Dear family members and friends, Today is the Pentecost Sunday. It is the day when the promise of Jesus was fulfilled. The first reading is a description of what happened on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in tongues other than theirs and all the people who heard them speaking understood what they were speaking. That means there was an infilling of the Holy Spirit in the people also.
St. Paul reminds us that we all are baptised into one body by the one Spirit. Holy Spirit is the greatest gift of the resurrection of Jesus when Jesus breathed on the Apostles. On the Pentecost day there was the manifestation of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for this infilling and power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear family members and friends, Love demands love. Jesus loves us and he demands love from us. It is very important to listen to what Jesus says: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We cannot simply say in words that we love Jesus. The proof for our love is whether we keep His commandments. And to those who love Him and keep His commandments, Jesus promises to give them another Helper, the Holy Spirit.
Again, Jesus promises that He will not leave us as orphans, but He will come again to those who believe in Him and love Him. There will be a very close relation between the Father, Jesus and ourselves, a relation of indwelling love: Being in Jesus and Jesus being in the Father, we become one with the Father because the Father will love those who love Jesus. Amen
Dear family members and friends, In today’s Gospel we see 4 important messages from Jesus which strengthen our faith in order to remain closer to him. First Jesus gives us great hope saying, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” Secondly Jesus tells the most famous statement, “I am the way, and the truth and the life” and reveals himself as the only way to the Father. Thirdly, Jesus says “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Fourthly, Jesus speaks about the spiritual power we have through communion with Him, “whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these he will do.” Let us remain with Jesus in faith and work for Him. St. Peter reminds us today, “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Amen.
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Dear family members and friends, The very famous image of Jesus as Good Shepherd is of great hope and confidence for us. Jesus speaks about the difference between a shepherd and a thief. The shepherd enters through the door and the sheep hear his voice and follow him. The thief is the one who enters the sheepfold through some other way. The thief enters to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus as the good shepherd has come to give life and that in abundance. There are some people who come to us pretending to help us and guide us. But they are like wolves in sheep’s skin. Let us try to identify the true shepherds and false ones and follow only the true one who lays his life for the sheep as Jesus did. Amen
St. Simon Stock Catholic Church 
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