“Each of us hears them speaking in our own tongue about the marvels that God has accomplished.” - a Pentecost Sunday Reflection

Pentecost Sunday (May 23, 2010)

“Each of us hears them speaking in our own tongue about the marvels that God has accomplished.” (Acts 2:11)

In today's "Salesian Perspective" reflection, Father Michael S. Murray, OSFS, offers the following thoughts:

"Despite the fact that they were speaking to many people from many languages, from many places and from many cultures, the apostles were nonetheless understood by all of their listeners as they proclaimed the marvels that God had accomplished.

"How was this possible?

"Enflamed by the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were speaking the language of the heart. They were speaking with enthusiasm. They were speaking with gratitude. They were speaking with praise and thanksgiving. They were speaking from their core. They were speaking from their soul. In short, they were speaking the universal language – the language of the heart.

"The language of love

"We are most human - we are most divine - when we speak the language of the heart, when we speak the language of love, when we speak and listen from the soul, when we are grounded in the Word Made Flesh. St. Francis de Sales wrote in his Treatise on the Love of God: 'When wishing to express a perfect love, the Holy Spirit almost always uses words that express union and conjunction. 'And the multitude of believers,' says St. Luke, 'had but one heart and one soul.' Our Savior prayed to his Father for all the faithful to the end that they all 'might be one.' St. Paul warns us to be 'careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' These unities of heart, soul and spirit signify the perfection of love which joins many souls into one.' (Treatise, Book One, Chapter 9)

"Communicating is often easier said than done. We misunderstand one another. We presume to know what others are thinking or feeling. We use the same words for which we have different meanings. We have different ways of saying the same thing. We hear, but we fail to listen. We so infrequently use the language of the soul.

"St. Francis de Sales tells us that the Holy Spirit comes to inflame the hearts of believers. When we speak and listen from hearts enflamed with joy, truth and gratitude, conflict gives way to understanding, confusion gives way to clarity, estrangement gives way to intimacy, hurt gives way to healing, frustration gives way to forgiveness, violence gives way to peace, sin gives way to salvation.

"Division gives way to unity.

"How might you need to speak – and to hear - the language of love today?"

(Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.)

Note: For additional "Sundays Salesian" reflections (which are designed to offers a Salesian perspective on the Sunday readings), visit:

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