Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

Pentecost Sunday (May 19, 2002)

Suggested Emphasis from the Acts of the Apostles
"Each of us hears them speaking in our own tongue about the marvels that God has accomplished."

Salesian Perspective
Despite the fact that they were speaking to many people from many languages and many cultures, the apostles were 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.

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.

As we know all too well, communicating is often a lot 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 frequently fail to listen. We are always talking, but talking is not the same as communicating...of speaking one heart to another.

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.

How might we need to speak - and listen to - the language of love today?

(Consider using the Preface to one of the Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation)

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is Executive Director of the
De Sales Spirituality Center in Washington, DC