Jesus sent us the Advocate, who we need more than ever. I hear the words of the 500-year old Veni Creator Spiritus with fresh ears this year this Pentecost:
· When things get uncomfortable… You of comforters the best
· When our work exhausts us… rest most sweet
· When friction rises or tempers flare… Grateful coolness in the heat
· When our skepticism makes us afraid to hope… Solace in the midst of woe
· When past traumas make the future impossible to imagine… heal our wounds, our strength renew
· Past wrongdoing paralyzes us… wash the stains of guilt away
· When we head in the wrong direction… guide the steps that go astray
· When we are convinced of our own righteousness… bend the stubborn heart and will
· When past traumas make the future impossible to imagine… heal our wounds, our strength renew
· Past wrongdoing paralyzes us… wash the stains of guilt away
· When we head in the wrong direction… guide the steps that go astray
· When we are convinced of our own righteousness… bend the stubborn heart and will
The prayer doesn’t pull punches – it names the contradictions and tensions and ambiguities of becoming a people and assures us that the Holy Spirit will send us what we need to stay in the cacophony long enough to create harmonies. We need the Spirit more than ever. Come, Holy Spirit. Make us Your people.
--Maureen O’Connell
Image source (with a recording of the piece Veni Creator Spiritus): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPOdfPNF6Bs
Quotation source
Quotation source
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