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Welcome to Unpacking the Mass with Keith Nestor. On this podcast, we dig into the week's readings for the upcoming Sunday for the Catholic Church so that when you go to Mass, you are ready to hear what God has to say to you through the Scriptures. So grab your Bibles and let's get digging. Welcome to Unpacking the Mass. My friends, I'm so thankful that you are here with me today to look over the readings for Pentecost Sunday. And today we start with this incredible story of what happens in Acts, Chapter two. Let's jump in and read it together. When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement, they asked, are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the districts of Libya, near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. Yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty Acts of God. Wow. Friends, if you remember what was promised to the disciples before, and the command given to them was that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and that they would be the witnesses for the Gospel in Judea, Jerusalem, Samaria, the ends of the Earth. Basically this concentric circle that would go out from Jerusalem where they were told to remain until the Holy Spirit would come upon them. Now, these apostles didn't know exactly what that was going to look like, but I think what's important here is to understand that they were all together in one place. And I think that's very significant because what they didn't do was scatter, each to his own place with his own mission, with his own vision of what he was going to do to fulfill the work of the Gospel. They were together, and I know we might look over that as though it weren't a big deal. But I find that it's very meaningful, especially when we look 2000 years later, to see how the mission of the Gospel has, in many ways, my opinion, been compromised by the division of the followers of Christ as people have split apart from one another and forming their own groups and their own churches and their own denominations. This unity that was so integral to the life of the early church and to the mission of the gospel. Friends, that unity has been lost. And I believe our witness has as well. That's why Jesus prayed that we might all be one Jesus. Mission and vision for the church was never for it to be divided and scattered. It was that it would be throughout the world. But the method of that was for people to be sent from the apostles and from their successors not to be divided. There's a big difference between someone being sent and and someone leaving. And in Pentecost, they were all there together, as the Lord had called them to be. And this incredible promise of the Holy Spirit was given to them to spread the gospel and to build the church. This is the mission. Now, what does that mean? Three things I want to point out to you today. The first thing is this. We don't create our own mission. The apostles didn't get together in this room and say, what's our mission going to be? Let's put up some newsprint on the wall and have a meeting and jot some ideas down and craft a really cool, catchy, culturally relevant mission statement and blast it on our. They didn't have websites, but whatever. They had their little cave drawings so people could know, hey, this is what their mission is. They didn't do that. What they recognized was that God has the mission and that the church belongs to it. That's a fundamental idea that we need to remember when we look at what our mission is, both as individuals and as the church. Now, I can understand that if a local parish wants to get together and say, hey, are there specific things that we're going to be about in our community as we reach this community with the gospel? Sure, that's fine. As long as we remember, though, what our central mission is, which is to bring the faith to the world and to bring the message of Christ. Jesus told the apostles in Matthew 28 to go into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature, to teach them to obey everything that he has commanded baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that he would be with them all to the very end of the age. That's the mission. But he also told them this, and this is the second thing, that the work of the kingdom must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And this is what we see coming to fruition here in Acts, chapter 2. Jesus let them know that their mission was not going to be achieved by their own efforts, but that they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be his witnesses. Friends, this is important also because as we think about our own lives and our own personal sense of mission, I think that's great to do, by the way. I think it's important to be intentional with our lives and what we are, are trying to do in this world. And we can approach our faith and say, God, what do you want from me? What is your plan for my life? And I will tell you this, if your personal mission is within your power, then it's not big enough. You see, God is going to call you to do things that are impossible without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. So if what you're trying to do with your life, you're able to without God, then that's not God's plan for you, that's your plan for you. And it may be a fine plan. You might just say, hey, my plan is to raise a family and just kind of be nice and kind and have a sense of, of Judeo Christian ethic and be a quote unquote good person if that's within your, your reach, you know, and you might be able to argue with anybody and say, well, can any of us really truly be good? No one is good but God alone. Jesus said. But within our own relativistic framework, we might just say, yeah, you know, I'm just trying to be, just trying to be okay. Let me just share this with you, friends. God did not come and die on