Encountering Christ: Wednesday 20 May 2015

Wednesday 20th May 2015 - A WEEKLY PRAYER CUSTOM
Encountering Christ
The Parish Version
Prayerfully preparing for the

Sunday Mass and praying in
particular for our school families
Preparing for the Mass of Sunday 24th May 2015 - Pentecost Sunday
Relax & Remember
Set aside 10 -15 minutes and create a suitable environment by removing any distractions. Make sure that you are comfortable. Perhaps
light a candle. Make the sign of the cross and remain still for a minute of settling silence. Call to mind the love that God has for
you. Remember that through this scripture our Lord is truly present. Then read the Gospel, preferably aloud and slowly, and
pay attention to any words that stand out. If any do, meditate on them for a few minutes and be invited into a dialogue with God.
Read
Taken from the Gospel for 24th May 2015 (John 20:19-23): The Gift of Peace
(One of the options for the Pentecost Gospel)
In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, Peace be with you, and
showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and
he said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you. After saying
this he breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are
forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.
Reflect
After spending a few minutes considering this Gospel, continue by reading Fr Henry Wansbroughs reflection.
None of the gospels gives an account of the Day of Pentecost, but St John tells us of another incident where the Risen Christ
gave the Spirit to his disciples. There are two emphases in the account. The first is peace. Christ brings peace to his disciples
with the double greeting of peace, and peace is a Christian watchword. Peace was the song of the angels at Jesus birth; each
of Pauls letters opens with a greeting of peace; the letter to the Ephesians proclaims that Christ is our peace - the reversal of all
worry, strife, envy, jealousy, self-seeking ambition. Go in peace is Jesus dismissal of those he cures, and also the dismissal at
the end of Mass. Peace was Jesus bequest to his disciples after the Last Supper. The second watchword is forgiveness, for God
was always known as a God of mercy and forgiveness; Jesus came to show this by his constant meeting with and welcoming
of sinners. Moreover, the Lords Prayer shows that if we do not ourselves forgive, we block Gods forgiveness of ourselves too.
How can you bring peace more effectively to those you meet?
Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB
Respond & Request
Now slowly and prayerfully read the Gospel once again but this time in silence. Consider how this Gospel could apply to your life in general.
Then thank God for any insight you may have received. Conclude by asking God to bless you with one of the following spiritual gifts to help
you act on any resolution you have made: love, understanding, wisdom, faithfulness, peace, self control, patience, or joy. Please remember
to pray for the Church and particularly our school families. Then conclude by requesting the prayers of Our Lady & St Joseph.
The Wednesday Word is under the patronage of St Joseph, Patron Saint of Families and Protector of the Church
Within the tradition of the Catholic Church, each Wednesday is dedicated to St Joseph
www.wednesdayword.org
WEDNESDAY WORD PLUS

Fr Henrys reflections on the first and second readings of Sunday 24th May 2015
First Reading: The Birth of the Church

Acts 2:1-11
When Pentecost day came round, the apostles had all met in one room,
when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from
heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were
sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of
fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign
languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech. Now there were
devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and
at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these
men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished.
Surely, they said, all these men speaking are Galileans? How does
it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language?
Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and
the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome - Jews
and proselytes alike - Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in
our own language about the marvels of God.
The ministry of Jesus starts with the coming of the Spirit at his Baptism,
and in a similar way the ministry of the Church begins with the coming
of the Spirit at Pentecost. There can be no witness to Jesus or to his
message, no spreading of the Kingship of God, without the Spirit of
Jesus. Another lesson from this parallelism between Jesus Baptism and
Pentecost is that the task of the Church and the life of the Church are the
same as those of Jesus himself: to bring Gods kingship to its fulfilment
by bringing healing, love and joy through the message of the Risen Christ.
The rushing wind and the tongues of fire are an allusion to the account
in the Old Testament of the coming of Gods Spirit upon Moses and the
Elders. So the message of the New Testament is the fulfilment of the Old
Testament, breaking out beyond the borders of Judaism to include all
peoples of the world. The union of all these peoples, all understanding one
language in their own way, is a deliberate contrast to the Old Testament
scene at the Tower of Babel, when all the peoples of the world defied
God and so were split up and could no longer understand one anothers
languages. The list of unpronounceable peoples is itself a witness to the
universality of the Church!
How does the Church reveal the Spirit at work in the world today?
Second Reading: The Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
(one of the options for the second reading of Pentecost)
No one can say, Jesus is Lord unless he is under the influence of
the Holy Spirit. There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit;
there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord;
working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same
God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the
Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. Just as a human
body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all
these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the
one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as
well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.
We show forth to the world

the presence of Jesus.
The slightest glance round a church full of people is enough to show

the variety within the Christian community. But it needs the words of
St Paul to remind us that every member of that community has his or
her own special gift to contribute. Mercifully, these gifts are all different.
It is good to reflect on the natural gifts that we find all around us. It is
also valuable to reflect how dull, or even intolerable, life would be if I
lived with a lot of clones of myself, all with the same gifts and the same
faults as myself! Every one of us contributes something different and
valuable, whether it is the baby squeaking as a sign of new, developing
life or the older person contributing wisdom, experience and even the
suffering of Christ. Another inspiring thought is that all we varied and
diverse people go to make up the Body which is Christ. We all have
experience of various corporate bodies, organisations and companies,
but none of these bodies manifest the presence of a person as do our
own individual bodies. But as the Body of Christ, the Church, we show
forth to the world the presence of Jesus, the incarnate Son of God,
through the indwelling of the Spirit.
What gifts do you bring to help build up the Body of Christ?
The Wednesday Word: Connecting Home, School & Parish through the Word of God
w: www.wednesdayword.org
e: info@wednesdayword.org
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Wednesday 20th May 2015 - A WEEKLY PRAYER CUSTOM

The Parish Version

Prayerfully preparing for the

Relax & Remember

Respond & Request

WEDNESDAY WORD PLUS

First Reading: The Birth of the Church

Second Reading: The Body of Christ

We show forth to the world

The slightest glance round a church full of people is enough to show

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