June 2021

10 Buckden Roundabout June 2021 Church News Weekly Prayer Roster Each week during the year the Churches, in their prayers, remember the residents of particular streets in the village, those who work in the parish and village organisations. Those to be remembered this month are: 6th June Farming communities, Taylor ’ s Lane (West), Hardwick Lane, the residents and staff of Hardwick Dene, Great North Road, Brampton Road, Perry Road, Buckden Wood 13th June High Street, Ivelbury Close, York Yard, Lion Yard, George Lane, King George Court, Taylor ’ s Lane (East), Wolsey Gardens, Charles Court 20th June Hunts End, Copes Close, Monks Cottages, Hunts End Court 27th June Manor Gardens, Manor Close, Glebe Lane, The Grove Thought for the Month Why the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost I apologize for the title it is not a “ clickbait ”, the title does not imply that there were reasons that forced the Holy Spirit to descend on the Pentecost and left all other days nor does the article attempt to do so. Rather, the article with the help of the Old Testament tradition briefly explains the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and what it implies on the Christian life. God gives his gifts freely when he chooses to do so. The giving of the Spirit is basically the fruit of his love. The large crowd from different places in Jerusalem in Acts 2 was in effect of the celebration of the long - established Pente- cost. It was also known as feast of the grain harvest, the feast of Weeks or the feast of the first fruits (cf. Lev 23:16, Ex 23:16; 34:22, Num 28:26). The feast fell on the fiftieth day after the ceremony of the barley during the Passover time. It marked the beginning of the offering of the first fruits. Later, Pentecost was related to the history of salvation on which the Israelites commemorated the Covenant at Sinai (the giving of the Law). The feast eventually came to be known as the Pentecost from the Greek word for fifties (cf. Tb 2:1, 2 Mac 12:32). In such historical and liturgical environment of the Israelites, it pleased God to send forth his Holy Spirit, his first fruit to the small group of disciples. Thus, there was a mash up of the Is- rael ’ s feast and the Christian feast. In other words, Pentecost was given a new meaning, this time centered on the Paschal mystery. To Christians, Pentecost marks the end of the Easter period. It is the day on which the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and the Virgin Mary. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the fulfillment of the promise Jesus had given to his disci- ples in John 14:16 - 17. The gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church means sanctification and new life. Christ gives his Spirit to the Church and invites her to open herself fully to him that he may lead her to the truth. The Pentecost event is juxtaposed with that of the tower of Babel in Gen 11. Unlike the latter which gave rise to confusion in the presence of several languages, the Pentecost event is the manifestation of unity despite the different languages spo- ken. The bewildered crowd could not contain this marvel that each of them could understand in their own native languages what the disciples were speaking. The Spirit the disciples re- ceived is not a spirit of disunity. It is the Spirit of adoption giv- en to the believers; the Spirit unites them together as all make a single, common cry “ Abba. ” This leaves no room for divi- sions; Christians thus identify themselves as none other than children of God. How much this fundamental Christian belief would have saved our world divided by racism, had we paid attention to it! The feast reminds us of the first, official manifestation of the Church as Peter and other apostles boldly came in public to proclaim the mystery of the resurrected Christ and invited the people to repent and receive baptism. Christ as the bride- groom of the Church had long given life to her from his pierced side on the cross however, the Church had not officially as- sumed her missionary role. The descent of the Spirit gave this small unit a dynamic force that pushed its horizon further. This serves as a reminder to us today, God ’ s word cannot be con- tained in our own walls. The evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit over a certain believing community is the vigour which its members have in reaching out to others. The good news is contagious. The missionary mandate of Christ demands that we take a step outside of our usual place. The Church that is not missionary is dead. Fr Paul Peter Alphonse CMF Catholic Church of St Hugh of Lincoln