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May 28, 2021Bishop Steven J. Lopes, the bishop of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, issued a video message to the faithful and clergy in advance of the Day of Pentecost and Whitsun Week, calling on them like the early Church to “burst out of the upper room” with renewed faith and discipleship after the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They burst out of that room and began preaching the risen Christ,” Bishop Lopes said, referring to the Day of Pentecost events described in Acts, chapter 2. In the narrative, St. Peter, on fire with the Holy Spirit, preaches the Gospel to a multitude of devout Jewish people and Jewish converts gathered from near and far in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks. Everyone gathered hears the Gospel proclaimed in their native language, and 3,000 are led to faith in Jesus Christ and receive baptism.
“It really must have been quite a scene this Pentecost,” the bishop said. But he explained this is an apt image for where the Catholic Church is today, up to now locked in the upper room by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, when Mass, access to the sacraments, and contact with one’s parish family or real family was severely disrupted. But for the most part, he explained the situation is shifting from the “completely disorienting” experience of coronatide as “Mass and the sacraments can be celebrated publicly again, businesses are opening up, and vaccines are readily available.”
“To me, it feels as if the door to that upper room has been unlocked. And I want us to create a scene,” Bishop Lopes said. “Can you imagine if each of our Ordinariate parishes responded to the pandemic now like the apostles at that first Pentecost?”
The bishop called on Ordinariate communities to renew their discipleship and evangelization with this Pentecost since they have “received that same Holy Spirit.”
“What if we burst out of our isolation and proclaimed the Risen Christ?” he said. “Now is the time to double down on faith and discipleship. Now is the time to invite new people into the adventure of full communion and reinvigorate their Catholic faith through the worship of God in the beauty of holiness.”
The bishop said the Ordinariate with this Pentecost has “a singular opportunity to proclaim Christ and build the church.”
“It’s time to burst out of the upper room.”
Watch the video in its entirety below:
Editor’s Note: Bishop Steven J. Lopes’s messages are also sent via the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter’s Flocknote. You can sign up for the Ordinariate Flocknotes here.
