IGNITE LOVE - PENTECOST NOVENA SERMON 2021 (Day 2)

 

Notes taken from sermon by Rev Fr Simon Pereira, CsSr

Day 2 of Pentecost Novena 2021 (SACCRE) 

 

- IGNITE LOVE

 

 

 

The mysterious power of the Holy Spirit

When the world was in darkness, the Holy Spirit hovered over the darkness and brought light to the world.  Today the world is in darkness, but we know in a mysterious way, the power of the Holy Spirit is moving especially where people are in anguish and pain.  We know God's mysterious power is moving among His people.  May the Lord's spirit touch, melt and mould us, that we may have a renewed awareness of the power of the Holy Spirit living, moving and breathing in us, set us free, engulf us, ignite us with the fire of love, so that we can set others with that love ablaze wherever we are.

Moved by the Spirit

• St Alphonsus was on the mountain, and he saw so many people who are hungry and thirsty for the Word of God, and he rounded the redemptorist movement.
• In the middle of the 17th century, in the middle of the pandemic, with millions dying, children roaming in the streets - two men were inspired and moved by the touch of divinity and they started two small schools - the IJ family and the De La Salle brothers, and today this is the legacy they left behind.
• Mother Theresa was practicing her pastoral activities in the slums of Calcutta, the Spirit moved in her and she started the missionaries of charity
• St Francis of Assisi met a leper, was moved by the mysterious of power of the Spirit to embrace the leper.  Today we have the St Francican family.

    --> Something moved in their lives, they were engulfed with love, they left their comfort zones because they listened to the voice of the Shepherd, they were engulfed by love.

God's love

• John 3:16 - God so loved the world he gave us his only Son
• God made the first move to love us.  Therefore we are all lovable.
• If we contemplate on the loving gift of the Son by the Father, we cannot help but be caught up by this mysterious love.
• St Alphonsus spoke about the crazy love of God - Jesus is madly in love with us.

Signs of the times

• Jesus paid a price to ransom us, not in terms of human currency, but with his precious body and blood.
• Eph 3:14-21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
• The potential of a human person is to be filled with the fullness of God, the fullness of the Trinity.
• Paul said in Rom 5:5 that the love of God has been poured into our hearts, to revive us, to create another Pentecost every moment, every second of our lives.
• Jesus said in Luke 12:9  I have come to set the world on fire and how happy I am if it is already ablaze.   
• The good news is that the world is already on fire. The world is ablaze with a new sense of solidarity and love, a new sense of humanity that all of us are brothers and sister, going through a renewal of civilization that we need each other. --> Look at the signs of the time, look at the symbol of the Spirit,  it is telling us we need each other.

The gift of facial recognition

• When we reach out to people in need, we will be given the gift of the facial recognition - we can see the face of Jesus in the face of a suffering person. 
• The gift of facial recognition is the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
• Mat 25:35-36 or I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
• When we have this gift and we recognise Jesus, we set somebody on fire through the love of God.

We are empowered!

• The holy spirit empowered the early church, the Holy Spirit overshadowed our blessed mother. 
• The Holy Spirit is present when we receive the Eucharist, when we are confirmed.  We have the anointing.  
• Let us allow the Holy Spirit to operate in our lives, to activate the power within us, so we are empowered by a supernatural force.

• Jesus challenged us, Love one another as I have love you (John 15:12)
• Jesus reminds us in Johns Gospel that if we love him, we will keep his commandment and He will send his advocate. 
• He also tells us that if we love Him, His father, him and the Holy Spirit will come and make their home in us.
• Imagine the fire power that we have within us!
• Reflect on this, reflect on the fire power of the early Church. 

A new world, a new community

• As we prepare for Pentecost, let us keep in mind that we are the new world, the new community.
• During this pandemic too, we ponder and treasure what our Lady pondered and treasured - the life of God in her faith journey.
• In this pandemic with the virus is going through mutations, we too need to go to a physical, social, spiritual mutation in our lives - when God touches us we will never be the same.   
• Let us move into the model of the early christian community.  
• Just as the Holy Spirit hovered over the darkness of the world, it will enter into our lives, our families, our friends, the world....