Advertisement Pax ChristiICN Would you like to advertise on ICN? Click to learn more.

Sunday Reflection with Father Robin Gibbons - Pentecost


As one who serves an Eastern Catholic community that was born in the Church of Antioch, older perhaps than the Church of Rome, the first served by Peter, and where Paul received Christ, the feast of Pentecost brings a deep and abiding sense that whatever happens, whatever tragedies are playing out in the world around us, the Spirit is still actively at work amongst us. The signs are there to see even in the great suffering of faithful in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Part of the gift of the Eastern Church to the Church of Christ is that it really is the community of the Holy Spirit in a particular and distinctive manner, for its liturgy, prayer and life are suffused with a vibrant love of the work and dynamism of the unseen but ever present power of God.

Maybe the challenge of each Pentecost is to dare us to relax into our faith, be a bit more open to the many varieties of experience and encounter that Pentecost still shows through all the churches. We are being called to let preconceptions go, to capture again that exuberance of joy and energy that the book of Acts describes, for even in the face of persecution and martyrdom there is a sense of a deeper presence accompanying us all. It is there in the voice of Stephen as he sees heaven open, today it is in the voices of the suffering such as the recent Coptic martyrs whose very last words were about Jesus.

Pentecost opens the doors of the Kingdom of God to our little world, they can never be shut, but we, tasked with proclaiming the Kingdom and opening those doors ever wider so that others come to know and love it, need supporting on our journey. That is the gift and role of the Holy Spirit! Remember the symbols of the Kingdom Jesus used in his parables, how it grows from small things, how like a seed dying in the earth, lives of pain become the fertile soil of greater growth in love for others.

The ascended Christ does not leave us orphans, all our days from that first pouring of baptismal water, to the anointing with chrism at confirmation/chrismation to the moment we are called home, the life of the Spirit is at work in us and around us. We pray that we may listen to the Spirit speaking in our hearts, and listening, then do what the Spirit calls us to do!

Fr Robin Gibbons is an Eastern Rite Chaplain for the Melkite Greek Catholics in Great Britain.

Adverts

Ooberfuse

We offer publicity space for Catholic groups/organisations. See our advertising page if you would like more information.

We Need Your Support

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

You can support our journalism by advertising with us or donating to ICN.

Mobile Menu Toggle Icon