Marking OLA Feast Day and Pentecost

Sr. Kathleen McGarvey, Provincial of the OLA Irish Province, shares some thoughts ahead of the OLA Feast Day this Saturday and Penecost this Sunday.

As we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Apostles, so too we celebrate Pentecost, contemplating and re-living in our own lives that great event of grace which filled the Upper Room in Jerusalem and then spread throughout the world. What happened on that day two thousand years ago is so distant from us and yet so close as to touch the very depths of our hearts.

In his reflection on Pentecost some years ago, Pope Francis focused on two words linked to the working of the Holy Spirit: newness and mission. As he pointed out, Newness always makes us a bit fearful, because we feel more secure if we have everything under control, if we are the ones who programme and plan our lives in accordance with our own ideas, our own comfort, our own preferences. We find it hard to abandon ourselves to God with complete trust, allowing the Holy Spirit to be the guide of our lives in our every decision. As we celebrate this feast day, let us ask ourselves: Are we open to “God’s surprises”? Or are we closed and fearful before the newness of the Holy Spirit? Do we have the courage to strike out along the new paths which God’s newness sets before us, or do we resist, barricaded in transient structures which have lost their capacity for openness to what is new?

With regards to Mission, the Pope reminds us that lacking the impulse and grace of the Holy Spirit, we do not go forward. The Holy Spirit draws us into the mystery of the living God and impels us to open the doors and go forth to proclaim and bear witness to the good news of the Gospel, to communicate the joy of faith, the encounter with Christ. It is the Spirit who grants us the courage to take to the streets of the world, bringing the Gospel! And so, as we celebrate our feast, let us ask ourselves: do we tend to stay closed in on ourselves, on our group, or do we let the Holy Spirit open us to mission? 

May each of us implore this gift of the Spirit today and cry out with sincere heart, “Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Come Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and kindle in them the fire of your love!”

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Apostles! Happy Pentecost!

Sr. Kathleen McGarvey

Provincial

OLA – Irish Province