Come and Pray For an Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

The Saint Christopher Parish Adult Faith Team will be leading a Prayer Vigil on May 14, the eve of Pentecost Sunday, 9 p.m. to 12 Midnight, in Saint Andrew Church. Stay and pray as long as you would like. Be sure to bring your Bible.

As the Holy Scriptures tell us, God wants to give us the “promise of the Father,” the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit as we turn to the Scriptures to pray and reflect on the first Pentecost (Acts 1 and 2) and on the words of the prophets in the Old Testament about the Holy Spirit (for example, Isaiah 11:1-2).

“While meeting with them, He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for ‘the promise of the Father about which you have heard Me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” — Acts 1: 4-5

Here are some ways you can prepare for the Pentecost Prayer Vigil:

• Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any specific ways in which He is inviting you to respond to Him in your preparation. Remember, we received the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Baptism and we were strengthened by the Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation.
• Study Scripture – Read Acts 2:1-41 about the first Pentecost, when God the Father and God the Son sent God the Holy Spirit to strengthen the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in the Upper Room. Also note that when Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation, He breathed on the Apostles the Holy Spirit – read John 20:19-23, and reflect on the simple way in which Jesus breathes on the Apostles and tells them to “Receive the Holy Spirit” as He gave them the authority to forgive sins. Ask Jesus to show you the uncomplicated way in which He desires for you to be more aware of the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord.
• Reflect on Acts 1: 1-14 and the way that Jesus instructs the Apostles and assures them of the “promise of the Father” and of their “baptism in the Holy Spirit” and the way the Apostles respond to Jesus’ instruction by returning to Jerusalem and waiting “in one accord in prayer.”
• Fasting – Allow yourself to be emptied so that the Spirit can fill you in a new and powerful way. Ask the Lord what this looks like specifically for you – to fast from food, drink, TV, social media or something else. There is great grace that can be poured out in our lives by the combination of our prayer with fasting.
• Examination and Reconciliation – Using the gifts that are already available to you through the ministry of your own parish, spend some time in prayer reflecting on the sins in your life that Jesus wants to forgive through the power of His Holy Spirit. Make a good Confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and receive the grace of healing and forgiveness that will open your heart and your mind to experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit more fully at Pentecost.

Hosted by St. Christopher Parish Adult Faith Team

Please contact Sheila Raab at 608-273-9763 and visit http://thewildgooseisloose.com for more information.