I remember when I invested in a series from Vision Video about famous preachers, one man who turned out to be Dr. Martin Luther King’s mentor, had a reputation for doing a sermon based on one word or one sentence of a reading.
Hear this homily from our Podcast
I thought of that when I was looking over the account of the First Pentecost and saw this one powerful word in the reading: Devout.
In the Cenacle where the Holy Spirit graced the apostles and Mary, Luke, who wrote this account says there were devout Jews from every nation.
They were devout
What does that mean? The Jews took their faith seriously. Most likely they were committed to it and faithful to it. They most likely studied well the Torah and the Talmud and probably were discussing their faith with other Jews when the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles and Mary. Now these fishermen, who, granted, studied under Jesus who is the Word of God for three years are inspired by the Holy Spirit speaking and teaching these devout Jews. They surprise and teach the devout men who start to embrace what they are hearing.
Does this remind you of anything in our scriptures? How about when the boy Jesus was teaching the learned men in the Temple when he was twelve. There clearly is a parallel here.
Our Pentecost witness today
Today we celebrate that the Holy Spirit comes down upon our Church and you receive the same holy spirit at your baptism and confirmation in the same measure as did the Apostles according to St. John Chrysostom. Now we have a duty to live the faith in a way that even challenges the learned people in our day. I am not just talking about the people of our local universities, I am talking about other learned people who teach and lead in our Church nationwide and worldwide.
Let me give you an example: I listened to people argue this week that the gun issue in our country is not a pro-life issue. I do not like to use derogatory terms in my homily but sometimes it is merited. That is the stupidest argument I have heard for not addressing the gun issue.
Do we Catholics have the right to use a gun to stop someone from stealing our electronic gear in a house invasion? Do we have any Catholics who will take a leadership role in addressing the gun issue or the pro-life issue in this country? It does not appear the bishops plan to do it anytime soon except for telling people to call congress.
When these arguments appear on the national scene gun sales go up. The right to bear arms is protected in the second amendment. We know that. However, it is a right to bear arms, not a requirement. If you do not own a gun are you willing to make a commitment to not own one? Are you willing to make a statement of your life that you embrace Christ’s vision of love for every person even one who robbed you?
How much are you informed by your prayerful, spiritual reading? How much does your prayer and your spiritual reading affect your life?
Are you willing to commit to prayer for a minimum of one-half hour every day? Understand that if something comes up then obviously you can skip the prayer under no penalty of sin, St. Louis de Montford taught that. Are you willing to take your prayer seriously so much so that you may read good spiritual books from such authors as St. Teresa of Avila, St. Teresa of Lisieux, St. Maximus the Confessor, and so, so, many more as part of your daily prayer?
Are you willing to seek Christ’s wisdom directly through your prayer and deepen your prayer daily?
Are you willing to understand that a theology degree is important but not having one does not preclude you from understanding the great mysteries of truth? However, shutting the Holy Spirit out of your life does.
Are you willing to pray that the Lord enlighten you with a deeper truth than you can find on Catholic forums eve on the internet and expect that he will answer your prayer?
Are you willing to ask the Lord to teach you how to be a saint and know that he will lead you down a challenging path?
I am inviting you to make the following commitments in taking a leadership role in the faith community in our world.
Let us commit
One: if you do not own a gun you will not buy one and you will not buy another one if you already do.
Two: you will commit to a minimum of a one-half hour a day in prayer maybe before an online streaming of the eucharist which I do every day although I do it for an hour. That prayer can include any kind of prayerfulness or devotion you want including if you want to pray the rosary and or spiritual reading.
Three: you will drop any pretense that because you don’t have a theology degree you have nothing to share about your faith and will even offer criticism of my homilies if you are so inclined.
I am going to ask you to do these three things today as a response to the call of the Holy Spirit. You received His power at your baptism and Confirmation and have a call to live in that power daily.
Come join us at St. Anthony Parish in Allston, Massachusetts Sundays at 10:00