of fire appeared, spread over each one of them and all were filled with the Holy Spirit. The apostles lose their panic and announce that in less than a century Jesus has risen to the world then known. The Holy Spirit has also been given to us, we have received it in baptism and it has been confirmed in us in the sacrament of Confirmation and it is transforming us in a progressive interior way, to such an extent that we can say: “I live but not me, it is Christ who lives in me ”.

The Holy Spirit comes every day upon the Church and people of good will. You have his inspiration and his gifts, let yourself be guided by him. The Holy Spirit, creator of God’s works, is the teacher of prayer and is the one who reveals to us the meaning of the Bible that he himself inspired. It is the third person of the Holy Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons and one true God. With the universal Church we manifest our Faith: I believe in the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son receives the same adoration and glory, and who spoke through the prophets.

Today, with the universal Church, we pray an ancient prayer to the Holy Spirit. Pray and repeat with me:

Come, divine Spirit, send your light from heaven.
Loving father of the poor; gift, in your splendid gifts;
light that penetrates the souls; source of the greatest comfort.

Come, sweet guest of the soul, rest from our effort,
truce in hard work, breeze in fiery hours,

joy that wipes away tears and comforts in duels.

Enter to the bottom of the soul, divine light, and enrich us.
Look at the emptiness of man, if you lack him inside;
look at the power of sin, when you don’t send your breath.

Water the land in drought, heal the sick heart,
washes away stains, infuses warmth of life into ice,
tame the indomitable spirit, guide the one who twists the path.

Divide your seven gifts, according to the faith of your servants;
by your goodness and your grace, give the effort its merit;
save the one who seeks to save himself and give us your eternal joy.

AMEN.

(SINGING)

The letter of Saint Paul to the Galatian Christians tells us in chapter 5 verses 22 to 26:

(GOSPEL)

Many years ago a wise grandfather lived on the Isle of Youth, who was said to have kept in an enchanted chest a great secret that made him a winner in all aspects of his life, and that is why he considered himself the happiest man of the world. Many neighbors offered him money and even tried to steal the chest, but all to no avail. And the more they tried, they could never do it. One day the oldest grandson said to his grandfather: “Grandfather, just like you, I want to be immensely happy too, why don’t you show me what I have to do to achieve it?” When the wise grandfather saw the simplicity and purity of his grandson, he told him: “I will teach you the secret to be happy. Come with me and pay close attention. Actually they are two chests where I keep the secret to be happy. These chests are my mind and my heart. And the great secret to being happy is none other than a series of steps that you must follow throughout life. The first step is to know that there is the presence of God in all things in life and, therefore, you must love him and thank him for all that he has. The second step is to love yourself and every day, when you get up and go to bed, affirm, “I am important, I am worth, I am capable, I am intelligent, I am loving, I expect a lot from me and there are no obstacles that I cannot overcome because I am the best creation of God ”. The third step is to put into practice everything you say you are, that is, if you think you are intelligent, act intelligently by studying and getting good grades; If you think you are capable, do it, doing all your activities well; If you think you are loving, show yourself as such in your dealings with others; If you think that there are no obstacles that you cannot overcome, then set goals in life and fight for them until you reach them. The fourth step is that you should not envy anyone for what they have or for what they are. They reached their goal, you achieve yours. The fifth step is that resentment should not be the guest of your heart, that feeling will not let you be happy. Let the laws of God do justice, you forgive and forget. The sixth step is that you should not take things that do not belong to you. The seventh step is that you must not mistreat anyone. All beings in this world have the right to be respected and loved. And finally, always get up with a smile on your lips, look around you and discover the good and beautiful side in all things. Think how lucky you are to have what you have. Help others without thinking that you will receive something in return. Look at people and discover their qualities in them and give them also the secret to be a winner and that in this way they can be happy.

The grandfather, full of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and also full of the groups of the Holy Spirit, left the best inheritance to his grandchildren.

(SINGING)

A few years ago there was a television program in which an artist invited children to scribble on a sheet of paper. Then the artist would create something very cute using those scribbles. One squiggle became a girl’s ponytail, another became a boy’s arm. In a sense that is what God wants from us. God wants us to take our weaknesses, our scribbles and turn them into something beautiful, God wants to do even more. God wants to unite us with Jesus, give us the power of the Holy Spirit and become living temples of the divine presence in our world and make everyone one great family. Come Holy Spirit.

(SINGING)

Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Saint John Paul II from heaven tells us:

“Young people, be now and always carriers and transmitters of Christian joy. Carry Christian joy in your hearts, a joy that springs from the serenely accepted Faith, intensely deepened through personal meditation and the study of the Word of God and the teachings of the Church, dynamically lived in union with God in Christ, in prayer and in the constant practice of the sacraments. Bring Christian joy to the environment in which you normally live, your families, your friends… Be transmitters singing the joy of living, of being at peace with yourself, with others and with God. Communicate joy by being sincere friends and brothers of Jesus. Bring joy by doing gospel teachings. Give joy to the elderly, who sometimes seem to have lost their sense of true joy. Joy is the essential element of the Gospel. I wish you this joy and at the same time be more and more messengers of the joy of Christ ”.

(SINGING)

We pray with Saint Augustine:

“Breathe in me, oh Holy Spirit, so that my thoughts may be all holy. Act in me, oh Holy Spirit, so that my work can also be holy. Seduce me, oh Holy Spirit, to only love what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

AMEN.

We pray with the Pope and the Catholics of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Cape in Canada, for the end of the pandemic and particularly for the forces of order, the military and the firefighters.

“God save you Mary, you are full of grace; The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among all women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death ”. AMEN.

And the blessing of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit descend on all the sick, on all those who care for and care for them, and remain forever. AMEN.

(SINGING)

Below we offer in full the address of the Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*