Pentecost: How God Speaks To Us

In the homily this weekend I will be using the amazing example and true story of Helen Keller.  She was born in Alabama, America in 1880 and at the age of 19 months became deaf and blind through an unknown illness (possibly meningitis).  Can you imagine what her world must have been like as she grew up unable to communicate?

Happily, an extraordinary teacher, Anne Sullivan, worked with her painstakingly.  A great breakthrough occurred when she was inspired to use water from a pump outside which she poured over one of Helen’s hands and then traced out the letters of the word W-A-T-E-R on the other.

Helen quickly sought to know the names of all physical objects known to her.  She eventually became the first deafblind person to gain a degree and she ended up writing many books.  Extraordinarily, she even learned to speak and gave speeches and lectures around the world.  But have you thought how her teacher communicated to her about God?  You will have to wait for the homily!

The Holy Scripture of Pentecost also prompts us to think how God – who we cannot physically see or hear – communicates with us.  God has made himself known from the earliest days to the present and in Theology, this process is called “Revelation.”

On the Solemnity of Pentecost, we not only recall how God communicates with us, but we also give thanks for the way that he continues to pour out the Gifts of the Holy Spirit upon us and so it is timely to pray again for those gifts that we feel we most need to move forward in our lives of grace.  

God bless, Fr Kevin.