a cross for you just to be okay. He came to make you a saint. He came to save you from your sin and he has a mission for you. But what's important is that you realize that, and this is number three, that God's mission isn't about us. God's mission isn't about you. Did you know that? And I know that may be a shock to some people because we tend to think that everything's about us, but when it comes to the mission of God, it's not about you. God's mission is about those on the outside being brought in. And we need to stop being so self focused all the time and think that everything having to do with our faith and with what God wants for us has to do with us. He never Said to the apostles, go and be my disciples, and everything's going to be great. I'm going to take care of you guys. It's going to be awesome. You're going to have awesome, amazing, beautiful, prosperous lives and, and you'll do some good in the work, and everything will be great. What did he say about St. Paul when. When he was going to be converted from Saul to Paul? He said, I must show him how much he will suffer for my name. Now, how many of you are ready to sign up for that mission? See, when the Holy Spirit empowered the church to go out into the world with this message, as we see in Acts chapter two, that was also attached to great suffering and sacrifice. We talked a few weeks ago about what was necessary for all of these miracles to take place in the old. In the early church, when we look back and it was people who were willing to lay their lives down for the sake of the mission. And it's like that level of sacrifice and love and devotion is what unlocks the miracles. It's what unlocks God's power and plan through us. But oftentimes we stifle that, don't we? Because we're still being focused. We're still asking the wrong question. We're not asking, how can God use me? We're asking, what does this do for me? What does this mean for me? Friends, that's not what we see in the book of Acts at all. We will see the apostles right after this, after they're preaching, Peter especially, getting up and delivering this message. And what does that lead to? Persecution, martyrdom. But these men were not afraid. They were empowered by the Holy Spirit with courage, and they fulfilled God's mission for them. And we are still part of that, my friends. And that's what we celebrate here today as we celebrate Pentecost, my friends. All right, let's continue on our responsorial psalm from Psalm 104. Lord, send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth. Amen. Let me just say that right now. Amen. Bless the Lord. O my soul. O Lord, my God, you are great indeed. How manifold are your works. O Lord. The earth is full of your creatures. Lord, send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord endure forever. May the Lord be glad in his works, pleasing to him. Be my theme. I will be glad in the Lord. Lord, send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth. If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. Lord, send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth. What a beautiful prayer, my friends. God's renewing of the earth is sent out through the power of the Holy Spirit, through us, through the church, through the. Through those who would follow Him. Friends, that's the mission, and that's a beautiful psalm of worship. Let's look at our second reading. I know there are multiple readings here. I'm going to go with the first one for the epistle from 1 Corinthians. And I'm also going to go with the first Gospel reading, too, if that. That might be different from what you hear on Sunday, but that's what I'm going to look at here today. St. Paul, writing to the church in Corinth in his first letter, chapter 12, says these words, brothers and sisters. No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different forms of service, but the same Lord. There are different workings, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. As a body is one, though it has many parts. And all the parts of the body, though many, are one body. So also Christ. For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons. And we were all given to drink of one spirit. Powerful, powerful stuff, my friends, the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus. I think it's important that he says, no one can even recognize Jesus, Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. So whenever someone truly has Jesus, that is evidence of the Spirit working in their lives. Now, this doesn't lead to uniformity, but it does lead to unity. It's okay for us to have different gifts and roles. That doesn't make us divided, because what unites us is how God uses us to fulfill the singular mission of the church. But when it comes to us as individuals, we must recognize the Spirit's working in our lives is going to go in different directions. And that's not just something we tolerate. That's something that we celebrate. But unfortunately, many times people look at that as a scary thing and they see that and they can get freaked out. They can look at someone who does things differently or has a different call, perhaps, or a different emphasis in their personal mission that God has given to them. And we can sometimes judge one another. Well, you don't do things the way I do things or the things that are the most important to you aren't the most important to me. And sometimes we struggle with that because, let's face it, each of us thinks that whatever's the most important thing to us is supposed to be the most important thing to other people. And sometimes when it isn't, we can get offended by that or put off by that. So if for me, the most important thing in my faith happens to be, let's say, the type of music that. That is used during Mass, okay? And I'm a Gregorian chant guy. I love that. But you're a person who. That's not the most important thing to you. The