A life set on fire.

Today is the feast of Pentecost, a celebration in the Christian liturgical calendar commemorating the coming of the Holy Spirit, as described in Acts 2:1–8 (First Nations Version):

The time for the full meaning of the ancient festival had now arrived. 

They [The followers of Creator Sets Free (Jesus)] had all gathered together in one place, when suddenly the sound of a great windstorm came from the spirit-world above and could be heard throughout the house where they were sitting. They saw flames of fire coming down from above, separating and resting on each of their heads. The Holy Spirit had come down upon them and began to fill them with his life and power. New languages began to flow out from their mouths, languages they had never learned, given from the Holy Spirit. 

The Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem) was filled with devoted members of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), who had come for the festival from every nation under the sun. A crowd began to gather when they heard the loud noise. 

In wonder and amazement the crowd began to ask, "How is it that these people from Circle of Nations (Galilee) are speaking in our many languages? For we all can understand them in the languages of the places we have come from!

On this day, the message bearers gathered in community and were unexpectedly met by the fire of the Great Spirit. Filled with the Great Spirit’s divine energy, they began to speak foreign languages yet experienced the ability to mutually comprehend one another. 

Voices within the Christian Wisdom lineage–such as Origen, Meister Eckhart, Hildegard, Cynthia Bourgeault, and others–remind us that the liturgical seasons are not merely about recalling past events that took place in the life of Yeshua and his students. They are mystical templates, alive invitations for transformation now. As we mark this sacred day, we can be present to the themes of Pentecost as they speak into our own lives.

First of all, Pentecost reminds us of the sacred power of togetherness and that transformation often happens in community. In a fragmented, distracted age, the invitation is to gather intentionally—in silence, prayer, listening, or justice-seeking—to create the kind of spacious "upper room" where our egoic operating systems give way to the divine indwelling. Ask yourself: Where am I truly gathered with others, spiritually and soulfully, in ways that encourage alignment with the Great Spirit?

Second, Pentecost reminds us of the unexpected, wild, uncontrollable movements of Spirit Wind. Spirit moves where She wills and is not tame, tidy, or predictable. She disturbs, awakens, clears the air. Ask yourself: Can I allow the Great Spirit to interrupt my habits, my plans, even my spiritual routines?

Third, Pentecost reminds us of the significance of individual awakening within collective awakening. The Spirit doesn’t descend only on the group as a whole. Each person uniquely receives a flame, as if to say, “You are needed. You are part of this holy combustion.” Ask yourself: Where is Spirit kindling a fire in me right now? What gifts or languages (literal or metaphorical) are being awakened in me?

Fourth, Pentecost is a redemptive turning point—a reversal of the confusion, division, and mutual incomprehension that took place in Babel. It reminds us of the importance of sacred listening across differences and a divine honoring of diversity. The miracle is not sameness but understanding. In our time of division, this speaks volumes. Ask yourself: Can I open my heart to the “language” of another—someone of a different culture, tradition, or worldview—and listen with Spirit-filled ears?

Last, Pentecost calls us to a life set on fire, filled with the Spirit, as a holy flame of presence, courage, and love in action. . . a life that is rooted in stillness and can hold fire. Ask yourself: How might I let the fire burn in me as holy energy, presence, courage, as love in action?

Pentecost is not just a moment in the past, it is a living pattern. When we gather in openness, wait in stillness, and receive in trust, the recognition of Spirit always comes.

May it be so. 

Heather

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Readings from last week's Daily Contemplative Pauses

*All previous readings & reflections can be found here*

Monday, June 2nd

Chant: Veni Sancte Spiritus – Taize

Tuesday, June 3rd

Reading: "I don't know how it works, but when a group of like-minded people committed to a transformative process gather together, the force of energy present is certainly up by a number of decibels higher. You do not need to do anything but to be still and let the mind be quiet. Knowing that God's Word is spoken fully only in Silence. Be still and you will know not by the knowledge of the mind, but by the knowledge of the Heart, who God is and Who you Are. Something happens in these moments that would not be possible on your own." — Thomas Keating, God Is All In All

Wednesday, June 4th

Reading: “Forsake everything that is yours. Undertake this, and let it cost you everything you can afford. There you will find true peace, and nowhere else. Never think too much about what you could do, but about what you could be. As we are holy and have being, to that extent we make all works holy, be it eating, sleeping, keeping vigil or whatever it may be. What matters is the ground on which the works are built.” - Meister Eckhart

Chant: Leave all things you have and come and follow me — Darlene Franz

Thursday, June 5th

Reading: “Trust in me with your life because I am you, more than you are yourself.”

- Bhagavad Gita

Chant: Whether I live, whether I die, I am the Lord’s — Alana Levandoski

Friday, June 6th with Catherine 

Reading: ‘What’ by Norma Kaweloku Wong, When No Thing Works

To make of falling apartness?

What 

To do

To feel

To have

Too many wants

I’m afraid

In this falling apartness

A hollowing out

Of what we thought

Believed

Hoped

So amazingly from all sides

The Right

And

The Left

All sides unexpectedly

Caught beyond guard

Rails falling

In this apartness

All sides?

Ah

Some thing stirs

In this one possibility

The rising

As in yeast

Dormant

Until spit upon

With a bit of sugar and warm water

Something stirs

When no thing absolutely

No thing 

Works

Something stirs

If

And only if

We see what cannot be seen

And hear what cannot be heard

A stance unfolds

A threshold appears

What?!

Chant: Fall fearless into love, fall fearless into love, fall fearless into love – Darlene Franz

Saturday, June 7th

Chant: you the one, one in all, say I am, I am you – The Oriental Orthodox Order in the West

Reading: "The Christian experience of awakening and of unity consciousness is a true Oneness that involves the full participation of our humanity, body, soul, and spirit, distinct from the divine nature, but totally absorbed with the realization of God in the degree that God wills for each of us. A corollary of this is the importance of cultivating an awareness and conviction of the Divine Indwelling. That is really the source and root of the spiritual life: It is here so we do not have to become anybody. We already are all that we can be. When there is nobody to become, how free we will be! We only have to be what we are already, which is the creature and the beloved child of God. Non-duality for the Christian is to be guided by the Spirit, instead of by the false self or the ego.

"It is a simple program, but hard to do. All you have to do is nothing. It does not mean that you actually do nothing. It means that you are empty of self-conscious motivation but open to God's action, so that you do what he wants to do. Emptiness is not nothingness, but emptiness with an openness to becoming everything.” – Thomas Keating, That We May Be One, p. 30-31

Sunday, June 8th 

Reading: “The time for the full meaning of the ancient festival of Seven Weeks (Pentecost) had now come. All the message bearers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly the sound of a great windstorm came from the spirit-world above and could be heard throughout the house where they were sitting. Flames of fire came down from above, appeared in the room, and then divided, with a flame resting on each of their heads. All of them were filled with the Great Spirit, and began to speak in different tribal languages. The Spirit gave them the ability to speak these languages so they could be understood by the many who had come from all directions to attend the festival.” – paraphrase of Acts 2:1–4, First Nations Version

Chant: Veni Sancte Spiritus – Taize

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