What Will You Be Doing?

[Resurrexi]

Oh ok

[Norseman82]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1879130' date='May 31 2009, 03:56 AM']What will you be doing at 9:00 a.m. today, the time at which, centuries ago, the Thrid Person of the Trinity descended upon the apostles?[/quote]

Just out of curiosity, how did you arrive at the time? And to be technically correct, do we need to adjust for the time zones or is the 9AM determination good for any time zone?

[Resurrexi]

"1 And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place: 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. 5 Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 And when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue. 7 And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying: Behold, are not all these, that speak, Galileans? 8 And how have we heard, every man our own tongue wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,

11 Jews also, and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all astonished, and wondered, saying one to another: What meaneth this? 13 But others mocking, said: These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and with your ears receive my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing [b]it is but the third hour of the day[/b]." (Acts 1, emphasis added)


The third hour is generally reckoned to be around 9 a.m.

It is similar to how the Gospel narrative of the Passion says that our Lord died around the 9th hour, therefore we commemorate His death at 3 p.m. on Good Friday.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Resurrexi

[Theologian in Training]

I was actually hearing a confession after Mass. My homily was part of the reason.

[url="http://lordifyouwill.blogspot.com/"]http://lordifyouwill.blogspot.com/[/url]

Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. 7, seemingly, simple words, 7 extraordinarily powerful gifts, freely given to make us holy, the very essence and foundation of how we, ourselves, become living temples of God.

Gifts that are bestowed upon us, in a very special way, on this feast of Pentecost, an outpouring of countless graces, descending as not just one but a multiplicity of gifts, all unique in what they are but all stemming from the same source, that same divine wellspring, the very fountain of grace which can only be found in the Holy Spirit.

For,[b] wisdom [/b]draws us to a desire to perfect our faith, to value our Christian belief above and beyond those things that the world has to offer. As the late Fr. John Hardon has said: “Where faith is a simple knowledge of the articles of Christian belief, wisdom goes on to a certain divine penetration of the truths themselves.”

Similarly, there is the gift of [b]understanding[/b], though seemingly the same as wisdom, distinct in the fact that it leads to a certitude of faith, a grasping of the realities that wisdom has brought us to in the first place.

With those two gifts, we are then able to perfect ourselves more in right judgment, that is, prudence, and though prudence is a virtue, it is [b]counsel [/b]that is the gift, the supernatural ability to judge those things that can threaten and cause a danger to our salvation.

Which is how we also grow in courage and strength, or what is known as [b]fortitude[/b]. Yet, there is more to it than just typical courage, but a supernatural strength to endure and persevere. In fact, it is this same virtue that has allowed countless martyrs to lay down their lives for their faith rather than renouncing it in the midst of trials and persecution.

That is why we are also given the gift of [b]knowledge[/b], the ability to discern and discover the Will of God in our lives, revealing to us His desires and with these other gifts, desiring to fulfill that same Will.

And, yet, none of this makes sense unless we want to worship, adore and serve God, the very source of these gifts. Which is why with the gift of [b]piety[/b], we have this ability, knowing that we don’t do it out of a sense of obligation or duty, but out of love.

Similarly then, we have the last and final gift of the [b]fear of the Lord[/b], not entirely in the sense that we fear His judgment and immense power, but, rather, recognizing that because He is, indeed, all-powerful and the Creator of the very universe, He deserves our very awe and respect which should lead us to not offend Him. Again, not entirely out of fear, but out of respect, out of love.

And, today, these gifts are being made manifest, known to us in a very real way, offered for our taking, and we but need only to take them, to harness the very power of Heaven itself leading to an abundance of fruits as St. Paul beautifully explained in our second reading today, those of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And, with such an abundance of grace, such a multitude of gifts we should be calling upon the Holy Spirit daily, knowing His great power and His amazing ability to transform us all.

Therefore, let us call upon Him now, that He may descend on us this day, and breathe in us His life. And, although I have shared this before, there is a beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit, from St. Augustine, that I would like to end with. It is a prayer I pray daily and would invite all of you to do the same. Although it is written in the first person, I would invite everyone to make it their own.

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit
That my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit
That my work too may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit
That I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit
To defend all that is holy.
Guard me then, O Holy Spirit
That I always may be holy.
Amen.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Theologian in Training

[Norseman82]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1879321' date='May 31 2009, 03:35 PM']"1 And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place: 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. 5 Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 And when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue. 7 And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying: Behold, are not all these, that speak, Galileans? 8 And how have we heard, every man our own tongue wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,

11 Jews also, and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all astonished, and wondered, saying one to another: What meaneth this? 13 But others mocking, said: These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and with your ears receive my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing [b]it is but the third hour of the day[/b]." (Acts 1, emphasis added)


The third hour is generally reckoned to be around 9 a.m.

It is similar to how the Gospel narrative of the Passion says that our Lord died around the 9th hour, therefore we commemorate His death at 3 p.m. on Good Friday.[/quote]

OK, I reread the Acts narrative and my NAB actually states 9 in the morning. Stupid me!

[Donna]

Theo, [b]thank you![/b]

(please pardon - not in the habit of calling you "Father"...)

(to others: Theologian in Training, along w/ others, including myself
were at PM "long" before he was ordained...seems like we all were
here long time before, lotta posts. Then I 'd been absent quite awhile
from PM - and now Father is 3 years + a few days ordained!)

Edited June 1, 2009 by Donna