most important thing to you is. Let's just say it's how the community treats one another, okay? And you don't care whether there's Gregorian chant or whether there's a piano or a guitar or whatever. I might look at that and go, what. How can you. How can you not recognize the beauty and majesty of this particular thing that's important to me? And you might look at me and say, well, how can you not care that people aren't being friendly to each other and. And, you know, sharing a sign of peace, and you're offended by that. They're both. Okay, my friends. What. What's. What's important to one may not be as important to the other, and that's okay. What matters is that the spirit behind it is the same spirit. Okay? Now I'm just randomly picking these things. They just happen to be things that I'm thinking about right now. But there are infinite numbers of those issues I could bring up. And I think it's important for us to recognize within us our own tendency to place a priority on the things that we think are most important and want to attach that priority to everybody else. And. And our focus might be on trying to convince them why what's important to me should be important to them. Now, there may be times when you should do that, depending on what it is. If someone's acting like the following, the rubrics of the mass aren't important, and you should just get to do whatever you feel like doing, even though it goes against what the official rubrics are you. Yeah, I think there's a time and a place for that conversation. But when it comes to things that aren't officially laid down or that are. Are allowed or whatever this or that, sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking my way has to be everybody's way. But the Holy Spirit leads us in different directions and causes us into different priorities and methods, and you need to be comfortable in who God has made you to be in terms of your ministry and to know what your spiritual gifts are. That's important. Okay. Your spiritual gifts are going to be different than other people's. And by spiritual gifts, I mean the things that the Holy Spirit inspires in you to do, to reach souls for Christ and to spread the faith. And ultimately, we have to remember what's the main point of this. And the first one is this, to lead everybody back to Christ. This is what you should take from this reading. Oftentimes, you know, you run into people whose personal mission from God has nothing to do with leading people to Christ. It's maybe solving some social justice issue that they're worried about in the world or it's about promoting some particular thing or that particular cause or whatever. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those things. But we must remember the primary mission is to lead everyone to Christ if the Spirit is behind what we're doing. Secondly, we have to know what we're made to do and not made to do, and you have to be okay with that. It's amazing to me how many people aren't okay with what God has made them to do and what God has not made them to do. But the first thing is we got to know what it is. We've got to. We got to ask those questions. We got to look at our lives and take an inventory of what we're made to do and not made to do. Now, how do you do that? You know, I remember back in the days when I was a pastor, we'd give out these things called spiritual gifts, inventories. And you know, I think those are fine. And you would answer a series of questions. It was kind of like a self quiz. Nobody else evaluated it for you. You just took this kind of test and then looked at it, and it helped you to identify maybe what some of those gifts are. And a lot of it had to do with how you were made. Because remember, you were made for ministry, for. For God. And the way God made you is a pretty good clue into what you're supposed to be doing. For example, if you are a person who hates, absolutely is terrified by public speaking and you are completely freaked out by that, then maybe your job is not to be some kind of preacher, okay? In. In whatever capacity. If you're, if you are a compassionate person by nature and you just have a bleeding heart for people and you, you feel other people's pain, you're empathetic and you have a heart for people who are suffering then may look at that as a clue to what your spiritual gifts are, because God made that inside you. Now, should everybody preach the gospel? Yes. Should everybody be empathetic? Yes. Okay. All of the things that, that. That our gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to all of us in some measure. But God gives us particular things and particular strengths because he has a particular job for us to do. And sometimes looking within and seeing how you're made is a pretty good indicator on what God's made you to do, isn't it? And it's also an indicator on what he hasn't made you to do. And you have to be okay with that. And sometimes people just aren't. Sometimes people are trying to fit themselves into a position or into a situation that they're not made for, and that can be very, very frustrating. I mean, I've talked to plenty of people who have decided for themselves that they are called into some sort of public ministry and some sort of teaching role or some sort of upfront role. But they've struggled with it, and it's been difficult, and they haven't been able to see any fruit, and they've just. It's just been one. One roadblock after another and one disappointment after another. And sometimes you have to ask yourself, is this what I'm made to do? Now I know what I'm. What I know this is tough because you might say, well, does the fact that I encountered difficulty mean that I shouldn't be doing it? Not necessarily. Not necessarily. If you know that this is what God's called you to do, then you need to do it no matter what. But sometimes the proof is in the pudding, isn't it? Sometimes