The Collect for the Solemnity of the Pentecost is:
“O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and, with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed, fill now once more the hearts of believers. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”
Reflection
Just as the Holy Spirit crossed language barriers on it’s first coming, so also the Church reaches across all racial and national barriers. We want not just our local Church to be holy, but the whole Church. In asking God to pour out gifts, we are referring to the traditional 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit as well as charisms. These gifts enrich the whole Church because they empower individuals to serve God and his people in particular ways. Then the prayer speaks of the divine grace that provides the kind of courage and conviction seen in the preaching of Peter and the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. They went from hiding from the Jews to openly preaching to and even accusing them. This grace also includes the ability to communicate the Gospel well, even across linguistic and other barriers. We need this grace yet again (and always) because the Gospel still needs to be spread. More than half the world still doesn’t know Christ.
So, for your daily contribution to the Church’s collection of prayer,
Reflect on your understanding of the Holy Spirit. Ask yourself if the Holy Spirit is a dynamic and real power in your life, or just a vague idea. Pray for a deeper outpouring of the Holy Spirit and especially for the grace to recognize your own charisms in service to the Church. Then spiritually unite that prayer to all the Masses throughout the world today. That way, when the priest says “Let us pray,” you can be a part of that “us” even if you don’t get to attend Mass.
{It is Sunday, so I hope you can make it!}