There are moments when the ground beneath us shakes, and we get a shocking glimpse of our failing in love.

Jesus said to His disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever” (John 14:15).

We care. Human beings care about an enormous range of things. We are swept up with love for our families, both the families that nurtured us through our younger years and the families to whom we have given life and in whom we have invested our hopes for the future. We care about our nation, a much larger clan from which we have drawn our thought patterns, our culture with its hints of the eternal.

Pentecost Sunday (Year C) June 5 (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23)

If a hundred believers were asked to explain the nature, role and workings of the Holy Spirit, there would probably be 100 or more answers. Backed into a corner, many have little understanding of the Spirit and its actions. The Holy Spirit has been invoked to bolster authority and to challenge it; to support the status quo and to overturn it; to head in new theological and spiritual directions and to retreat behind the fortified walls of tradition.

Since last Pentecost Sunday, how would you describe your gift of service to your community? It is an appropriate question for all of us this weekend (May 22-23) as we celebrate the popular feast of Pentecost Sunday, a feast we usually associate with the call to serve as people baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost Sunday, May 23 (Year B) Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

What would the Spirit find if Pentecost occurred today? It would find a divided and broken world at war with itself.

VATICAN CITY -- Just as the apostles were united once they received the Holy Spirit, the church is united by that same spirit and not by keeping company just with those who agree on a certain interpretation of Christian teaching, Pope Francis said on Pentecost.

Our spiritual journey in Easter comes to an end with the celebration of Pentecost Sunday (May 31). Just as most Canadians celebrated the Solemnity of the Resurrection in the absence of our parish communities, most of us are also going to celebrate Pentecost without gathering face-to-face as a community.

ROME -- Disciples of Jesus must reject any attitude or language that could increase intolerance or racism, especially in current social and political discussions about welcoming and integrating migrants, said the bishops of Italy's Lazio region.

VATICAN – Everyone who has received the sacrament of confirmation has received the gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides them and gives them the strength to follow God's will, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – Christians should begin each day invoking the Holy Spirit, praying that the Spirit will lead them and the church closer to God and closer to any person in need, Pope Francis said on Pentecost.

WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church doesn’t often add new celebrations to its pretty full liturgical calendar, but this year’s new feast day, Mary, Mother of the Church on May 21, has Catholics gearing up to mark the day or at least think a little more about Mary.

VATICAN – Reminding bishops, pastors and Catholics around the world that all Latin-rite Catholics should celebrate the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church on the Monday after Pentecost this year, Cardinal Robert Sarah said the celebration should take precedence over any other possible liturgy that day.

Recently, I read an article by American author and speaker Joshua Harris titled “The Room.” In the article, the narrator finds himself in a small filing room, filled with catalogue cards that detail every moment of his life.

VATICAN CITY – The Holy Spirit continues to give Christians different gifts and to call them to share those gifts with each other in a community marked by forgiveness and "unity in diversity," Pope Francis said on Pentecost.