May 2021: PENTECOST

​Pray with Acts 2: 1-13 
Fr. Tom Flanagan
 
The spirituality of the Opus Spiritus Sancti emphasizes two aspects of the life of Christ: the Incarnation and Easter-Pentecost.  Just a few weeks ago we celebrated Easter and on May 23 we will celebrate Pentecost.  As human beings we are bound by the laws of time and space.  Therefore, we separate the death of Jesus, his resurrection, the Ascension, and the sending of the Spirit into four different chronological events.  We celebrate each one of them in the Church in their own unique liturgies.  Yet, from a theological perspective, all four of these events are part of the one Paschal mystery.  In our Opus spirituality we celebrate Easter and Pentecost as two events, though we combine them as one pillar of our spirituality.
 
Jesus’ resurrection is the central event of salvation history.  Jesus’ rising from the dead is God’s stamp of approval on his life.  What a joy for us to celebrate the good news that sin and death are overcome.  Now our lives have a whole new meaning.  But the Resurrection is not the end of the story!  Jesus also shares the Holy Spirit with us.  We celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Mary, the Apostles, and all of us at Pentecost.