Lectio Divina Meditation for Pentecost

Pentecost Sunday Year C
May 23
“Divine Help”

1. Lectio
John 14:15-16, 23-26
15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you for ever.
23 Jesus answered him, “Whoever loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and my Father and I will come to him and live with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not obey my teaching. And the teaching you have heard is not mine, but comes from the Father, who sent me.
25 “I have told you this while I am still with you. 26 The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.

Comments
Jesus asks the disciples to love him. Easy enough to say ‘yes’, you might think. But Jesus makes it clear that loving him takes far more than a simple word. Love in Jesus eyes has a very practical outcome and it takes the shape of obedience to his commandments. Jesus promises a very special and intimate relationship with the Father and the Son for everyone who obeys him. Jesus tells them that he does not speak on his authority but everything he says comes from the Father. Jesus now talks about the helper, who he reveals as the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is overlooked as people deepen their relationships with Jesus and the Father. But he plays a huge part in our relationship with Jesus. In this reading
he is revealed to be a teacher and helper for the disciples, reminding them of Jesus’ teaching and helping them to understand and live it.

2. Meditatio
1. Try to recall what happened in your life yesterday. Try to remember the main events that took place and especially your actions, words, decisions and emotions. (Pause 1 minute)
2. How aware were you of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? Did you feel God speaking to you or Jesus speaking to you through the Holy Spirit, throughout yesterday? (Pause 3 minutes)
3. Were you obeying the commandments of God and Jesus throughout the day or were there are times when God was not in your mind at all? (Pause 3 minutes)

3. Oratio
Today we remember the dramatic way the Holy Spirit filled the first disciples on the day of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles. Give thanks to God for sending us the Holy Spirit to be our helper. Each day this week, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh and help you to live in a way that will please Jesus. It’s only with the Holy Spirit’s help that we can obediently love and serve Jesus.

4. Contemplatio
Romans 8:15 reminds us that the Holy Spirit makes us children of God. Use this theme in your contemplation – that you have been made children of God by the Holy Spirit.

5. Actio
1. Personal Life – Pray for the Church throughout this week/ month.
2. Communal Life – Organise a Pentecost party for the community and especially for the children. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church and so it’s everyone’s birthday too! As a theme for the party, use the gifts (7 gifts can be found in Isaiah 11:2-3) and fruits (9 fruits can be found in Galatians 5:19-23) of the Spirit. Each person could choose a particular gift or fruit and dressed up accordingly or do a performance based on that theme.