we can feel called to do something, and then we go after it and it. And God just kind of slams the door and says, no, this isn't what I have for you. That's happened to me plenty of times, by the way. Okay. And that's okay. Sometimes you have to just say, okay, I can't be that type of thing. I'm just not going to be in that situation. And sometimes spiritual maturity is recognizing what God has called us to and what God hasn't called us to and being okay with that, because there are different things that we're called to do. But, and this is important, too, I would say the third thing in this one is that wherever your spiritual gifting is, your particular ministry is you are to work with others. You're not meant to be a loner. Remember, we're all part of the body. We have different forms of service, but the same Lord, the same spirit. Just because you have a different gift from someone else doesn't mean that you don't need them. Part of the beautiful thing about what happens in the family of God and the kingdom of God is when we work together. And people who are really good at this get alongside people who are really good at that and say, let's link arms and move forward together so that where I'm weak, you are strong and vice versa. That's what we see on operating in the. In the life of the church. That's why Jesus didn't just send one apostle. That's why. That's why we don't have just one bishop. It's. It's a plurality because we are all gifted in different ways and we need one another. So don't allow your. Your purpose in your ministry to cause you to go into isolation and think that somehow you need to be a loner. Okay, my friends, the Spirit is calling us to work together. Okay, let's move on here to this beautiful sequence that we see. Come, Holy Spirit, come and from your celestial home Shed a ray of light divine Come, Father of the poor Come, source of all our store Come with our bosoms within our bosoms Shine you of comforters Best you the soul's most welcome guest Sweet refreshment here below in our labor Rest most sweet grateful coolness in the heat Solace in the midst of woe Our most blessed light divine Shine within these hearts of yours and our inmost being Fill where you are not we have not nothing good indeed or thought nothing Free from taint of ill Heal our wounds our strength Renew on our dryness Pour your dew Wash the stains of guilt away Bend the stubborn heart and will melt the frozen Warm the chill Guide the steps that go astray on the faithful who adore and confess you evermore in your sevenfold gift descend. Give them virtues, sure reward Give them your salvation, Lord. Give them joys that never end. Amen. Hallelujah. What a beautiful sequence. A beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit. Alleluia. Alleluia. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Our gospel today comes from John, chapter 20. Of course, there are two things you could read a verse from John 14 or this one from John 20. I'm going to stick with this one from John 20, but you can read the other if you'd like. On the evening of that first day of the week when the doors were locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained. Friends, the work of the kingdom does not only include the preaching of the Gospel, but a method of applying the grace of forgiveness. And Jesus understands that. That's why he lets the apostles, that part of their work, part of the ministry is. Is into the minds of people, but also a restoration of the soul's healing from forgiveness. And I think that's so important to know that this is a message. Yes, but it's also a practical, real application of it through the ministry of the apostles in the sacrament of reconciliation. That grace needs to be given to the world through this. Now, why does Jesus give them this authority? Why does he do that? Because he knows we're going to need it. He knows that we are going to fail. He knows that we are going to have moments of weakness and sin. And he's provided a way for us to be brought back, provided a way for us to be reconciled. Friends. Yes, I know on the work on the cross, the work was finished. But that doesn't mean that the application of it doesn't need to be reapplied through the sacrament of reconciliation. It's right there in John 20. And that's a powerful thing to recognize, because being sent by Jesus relates to Jesus being sent. Okay, as the Father has sent me, so I send you. That's huge. Don't miss that. Why? Because it's incarnational. Think about what that means. The apostles are Jesus incarnate. This is made manifest in their preaching and in their forgiving. Remember, just as the Father has sent me, how was Jesus sent by the Father? Not in just a message, not in just some sort of phantom. He was incarnate. He was made flesh. He was made real. And as that happened to, to him, he is now sending the apostles to be him made flesh, to be him made real. Because we need Jesus with skin on it. People say that all the time, oh, I just need God to have some skin. Go find your priest. And when he's operating in that sacramental place of confession, he is Jesus with skin on. He's incarnate for you in that moment. Not because he's anything great, but because Jesus is something great and has sent him by the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill this work. And it is made manifest in the preaching, in the institution of the Eucharist, but also in this, this application of the sacrament of reconciliation. Friends, it's powerful. But know this. Their power and authority comes from their reception of the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn't just say, here's what I'm telling you to do, now go do it. It says that he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. This wasn't some secret knowledge that qualified them for ministry. This wasn't something that they worked to achieve or attain. This was