There has been a saying going around our Community that the Feast of the Ascension reminds us that Jesus decided thereafter “to work from home”.  But Jesus promised not to leave us orphans. 

We think of Pentecost as that special time when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples in the upper room (Acts 2:1-13). Even though all the disciples were Galileans, they began to speak in many different languages which were, nonetheless, understood by the many people present. This came to be known as “speaking in tongues”. The Holy Spirit is indeed a Spirit of both diversity and unity, writes Fr Michael Knight SVD.

This is a very different outcome to a certain situation portrayed in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 11:1-9, in which people who speak the same language come together to build a tower (The Tower of Babel) that will supposedly reach heaven itself and make the people to be like gods.. To counter this sin of ego driven pride, God causes many languages to arise amongst those constructing the Tower and the result is that the whole project comes to an abrupt halt in complete and utter confusion.

A few years ago I talked to my cousin from the United States over the phone and we chatted for quite a while, and, while I know that she knows me, somehow in her voice she seemed a little bit bewildered.

With my time as Provincial drawing to a close at the end of this year, and still plenty of things to cross off the ‘to-do’ list, there hasn’t been much time for reflection on these past six years.

But as I write this column, it is a chance to take a few moments and consider what God has done in our Province and to give thanks for blessings received.

After the resurrection of Jesus the disciples hid themselves behind locked doors for fear of the authorities. Now one can lock oneself in a room because one believes that the world is unfriendly and hostile, and so prevent the world from entering the room, but then one also can’t get out. Since the crucifixion the disciples had bunched together behind locked doors in fear and anxiety. It must have been like hell.

However there is a way out of this terrible fear. Into this room of trapped people comes Jesus with his gift of peace and he says, “Peace be with you”.

Among the different doctrines of our faith, nothing is more mysterious than the dogma of the Trinity.

Let me start with a story that I read from an article by a good friend of mine, Fr Atilano Corcuera, SVD.

At the scene of the Ascension, St Luke, the author of The Acts of the Apostles, makes mention of two men dressed in white who say to the Twelve:

During the last supper discourse, Jesus gives his Peace to his disciples. He tells them, Peace I leave with you, my own peace I give you.

The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters have elected and installed a new Provincial and leadership team for their Australia Province.

Sr Shalini Philomina Mathew SSpS (Sr Philo), who had most recently been pastoral associate at St Mark’s Parish, Inala, has taken on the leadership role, following the completion of Sr Sarita Kurikattil’s term as Provincial.