Today is Pentecost Sunday: the Birthday of the Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit's coming was predicted and promised by Jesus: "The Holy Spirit will come and bring to your minds all I have taught you."
Before Pentecost, the disciples were in hiding. After Pentecost, the disciples were preaching boldly in the synogues and streets of Jerusalem. They were fearless. When told to not speak in "that name", the disciples replied: "It is better to obey God than man."
But the most important aspect of Pentecost in not only the boldness of proclaming the Kingdom of God, but the institution of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: Jesus said before going to heaven: "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they shall be forgiven. Whose sins you retain, they well be retained." We so often hear the argument: "Why do I need to confess to a priest. I can go directly to God." Of course, you can repent and go and ask God's forgiveness directly; but the to have the personal touch of God's mercy was established by Jesus, Himself. If Jesus did not want us to confess to Him in the person of the priest, then why did He give the power to forgive sins to his apostles..and which handed down through the imposition of the laying of hands in Ordination. In all seven Sacraments, Christ is encountered through the Holy Spirit.
Here are some important Scriptures regarding the Holy Spirit who is a PERSON not merely a force.
1) John 14:26: "He will teach you all things."
2) Acts 8: 29: "And the Spirit said to Philip,'Go up...'"
3) Acts 13:2: "Holy Spirit said, 'Set aprt for me...'"
4) Romans 8: 27: 'Spirit intercedes for the saints...'"
5) 1 Corinthians 2: 11: "no one understands the thoughts of God except the Spirit."
6) 1 Corinthians 12: 11: " Spirit apportions to each as He wills."
7) Ephesians 4: 30: "do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God."
At Confirmation the Holy Spirit comes to us -- our own personal Pentecost -- with his seven fold gifts. We have our being from these seven gifts and are prepared by the Holy Spirit for our eternal life in the Lord in Heaven.
Peace and love in the Holy Spirit!
"Come Holy Spirit -- WITH YOUR SEVEN-FOLD GIFTS and fill the hearts of your faithful..and renew the face of the earth!" SO THAT WE CAN ENJOY THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - especially: peace, joy, and charity toward others.
For You, Holy Spirit, are Everthing to us: our joy, our peace, our inspiration, our bond of love between family members and the Bond that makes the World into one Family. You are the Giver of Life, help all pregant mothers cherish the Life growing inside of them...so as to not fear the future..not worry about the future..because the Father will Provide for them. Give them the Courage to keep their babies and give Birth to them with the great joy of Motherhood..and of being another Giver of Life. All this we ask of the Father in the Name of Jesus through Your Holy Spirit. Amen!
Peace and love and joy, Pio
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Pio's Proverb 176: Happy Mother's Day: May 13, 2012
What do mothers do best? They create families. And what do families do best? Families teach us ten things -- all supervised by Mom:
1) Skills that we need to live our lives: I learned to cook, to sew, to do chores, to read and write, and most of all: I learned to pray. Every dinner in the evening, we knelt down to say the rosary. My Mom led it. She also took us to Mother of Perpetual Help Tuesday devotions. She made sure we all went to a Catholic School were we had Mass and Holy Communion daily.
2) Mom showed us how to have dignity as a person. There were no doubting our dignity. Mom taught us the true meaning by her example and words the ancient Proverb: "My son, my daughter, with true humility have self esteem and prize yourself as you ought."
3) Mom taught us that God is our true Destiny. She most of all proved that by the holy death she showed us: she died having had all three sacraments and her last words were the ending of the Hail Mary: "Pray for us now and at the hour of out death. Amen." She then took in two small breaths and never exhaled. She was swept away by angels into the arms of Jesus and Mary.
4) Mom taught us what is Truth and Goodness: in short how to be a saint!
5) Mom as judge and jury of all family disputes and exercised her veto rights in administering Love and Justice between all us brothers and sisters: 8 of us.
6) Momma taught us to know the purpose of authority..that is by serving us..she taught us to serve one another. Even to this day when we kids are now in our 70's, we ALL serve one another: the fruit of true authority in humility.
7) Mom - to our knowledge - never did a wrong thing: She taught us the meaing of right and wrong by her being right and never wrong. Her wisdom exceeded any Ph.D. or M.D. She had it all: Wisdom, Grace, Love, Caring, Serving, Tenderness, Generosity, Good taste, Decency, Justice, Fairness, and a sense of humor. When she told a joke, she would always lead off with the punch line: a most unique delivery! :)
8) She had compassion for the weak, the homeless, the hungry: I saw her with my own boyish eyes of 7 years old feeding the vagrants who came down the alley looking for a handout. She made sandwiches for them...My Mom's own soup kitchen. Even on her last Thanksgiving dinner - as she eyed me taking some little of this and some little of that..worrying that I would not get enought - I noticed this and gave her my plate to fill up to her heart's content for me..and she made a mountain of food for me..with a mom's smiles of contentment. It was November of 2001; and on January 25, 2002, she was leaving us while praying the rosay and soon arriving in heaven.
9) She would teach us all how to forgive by her forgiveness. When she was only hours before her passing, we kids all lined up to go to confession to her..and get her forgiveness for any hurt we may inadvertedly caused her. She gave out absolution to every one..and herself, received absolution from Fr. Jim who gave her all three sacraments: Anointing, Absolution and Holy Communion..her Viaticum to heaven.
10) Momma -- who had to go through all our names to get to the one she was talking to -- showed us how to give full attention to each other. Attending us..what what she did best. When she asked me just a few days before going home to God, "Where am I?" I said, "Momma, you are home and all your kids are here with you..why...because You ARE MOMMA!" She was so pleased. My calling her "Momma" was like her getting 20 honorary Ph.D's. Momma was a total Success! A total Eternal Success! We love You, Momma. Happy Mother's day! We love You!
Love, Your Peter forever! xoxo
1) Skills that we need to live our lives: I learned to cook, to sew, to do chores, to read and write, and most of all: I learned to pray. Every dinner in the evening, we knelt down to say the rosary. My Mom led it. She also took us to Mother of Perpetual Help Tuesday devotions. She made sure we all went to a Catholic School were we had Mass and Holy Communion daily.
2) Mom showed us how to have dignity as a person. There were no doubting our dignity. Mom taught us the true meaning by her example and words the ancient Proverb: "My son, my daughter, with true humility have self esteem and prize yourself as you ought."
3) Mom taught us that God is our true Destiny. She most of all proved that by the holy death she showed us: she died having had all three sacraments and her last words were the ending of the Hail Mary: "Pray for us now and at the hour of out death. Amen." She then took in two small breaths and never exhaled. She was swept away by angels into the arms of Jesus and Mary.
4) Mom taught us what is Truth and Goodness: in short how to be a saint!
5) Mom as judge and jury of all family disputes and exercised her veto rights in administering Love and Justice between all us brothers and sisters: 8 of us.
6) Momma taught us to know the purpose of authority..that is by serving us..she taught us to serve one another. Even to this day when we kids are now in our 70's, we ALL serve one another: the fruit of true authority in humility.
7) Mom - to our knowledge - never did a wrong thing: She taught us the meaing of right and wrong by her being right and never wrong. Her wisdom exceeded any Ph.D. or M.D. She had it all: Wisdom, Grace, Love, Caring, Serving, Tenderness, Generosity, Good taste, Decency, Justice, Fairness, and a sense of humor. When she told a joke, she would always lead off with the punch line: a most unique delivery! :)
8) She had compassion for the weak, the homeless, the hungry: I saw her with my own boyish eyes of 7 years old feeding the vagrants who came down the alley looking for a handout. She made sandwiches for them...My Mom's own soup kitchen. Even on her last Thanksgiving dinner - as she eyed me taking some little of this and some little of that..worrying that I would not get enought - I noticed this and gave her my plate to fill up to her heart's content for me..and she made a mountain of food for me..with a mom's smiles of contentment. It was November of 2001; and on January 25, 2002, she was leaving us while praying the rosay and soon arriving in heaven.
9) She would teach us all how to forgive by her forgiveness. When she was only hours before her passing, we kids all lined up to go to confession to her..and get her forgiveness for any hurt we may inadvertedly caused her. She gave out absolution to every one..and herself, received absolution from Fr. Jim who gave her all three sacraments: Anointing, Absolution and Holy Communion..her Viaticum to heaven.
10) Momma -- who had to go through all our names to get to the one she was talking to -- showed us how to give full attention to each other. Attending us..what what she did best. When she asked me just a few days before going home to God, "Where am I?" I said, "Momma, you are home and all your kids are here with you..why...because You ARE MOMMA!" She was so pleased. My calling her "Momma" was like her getting 20 honorary Ph.D's. Momma was a total Success! A total Eternal Success! We love You, Momma. Happy Mother's day! We love You!
Love, Your Peter forever! xoxo
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