Happy Birthday To The Church

I'm late in getting some of my posts out from the month of May.  I may be back-tracking a little bit in the next few entries.  It's Sunday morning.  I'm sitting on our deck at our new patio set (not brand new, but new to us, thanks to a garage sale).  I'm sipping my coffee and the kids are spread out with books and being creative in their journals.  The birds are singing and there is a slight breeze rustling the leaves on the trees.  The only thing that would make the morning more perfect - if the trains that drove by wouldn't lay on their whistles so long and so loud.  None the less, this is my serenity for the moment.

Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost; the birth of the Church.  Pentecost is one of my favorite Feast Days.  The scripture readings for the day inspire me over and over again.  They are filled with hope, with promise, and with so much life.  They are the readings I often turn to when I feel defeated or simply need reassurance; that little nudge to move forward.  The apostles were fearful for their lives, and yet by the power of the Holy Spirit, they were gifted with what they needed to leave the safety of that little room and begin to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to all the earth.

What I find most powerful in this account, is that the very same Spirit is alive and dwelling within and among us today.  It is the very same Spirit that filled us at our Baptism.  It is the very same Spirit whose gifts were sealed within us at our Confirmation.

At a past Confirmation Mass with a former Bishop from our Diocese, he shared in his homily that through our Confirmation, each of us have been given the Gifts of the Spirit.  They are within us, yearning to be tapped into and used.  Not all of us are "good" at all of the gifts, but we do have them.  Just like anything else in life, we need to work at them, and also rely on the Holy Spirit to help them surface. 

As a family, we celebrated Pentecost, first by going to Mass.  We attempted to all wear red.

Then later in the day, we once again crafted with paper plates.  This time, we made doves.

I asked Cucumber why her dove has a sad face.  She said, "because Jesus left him to do alot of work."  Her Theology may need a little tweaking :)

Hanging from our "Holy Spirits", were tongues of fire, which were written the Gifts of the Spirit.  We re-read the account of Pentecost and the girls proudly hung their creations around the house (the boys were at the cabin).  Fittingly, we sang Happy Birthday to the Church.  Another fun celebration of yet another awesome Feast!