ET CETERA.Prayers for the church * Nicholas Clifford and Dennis O'Brien, two frequent contributors to Commonweal, have proposed that Sunday May 19, 2002, the Feast of Pentecost Pentecost (pĕn`təkôst) [Gr.,=fiftieth], important Jewish and Christian feast. The Jewish feast of Pentecost, in Hebrew Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, arose as the celebration of the closing of the spring grain harvest, which began formally in Passover 50 days prior; there are numerous, be considered a special day of prayer for the reform of the Catholic Church. To that end, they suggest the use of petitions like the ones that follow. On this Solemnity of Pentecost, when the whole church gathers in faith to celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost [ghost, i.e., spirit, a translation of Gr. pneuma=breath, air], in Christian doctrine, the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is sometimes defined as the aspect of God immanent in this world, in human beings, and in the church. Jesus' promise to his disciples of a Comforter (or Paraclete, i.e., the indwelling indwelling /in·dwell·ing/ (in´dwel-ing) pertaining to a catheter or other tube left within an organ or body passage for drainage, to maintain patency, or for the administration of drugs or nutrients. in·dwell·ing ( of the same Holy Spirit in all who seek to follow the Lord's ways, we pray for our church, and for strength in the adversities that beset it. * For our church leaders, that in their fidelity to Christ's call to preach and live the values of the gospel, they find their strength in humble service and never in the external trappings of pomp POMP (p    - m-p, power, and worldly prestige; let us pray to the Lord. * For the whole church, that it may be truly catholic, universal, and open, its members humbly ready ever to learn from one another; let us pray to the Lord. * For all the men, women, and children, who have been the victims, in their different ways, of those holding positions of authority in the church; let us pray to the Lord. * For laywomen and laymen everywhere, that they may not be tempted by despair and cynicism, and that they may become a source of strength and help to the church in its reflection of the values of the gospel; let us pray to the Lord. * For all our members, that we may never lack the courage to respond to the Spirit's invitation for the reformation and renewal both of our own lives and of the church, and that, in our different callings, we all seek to serve; let us pray to the Lord. |
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