something God had done in and to them. They didn't qualify themselves, my friends. God did that. We must always remember the church isn't an invention of man. It comes from Jesus. We're often accused of that, you know, as Catholics. Oh, you follow man made doctrines. You know, you're an institute God. Jesus didn't come to establish an institution. He came to blah blah, blah blah blah. Read the Bible for crying out loud. Look what he did. Look at how he instituted these men with the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill his work in the world through both the preaching of the truth and the bringing of that grace of forgiveness. It's just oftentimes we don't want to follow behind, do we? Because we look at people and we get thrown off by their peopleness. Think about that. We look at a priest and we go, what's so special about him? He's just a sinner like me. And you know, yeah, that priest is a sinner like you, but he's not just like you. He's been sent by the authority and power of Jesus Christ. And when he is functioning in that role, then he's something more than that. But you see, we can't see that, you know, but it's, it's fine. It's human nature. I mean, people made that mistake with Jesus too. You know, they looked at him. Who is this guy? We know who he is. He's the son of Mary and Joseph. We know his, his family members. We, we know, we watched him grow up. What makes him so special? And what do they say about the apostles when they began to go out and do these incredible things and, and worked in their ministry? Who, where'd these guys get this? Aren't they just uneducated fisherme and that continues to this day. We want to look at other people even though God may be using them. And instead of recognizing the supernatural and divine within them, we want to point to the natural and pull them down so that we don't have to ultimately get this, so that we don't have to listen, so that we don't have to submit ourselves to the Spirit's power working in them. We say things like, oh, if God wants me to know what I'm supposed to do, he'll just come down here and show me. Well, really, so now you're telling God how he has to get his message out to you before you'll listen? Friend, you don't get to do that. God decides how he's going to do that. And how he decided he's going to do that was through sinful human beings, but also through the power of His Holy Spirit working in and through them. Friends, that's how it's always been. So I'm going to ask you this question. Have you been hung up more on the natural to the point where you can't recognize the supernatural? May the Lord show you that when that person functioning under the gifts of the Holy Spirit is on mission from God, Friends, they're not in their own authority and their own power. They're coming from God. Now, does that make them perfect? No. Do you have to listen to everything they say? No. Because sometimes people who are even under the authority of the Holy Spirit in that way will mess things up. It happens. That's why you have to know, like what Jesus said. That's why we have the catechism. That's why we have the magisterial teaching of the Church. That's why the Church wasn't just given to one man. It's, oh, we have the Pope and do whatever you want. Well, think about this. The Pope isn't just a guy on an island somewhere making arbitrary decrees. He is within this line of succession, protected by the power of the Holy Spirit. It. He's not his own guy doing his own thing. I know some of you are going, oh, yes, he is. Well, in as much as he is doing whatever his own thing is, you don't have to listen to him. But in as much as he is operating into that divine authority from the Holy Spirit, protected by. By the power of the Holy Spirit, then you do. Then you do. That's why it's important for you to know your faith. That's why it's important for you to. To be plugged in and recognize the truth. And that's why it's important for you also to recognize the Holy Spirit, but also understand this. The Holy Spirit has been given to you to form your own mission, your own ideas and your own doctrine. And we have enough of that in the world, don't we? Again, I've said it before. I'll say it again. If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me, well, I know what the truth is because I have the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's different than what the church teaches. Friends, the Holy Spirit is not suffering from multiple personality disorders or schizophrenia. Holy Spirit doesn't change his mind when he reveals himself to this person and as opposed to this person. So when someone says to you an idea or a doctrine that contradicts what he's given to the church, and their reasoning is, well, the Holy Spirit just told me, friends, you got to question that. You got to question that. You got to ask yourself, am I in line with this same Spirit, this same mission that has been given to the church, made manifest here in what we see at Pentecost? It is in the thread of what God is doing all the way back, friends, when Jesus proclaimed to these men what his plan for reaching the world would look like. And it continues to this day, and we are a part of it, my friends, I hope this has been a blessing to you. Happy Pentecost to you today, my friends. Let the Holy Spirit flow through you. May the Lord send his Spirit to you and renew the face of the earth and renew your own heart, my friends, God bless you all. Thank you so much for participating here in unpacking the Mass. If this has been helpful to you, please continue to share this. Give it a review on podcasts if you're listening. If you're on YouTube, please like the video and share the video and let other people know how they can partake in unpacking the Mass. I look forward to being back here with you next week as we dig in to the readings of the church. Take care, my friends, and God bless.