News & Notes: May 25, 2010

May 25, 2010

Dear Parents,

God’s peace!

This past Sunday we celebrated the great feast of Pentecost. We celebrate the church…each of us…being filled with the Spirit of God. What does this mean? Perhaps to recognize what we already possess… we are filled with grace, which is God’s love dwelling in us. This love moves in and around us…it inspires our thoughts, it calls us to work passionately for truth, it guides us in our decisions, it moves us to shift from self-focus to other’s needs…

In preparing for a Pentecost prayer experience I found myself rifling through a number of CD’s to find a piece of music that might capture for me, this Spirit moving in each of us… both God and David Haas were cooperative, and the result is a beautiful song (which can be downloaded from several sources if you wish to hear the lyrics paired with a beautiful musical setting). I thought I’d share the lyrics, which might be a source of prayer for us…

Abide, O Spirit of Life

Music by David Haas/Text by Bill Huebsch—This text is an adaptation of the prayer that was prayed before each session of both the First Vatican Council and the Second Vatican Council thought to be originally composed by St. Isidore of Seville.

May we always be open to God’s renewing and reconciling Spirit.

We stand firm here before you, with our weakness and longing for you; we are bound to love one another. Abide, O Spirit of Life!

We ask you to guide all our actions, and to show the path we should walk; we desire to know what will please you. Abide, O Spirit of Life!

Let peace fill our hearts, let love fill our minds.

Make us loving disciples of Christ.

So, May we be one; so, may we be yours.

Abide, O Spirit of Life!

May you be our sole inspiration, may you see whatever we do. May we act in your name forever. Abide O Spirit of Life!

May we walk together in justice; teach us wisdom, unite all our hearts. May your grace be here now to guide us. Abide, O Spirit of Life!

United in your name forever, may our work reflect your desires. May your mercy and love always fill us. Abide, O Spirit of Life!

So often when I forget the Source of my life… I find my focus narrows… I begin to lose clarity in my thoughts… and my actions flow from selfishness rather than selflessness. The Spirit is within me… The Spirit is within you… We need to call on the gifts the Spirit has given us: wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, piety, awe of the Lord.

May we continue to seek ways to build the Kingdom of God here on earth through our witness as Christians.

A blessed week!

In prayer,

Sr. Maureen