Let the 'driving wind' change
our 'landscape'

	Word to Life  By Sharon K. Perkins

In April of 1994, a large and powerful tornado ripped through my hometown and the house where I had grown up, forcing my parents to take shelter in a stairway closet while the roof above them was lifted free of the structure and the nearby garage was torn from its concrete slab.

It also tore through the thick stand of mature pecan trees that for decades had divided our property from the neighbors', marking a clear path, making visible what had been previously hidden from view and changing the landscape forever.

May 11, 2008 Pentecost Sunday Acts 2:1-11 Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7,12-13 John 20:19-23

The Hebrew Scriptures often relied on the metaphor of wind to signify the appearance of God in this same way. It was with a driving wind that Yahweh parted the waters of the Red Sea and opened up the path to the Promised Land for Israel.

And while no rooftops were blown away in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, the changes wrought by that tempest were profound. People of all nations were able to hear of the mighty acts of God in their own language. The previous barriers of religion, language, and ethnicity proved to be no match for the "driving wind" of the Spirit, and centuries-old barriers between Jew and Gentile would become obsolete in the wake of its power.

For those first disciples of Jesus, the "landscape" of their world was changed forever as they, in turn, were empowered to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all parts of the known world.

	For reflection: • What recent changes have threatened the comfort of your own personal "landscape"? • In what way can you welcome these changes as evidence of the movement of God's Spirit?

In our world today, global telecommunications and rapid travel have done away with geographic obstacles of distance that were previously insurmountable - and yet in an effort to protect our own "landscapes," we allow barriers to remain among one another, even within our own parishes and neighborhoods.

Fear of change and anxieties about letting those who are "different" into our world occupy our energies and sap our resources, drowning out the declaration of the mighty works of God in our midst. The psalmist declares that when God sends out his Spirit, the "face of the earth" will be renewed. It is an open invitation to allow our landscape to be changed, through the power of his Spirit.

This column is offered in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.

Prayer to St. Raphael Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace. You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners. We beg you, assist us in all our needs and in all the sufferings of this life, as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels. Because you are the "medicine of God" we humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of our souls and the ills that afflict our bodies. We especially ask your guidance of our diocese as we journey toward the rebuilding of a cathedral bearing your name, and the great grace of purity to prepare us to be temples of the Holy Spirit. As our intercessor, beg the Blessed Trinity to prosper the work of our hands and, above all, to bring us, face-to-face, into their Holy presence. Amen.