Northeast
New York priest says Pentecost is a reminder the Holy Spirit is 'alive and at work'
Pentecost, said Fr. Louis Cona of New York, is the “preeminent celebration of the Holy Spirit” — and is celebrated on Sunday, May 19, seven weeks after Easter.
Cona is a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and currently serves as associate pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Smithtown, New York.
Verses in the Acts of the Apostles (2:1-4) tell the story of Pentecost, Cona said.
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“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:1-4).
The Acts of the Apostles is traditionally attributed to St. Luke the Evangelist, according to the website BibleGateway.
Fr. Louis Cona of the Diocese of Rockville Center in New York, shown at left, reflected on Pentecost Sunday and what this “preeminent celebration of the Holy Spirit” means for Christians today. (Courtesy Fr. Cona/Getty Images)
“In telling this story, Luke describes the emergence of Christianity from its origins in Judaism to its position as a religion of worldwide status and appeal,” the site added.
Pentecost, said Cona, which is celebrated 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, is the “fulfillment of Jesus’ earthly mission,” as told in Luke 12:49, to “set the earth on fire.”
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“We see his desire fulfilled as tongues of fire descend upon his disciples,” said Cona. “The tongues of fire as recounted by St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles remind us that God is alive, his Spirit is not stagnant, but dynamic, constantly reinvigorating and igniting the Church and her faithful.”
“Pentecost is not the feast of the Holy Spirit, but rather, the feast of the sending of the Holy Spirit.”
When he was in seminary studying ahead of his ordination to the priesthood, Cona said one of his professors “would often remind us that Pentecost is not the feast of the Holy Spirit, but rather, the feast of the sending of the Holy Spirit.”
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This, he said, “is an important distinction because it reminds us that the descent of the Holy Spirit is Christ’s greatest gift to his Church, a gift brought about through his Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven.”
The Holy Spirit, said Cona, “gives the Church life, constantly renews her from within, and animates all of her members.”
The Bible describes how “tongues of fire” came to rest on the apostles, who were then “filled with the Holy Spirit.” (iStock)
As a parish priest, Cona told Fox News Digital that he sees the “fire” of the Holy Spirit “alive and at work in the Church’s sacraments.”
He noted, “Quite often I am astonished by the movement of the Holy Spirit in the healing of the sick through prayer and anointing.”
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Cona continued, “I also see the fire of the Spirit alive in young people whose thirst for truth, goodness and authentic friendship can only be quenched when grounded in the truth of the Gospel.”
He added, “Where did their desire for deeper meaning and purpose to life arise but from the Spirit at work within their hearts leading them to all truth” — referring to John 16:13.
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove or flame. Pentecost Sunday, observed 50 days after Easter Sunday, is a celebration of the Holy Spirit’s descent upon the apostles. (iStock)
On Pentecost, Catholic Mass has a special sequence called “Veni Sancte Spiritus,” or “Come Holy Spirit,” said Cona.
A sequence is a chant or hymn sung during a certain part of the Mass.
“This marvelous hymn teaches us about the remarkable actions of the Holy Spirit within our hearts,” said Cona.
In it, “we learn that the Holy Spirit ‘melts’ our hardened hearts and ‘warms the chill’ of ego, sin and loneliness. In this way, by overcoming pride, fear and isolation, the Holy Spirit unites us, makes us one of heart and mind,” he said.
“On this Pentecost Sunday, we pray for a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our world to ‘melt’ the hardened hearts of sin and violence, so that we too can experience peace, unity, and ‘joys that never end,’ said Cona.
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An unresponsive teenage boy was pulled from a pond in Andover, Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon. It happened at Field Pond in Harold Parker State Forest at about 4:30 p.m. near Farrwood Drive.
When Andover Police officers and firefighters arrived, they found several boys who were on the opposite shoreline yelling to them. They were attempting to direct them to where the boy was last seen before he went underwater.
First responders went into the water with a paddleboard and made their way out to the area where the boy was last seen. The boy was found about 25 feet from shore, submerged in about 10-12 feet of water.
The boy was pulled from the pond and taken back to shore on the paddleboard. Andover Police said they immediately began lifesaving procedures. The boy was transported to Lawrence General Hospital and then to a Boston hospital by Medflight.
The news was shocking to fisherman Fred Menis. He said the pond has, “a lot of weeds, a lot of rocks, a lot of debris underneath.
He said that while swimming is common in some areas of the pond, it is typically busy and filled with boats. “Usually, there should be enough kayakers and surfboards out here that somebody should have been around to help out,” Menis said.
Many of the teen boys were still on Farrwood Drive Tuesday evening in a very emotional state. Many of them were still wearing swim trunks as they spoke to police, before being picked up by parents.
The incident remains under investigation, and no other information has been released.
The new Pittsburgh Public Schools board is once again taking up a controversial plan to close seven schools.
At Pittsburgh Manchester K-8, one of the schools that could close, the hallways are mostly empty, and the building is full of classrooms that are seldom or never used. There are only nine kids in the entire second grade, seven students in the sixth grade and 13 in the eighth. The building has a capacity for 541 students but is home to only 129.
“That is a textbook example of an underutilized building, and we have about 15 schools currently that are below 200,” said Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Wayne Walters.
Manchester is one of seven schools and a total of nine underused buildings that would be closed under the district’s Future-Ready Facilities Plan. On the North Side, the plan calls for closing both Manchester and Schiller 6-8, consolidating those students at Martin Luther King and the Allegheny Traditional Academy.
Walters says the plan will save the district about $8 million a year on staff salaries, utilities and maintenance costs — money which would provide more resources and better educational opportunities in these merged schools.
“We have limited resources right now. We have a deficit, but certainly making this move will provide some savings, some savings for us to really implement the quality programming we need in this Future-Ready Facilities Plan,” Walters said.
After nearly two years of study, the board voted the plan down last November, delaying its implementation, which was planned for the 2026-27 school year. Even if the new board approves it now, it won’t go into effect until the 2027-28 school year.
But in kicking the can down the road, the old board bent to parents and community groups like 412 Justice, who said the plan disproportionally impacted Black neighborhood schools. They’ve called for further study.
“It’s about the plan. It’s not about keeping buildings open. It’s just that we’re not confident in the district’s ability to move 6,000 students with all these unanswered questions,” said Angel Gober with 412 Justice.
But school board president Gene Walker says time has run out. Walker was unsuccessful in convincing the old board, but says the new members are keenly aware of the costs of overcapacity. Enrollment has dropped from 32,000 to 18,000 students over the past two decades, and the board can’t justify spending a significant chunk of its $731 million budget on half-empty schools.
“I think we’re going to be able to get it through this time,” Walker said.
Walters said if the plan doesn’t go through, the district could be in trouble.
“I think we’re going to be forced to answer some really challenging questions about our future as a district,” Walters said.
The board will discuss the plan on Wednesday night in anticipation of a final approval vote next week. The board president believes the board will do what the district says is the right thing.
A man is dead after a crash in Glastonbury on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The crash happened around 2:45 p.m. in the area of Hebron Avenue and Glenwood Road. First responders were called in response to the report of a crash with injuries.
When police arrived at the scene, they found an 84-year-old man driving one of the vehicles. He was unconscious and was rushed to an area hospital. A passenger in the same vehicle was also taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Police said that, according to an investigation, the 84-year-old driver was traveling east on Hebron Avenue when he turned left onto Glenwood Road. As he turned, he drove into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
The crash redirected the 84-year-old’s vehicle into a third vehicle.
Police said the man later died at the hospital. He hasn’t been identified at this time.
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