Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2012 (PentecostB)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University
Sunday Readings: Vigil Mass
Sunday Readings: Sunday Mass
Podcast of the Readings
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: What does the Holy Spirit do in your life?
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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
1.
In the First Reading the Holy Spirit is given as tongues of fire
accompanied by a strong driving wind. In the Gospel Jesus was in the
disciples’ midst and gave them the Spirit too by breathing on them. Do
you have an idea how there could be two different descriptions of this
superatural event?
2. Did the Holy Spirit come only once in
history, to the apostles and Mary in the upper room? Or do you see the
Holy Spirit as dynamic and constant in every life? How were the
disciples different after the Spirit’s arrival? Are you different when
you are confident that the Spirit is with you? Explain.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 104: 1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
1. Our Psalm reminds us that we are dependent on the Lord for our very
breath. Tell about what makes you aware of the 'divine Breath' in your
life.
2. Our Sunday Psalm Response is, 'Lord, send out your
Spirit and renew the face of the earth.' Is the Holy Spirit doing a work
in you? Are you a 'new creation?' Speak about your baptism in the
Holy Spirit.
Second Reading
Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
1. “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for
some benefit.” Were Vivaldi and Michelangelo given gifts solely for
their own pleasure? For whose benefit were they given? What are your
gifts and for what benefit were they given to you and those around you?
2.
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez was a Jesuit Brother (1533-1617), whose job for
forty years was to answer the door of the Jesuit College in Majorca.
Would his spiritual gift of service compare to that of St. Francis
Xavier, who converted whole countries? How?
Gospel
John 20:19-23
1.
Jesus “breathed” on them. How does this relate to Genesis 2:7, “God
formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life?” How is this significant for you? How important is the
Holy Spirit to you?
2. Jesus said, “Peace be with you…,” and the
disciples’ first task after receiving the Holy Spirit was to forgive
sins. What impact does forgiveness of sin have on peace? Is it always
easy to forgive? How peaceful do you feel when you experience problems
with forgiveness?
Sunday Bible Study Group
Please share your comments on the Sunday Readings. May we be blessed by God's words as reflected in your thoughts and experience-sharing.
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“If you take away their breath,
ReplyDeletethey perish ... when you send forth
your spirit, they are created.”
Animated by the Spirit, the divine Breath,
we who are His creatures sing of the glory
of our Creator.
“When you send forth your Spirit …
you renew the face of the earth.”
God’s spirit is the source of all natural life.
So also the Holy Spirit is the source
of all supernatural life.
We are nothing without the divine Breath --
“When you take away their breath,
they perish and return to their dust.”
It is this same creative Breath
which came down on the disciples
in that locked room that St. Luke speaks of in our 1st reading.
The Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to go forth
and proclaim the Gospel boldly
to men of all nations, speaking different tongues.
We too are called to be baptized in the Spirit,
and to receive the divine Breath of the Lord.
Having been baptized in the Spirit, we are a new creation,
and are called to glorify the Lord in what we do.
In this way, as the Psalm says,
“May the Lord be glad in his works.”
Fortunately, for us too,
the Spirit is manifested
in each of us for some benefit
(as St. Paul reminds us in our 2nd reading).
All we have to do is
accept Christ and believe in him.
Then we too will have the gift of life.
Without the breath of God, we are nothing.
Just as the Holy Spirit empowered
the disciples at Pentecost,
so too are we empowered by our Creator.
The presence of the Holy Spirit within us
is how we share in the divinity of Christ.
Without the breath of the Holy Spirit,
we have no spiritual life.
But thanks to God's gift,
we are a new creation,
and we are baptized into Christ.
And that alone gives us reason to praise God.
As our psalmist says,
“Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the Lord.”
Amen