Psalm for Sunday, May 28, 2023

Reflections
 

Psalm 104:  1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34   (Read)

“Lord, send out your Spirit.”

“If you take away their breath, they perish; when you send forth your spirit, they are created.”  Animated by the Spirit, the divine Breath, we who are His creatures sing of the glory of our Creator.

“When you send forth your Spirit, you renew 
the face of the earth.”   God is the source of all natural life.  

So also the Holy Spirit is the source of all supernatural life.  

We are nothing without the divine Breath,  “When you 

take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust.”

It is this same creative Breath which came down on the 
disciples in that locked room that St Luke speaks of in 
this Sunday's 1st reading. (Acts 2:1-4)
The Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to go forth 
and proclaim the Gospel boldly to men of all nations, 
speaking different tongues.

We too are called to be baptized in the Spirit, and 
to receive the divine Breath of the Lord.   Having been 
baptized in the Spirit, we are a new creation, and are 
called to glorify the Lord in what we do.  In this way, 
as the Psalm says, “May the Lord be glad in his works.”

Fortunately, for us too, the Spirit is manifested in 
each of us for some benefit, as St. Paul reminds us 
in our 2nd reading. (1 Corinthians 12:7)
All we have to do is accept Christ and believe in Him.
Then we too will have the gift of life. 

Without the breath of God, we are nothing.  Just as 
the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples at Pentecost,
so too are we empowered by our Creator.  The presence 
of the Holy Spirit within us is how we share in the divinity 
of Christ.  

Without the breath of the Holy Spirit, we have no spiritual life.
But thanks to God's gift, we are a new creation, and we are 
baptized into Christ.  And that alone gives us reason 
to praise God.  As our psalmist says, “Pleasing to him be 
my theme; I will be glad in the Lord.”

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.   Our Psalm reminds us that we are dependent on the Lord for our 
very breath.   Tell about what makes you aware of the 'divine Breath' in your life.

2.  Our Sunday Psalm Response is, 'Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.'   Is the Holy Spirit doing a work in you?   Are you a 'new creation?'  Speak about your baptism in the Holy Spirit.