WEDNESDAY REFLECTION
Mid-week Reflection
26th May 2021
I can’t say if it is true or not but the story is told that on the Monday following Pentecost Sunday, Pope Paul asked his secretary why they had not laid out red vestments for the octave. The secretary replied, “Holy Father, you abolished the Octave. The Italians have a saying, Se non èvero, è ben trovato which means something like, well if it’s not true, it’s a good story.
So here we are on the non-octave of Pentecost. Almost 2000 years ago on Pentecost the Church was born. The words of Jesus were true. We would not be left alone. God would always be with us. And will be until the end of time. Why is it sometimes difficult to believe that? It is because where the Church is weak, the Holy Spirit is ignored and forgotten. The Church in the Western world is not strong. We are not living the Gospel. If you have been following the Rosary Marathon requested by Pope Francis, you will probably notice that reverence, humility and devotion seem so much stronger in poor and neglected parts of the world. Their prayers seem so much more fervent. They sing. They pray. They bring flowers and light candles. And all with fewer material resources than we have. They are more aware of the Cross. They have a stronger love of the Blessed Virgin. Our world was horrified, and rightly so, by the stabbing of a hedgehog. How could somebody be so cruel and barbarous? Yet, that same world is not in the least moved by the stabbing of babies in the womb.
The world, and by that I mean us, receive the Holy Spirit by reading Scripture, by devoutly receiving the sacraments, and by carrying out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We need to ask God to help us to be open to the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Not simply for our own sake, but to help us seek and serve the needs of others. We cannot find salvation on our own.
Monsignor Monaghan
