God’s vision for our lives is not always clear to us; sometimes, this is scary.

When God chastises Job from a whirlwind, the words are chilling: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of
the world?”

And it is only slightly less troubling for the disciples to hear Jesus say in response to their fear, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”

We might hear these words and feel tempted to repress or deny our fear or doubt in the face of not understanding what God is up to when our world is upside down. Rather, these questions are invitations to ask God to be present in the chaos. Job thinks that God has abandoned him, and the disciples envision their death. God’s words remind us that He is with us and is in control, so we don’t have to be.

When we are afraid, unsure, and confused, the invitation is to press ourselves into the Spirit who is always with us and let God carry us through our fear.

God of wind and rainstorms, help us see and trust you amid chaos. Allow us to rest in the conviction that you have created the world and will continue to sustain it through your grace. Draw us deeper into the virtue of faith and help us know that you are at work raising new life. Amen.

CCCB Reflection
Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary

God’s life grows from the smallest seedlings.

Does it sometimes feel like the lofty things God asks of us – holiness and heaven – are just too far out of reach?

This week’s readings are meant to encourage us in the tiny and unlikely places in which faith takes root and
grows into something strong and beautiful. Like a mustard seed can grow into a sturdy tree, or a tiny shoot can grow into a tree on the face of a mountain, our smallest efforts at faithfulness can grow into a legacy of faith and love that outlives us on earth.

Holiness and heaven are all the result of a lifetime of momentary actions: tell the truth, give without counting the cost, smile at the people God has entrusted you to love, resist the temptation to blame, ask for forgiveness, don’t give up. These daily efforts are the seeds that grow into honesty, integrity, faithfulness, discipline, gentleness, and wisdom. Keep at it. This is what the Kingdom of God is made of.

God of mustard seeds and saplings, fill us with the hope that you delight in our smallest efforts to grow toward you. Whisper to us when we have the smallest opportunity to practice our faith, and keep us faithful to our participation in your saving work in us and the world. For this we pray. Amen

CCCB – Reflection
Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
“God’s life is poured out for us in sacrifice; what will we give of our lives?”

Today’s readings draw us into the heart of what it means to follow Jesus with our lives. God sent his Son, who
poured himself out for us, an example that this gift of life was meant to be given away.

The Eucharistic table invites us to receive the sacrifice of Jesus and then leave the table to give ourselves away in love to the world, just like Jesus did.

So, what difference does your faith make in the way that you live?

What sacrifices are you making for the sake of loving the world?

Are you purchasing less so you can give more money to those in need?

Are you giving up time to serve others?

Are you offering your leisure time to play or spend more time with your or make someone else’s lifeless burdensome?

God is not asking you to be a joyless witness, resentfully rejecting all fun or recreational things. He’s asking us all to live in such a way that our lifestyle will be a gift, a light, and an invitation for others to find life’s most profound joy in loving with our whole hearts.

Jesus, you offer yourself to us through the consecrated bread and wine; may we be transformed together and become one body for our world. As we gather in our church communities or in our domestic churches, send us forth into the world to pour ourselves out in love. Amen

Taken from the CCCB Reflection
Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary

https://www.cccrs.com/1886-2/

On Trinity Sunday, we often hear homilies about the theological mystery of the Trinity, but this year, perhaps we
could focus on the theological miracle: that the three persons of God have promised to be with us to the end of
time.

We have been promised that the Triune God will never leave us. Just as Jesus came to earth to reveal this
to us, we are asked to be ambassadors of this kind of love in the world.

Who knows God’s constant presence because you show up for them consistently? Your family and friends? Your community and neighbours?

What about the sick and the suffering, the neglected and needy, the addicted and the poor?

How are we bearing witness to the Triune God’s constant and faithful presence as an act of faith in the Blessed Trinity?

May others know God’s enduring love because we have borne witness to it so well.

God, the Father, Christ the Son, Spirit of Love, anoint us for your mission. Draw us into the mystery of who you are so that we might be a part of the miracle of how you love, walking us into life. Amen.

Taken from CCCB Reflection
Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary

Solemnity of Pentecost – Eucharistic Celebration – Homily of His Homily of His Holiness John Paul II
Sunday, 31 May 1998

Veni, Sancte Spiritus!

The magnificent sequence, which contains a rich theology of the Holy Spirit, would be worthy of meditation, stanza by stanza. Here we will reflect only on the first word: Veni, come! It recalls the waiting of the Apostles after Christ’s Ascension into heaven.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke presents them to us gathered in the Upper Room in prayer with the Mother of Jesus (cf. Acts 1:14). What better words than these could express their prayer: “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” — the invocation, that is, of the one who moved over the face of the waters at the beginning of the world (cf. Gn 1:2), whom Jesus had promised them as the Paraclete?

The hearts of Mary and the Apostles at those moments were longing for his coming, alternating between ardent faith and the confession of human inadequacy. The Church’s piety has interpreted and passed on this sentiment in the hymn “Veni, Sancte Spiritus”. The Apostles know that the work Christ has entrusted to them is arduous, but decisive for the history of humanity’s salvation. Will they be able to complete it? The Lord reassures their hearts. At every step of the mission that will lead them to proclaim and witness to the Gospel to the furthest corners of the globe, they will be able to count on the Spirit promised by Christ. The Apostles, recalling Christ’s promise on the days between the Ascension and Pentecost, will focus their every thought and sentiment on that veni — come!

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Thus beginning her invocation to the Holy Spirit, the Church makes her own the substance of the Apostles’ prayer as they gathered with Mary in the Upper Room; indeed, she extends it in history and makes it ever timely.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Thus she says over and over in every corner of the earth, her fervour unchanged, firmly aware that she must remain in the Upper Room, always awaiting the Spirit. At the same time, she knows that she must leave the Upper Room and travel the world’s roads, with the ever new task of bearing witness to the mystery of the Spirit.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! So we pray with Mary, sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, a most precious dwelling-place of Christ among us, so that she may help us to be living temples of the Spirit and tireless witnesses of the Gospel.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Amen!

© Copyright 1998 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana