Timely Sequence Reflections

Pentecost Sunday was quite a long time ago, but the Pentecost Sunday Sequence prayer that is included in that liturgy is a favorite prayer of mine, and one that does not have to be stashed way until next year.

 In today’s liturgy, we hear the story from Luke’s Gospel (18:35-43) in which a blind man had his sight restored by Jesus. Maybe, with reviewing the Pentecost prayer, Jesus will give us some new ways to think and pray to the Holy Spirit.

 Come Holy Spirit, come.

And from your celestial home

Shed a ray of light divine.

Come, Father of the poor.

Come, source of all our store.

Come, within our bosoms shine.

 We should openly invite the Holy Spirit into our lives every day. The Spirit, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, does accept our invitation and is very active and helpful, even in small ways. We should pay attention, even if we have been slow to respond in the past.

          You, of comforters the best;

You, the soul’s most welcome guest;

Sweet refreshment here below;

 We all need comforting now and then, but in today’s very troubled world, divine comfort is needed and appreciated more than ever! One look at the news in the media tells us we are lacking in the kind of sweet refreshment only the Spirit can provide.

In our labor, rest most sweet;

Grateful coolness in the heat;

Solace in the midst of woe.

The Holy Spirit helps us in extreme times and situations. It is a blessing to rest in the Lord, to find a respite when life is demanding, when we are in the heat of anger or temptation, resentment, struggle, or great sadness. Maybe our labor is persistent praying for some urgent need of a loved one. The Spirit is there to help us.

         O most blessed Light divine,

Shine within these hearts of yours,

And our inmost being fill.

Where you are not, we have naught,

Nothing good in deed or thought,

Nothing free from taint of ill.

 Again, we do the inviting. By virtue of our baptism, we know the Spirit is ready to assist us right into the center of our hearts. This world is so full of distractions, perversions, temptations, and roads to emptiness. We are human, the Holy Spirit is divine! The Spirit will correct us and fill us!

 Heal our wounds, our strength renew;

On our dryness pour your dew;

Wash the stains of guilt away;

Bend the stubborn heart and will;

Melt the frozen, warm the chill;

Guide the steps that go astray.

 The Holy Spirit brings positivity and hope. Healing flows from the Spirit in a way that renews our strength and provides new life that is cleansed and redirected. The Spirit resets us and reboots us, if you want to think in computer-age terms. We can be reprogrammed.

 On the faithful, who adore

And confess you, evermore

In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;

Give them your salvation, Lord;

Give them joys that never end.

 Amen. Alleluia.

 That sevenfold gift—remember what the “seven” are? The gifts are wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. Wow! What a package of gifts from a very generous Lord! Let us adore and confess the Lord, and be very thankful for his loving generosity, those “joys that never end!”