Pentecost Sunday (Cycle A) - Mass during the Day

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Pentecost (Day) Lectionary:  63 Reading 1 -  Acts 2:1-11 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34 Reading 2 -  1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 Alleluia Gospel -  John 20:19-23 Receive the Holy Spirit LESSON: The Church's Work: Reuniting Mankind Today our 50 day Easter season concludes with Pentecost Sunday, commemorating that day in the early Church … when the Father and the Son poured out the Holy Spirit in a special way upon the Apostles … who then took up the mission of proclaiming the Gospel throughout the whole world.  This makes Pentecost one of the most significant moments in our Christian faith. However, before it was a Catholic feast, it was a Jewish feast … and when we look at Pentecost in that context, we add a deeper and richer understanding of what it all means for us today. In its Greek origin, the word “Pentecost” means simply “fifty” … and … for Christians … occurs 50 days after the Easter Resurrection of our Lord Jesus and marks ...
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Deacon Lector

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Our Junior year was year two (2) of three (3) as a Candidate and was when we were officially installed into the Ministry of Lector by one of the Boston area bishops ... prior to that we were required to get fitted for, and purchase a basic alb (you can see me in this on the right), to which I added a rope cincture.  The book I am receiving is (fittingly) the Lectionary.  To be somewhat honest, I couldn't figure out how this was any different than what I was already doing at my own parish as a Lector, so it seemed more like an advancement ceremony than anything else.

Academically this was perhaps the hardest year.  In the fall we had "Church History" and "Pastoral Theology" then in the spring we had "Pastoral Care", "Social Teaching" (doesn't count toward the MAM) and "Ecclesiology."  

In addition, we were supposed to find a Deacon mentor in a parish setting in order to "shadow" him during a range of pastoral experiences over approximately 100 hours; writing a reflection on each.  These experiences were supposed to be all three (3) and the munera (offices) of the deacon: word, sacrament and charity.

Some of these experiences were expected, as many within the Church will see the deacon at these events: baptism, wake, graveside committal, wedding (all required) as well as funerals, devotionals and sacrament preparation.  Some of them were not so obvious:
  • Experience with sick/homebound/prisoners
  • Experience with immigrant/multicultural diversity
  • Experience with Catechesis/teaching
  • Experience with spiritual formation/support of others
Ultimately I got a late start here, after a struggle to find a mentor that was engaged and helpful in these areas.  The hardest experience for me to get was the wake and funeral ... I ended up reading through the obituaries until I identified what I needed and then contacted the rectory to ask if I could assist.  For many of my classmates, the hardest was the wedding (church weddings are apparently in decline in the Boston area).

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