Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea parish in San Francisco, gave a 13-minute homily on Pentecost Sunday, May 24.
What Happened at Pentecost? A strong driving wind and fire upon the
apostles. Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on Easter Sunday evening. The Apostles prayed for complete outpouring of the Holy Spirit. At least 18 different languages are mentioned on Pentecost – from the west, south, east, north.
Bishop Barron speaks as if the wind was as a tornado. You can’t stop a tornado. God’s wind will take us where we need to go. Trust the wind – let it take us where it will.
John Henry Newman wrote this prayer:”I will trust Him. In perplexity my perplexity will serve Him, in my sorrow my sorrow will serve Him.” That surrender made Newman a saint.
We don’t generally pay too much attention to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. From Isaiah: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord.
Those gifts align with the seven virtues – prudence, justice, fortitude , temperance, including the theological virtues faith, hope, charity.
They also yield the twelve fruits or manifestations of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, faithfuleness, gentleness, modesty, self control, chastity.
I wish that wind would blow in the Vatican. Lots of stale United Nations, Marxist, secular NGO, gay air in that place right now.
Loved the sermon. Monday I felt a lack of peace while trying to fill out my California Primary ballot. I took out “A Prayerbook of Favorite Litanies” by Tan Books. Looking for a Holy Spirit litany, I came across another kind, the “Litany for Interior Peace”. I decided that was just what I needed and used it. While searching websites about the candidates and making out my ballot this went through my mind, “Politicians do not save us, God does”, and the saying, “It matters not whether we win or lose, but how we play the game.” I finished my ballot, took it to the registrars drop off and was at perfect peace.