June 4, 2017 Pentecost Sunday: Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.

Gospel – John 7:37-39

On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. As Scripture says: Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.” He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

731 On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.

767 “When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church.” Then “the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun.” As the “convocation” of all men for salvation, the Church in her very nature is missionary, sent by Christ to all the nations to make disciples of them.

2819 “The kingdom of God [is] righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The end-time in which we live is the age of the outpouring of the Spirit. Ever since Pentecost, a decisive battle has been joined between “the flesh” and the Spirit.

1287 This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah’s, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people.  On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim “the mighty works of God,” and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.

From “Great Crusade of Mercy” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (CM-118:15-18)

15) On this day when you are preparing to reflect on Pentecost, it is well to give some thought to those beloved Apostles who without being aware of anything, continued their lives as before as if I had not passed among them without radically changing their futures.  To think that in one stroke they would experience the brilliant day of Pentecost is an error.  So look upon this thoughtfully and reflect on the fact that I will do the same with you if you truly accept My promise.   

16) The Holy Spirit will come beholding the Light.  The work of the Father was to send Me to this earth  My work was to redeem; the work of the Holy Spirit is to exalt.  That final work is taking place and it will cease when all are saved, that is, all those who wish to be saved.  But before that, arise with Me to Heaven, and meditate on how much I love you.  Pray before My Blessed Sacrament and then the Spirit will pour Itself upon you.  

17) Oh, Holy Spirit, turn to this beloved group; turn to this beloved city and unite the hearts of many who are redeemed because Your work pleases Me and it is necessary to them.  Oh, Spirit that sets on fire the hearts of human beings, spread Yourself with Us, the Father and the Word, because every action of Yours that You perform on Our beloved creatures gives Us great joy…

18) My Children, give thanks to the three Priests who joined you and who are joined in the same Spirit, and during the celebration of the Eucharist, ask for My Spirit to also descend on My Consecrated Souls and on My whole Church.

Each week we will be presenting a portion of the following Sunday’s readings, and linking it to relevant parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and messages from the Testimony of Catalina.  Pay special attention to the italicized underlined sections. We hope this is inspiring and educational. Any comments you have are certainly welcomed.