"____ begins at home"
"When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home." —Acts 18:26
Pentecost began in an upper room, then went out into the streets, made its way to the Temple, and finally went back home. Home is one of the major places of Pentecost. Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos "home and explained to him God's new way in greater detail" (Acts 18:26). This may have been a Pentecost for Apollos. Also, Cornelius and his household, the first Gentiles to receive the Holy Spirit, received the Spirit at home (Acts 10:22ff). Because Jewish people were not to enter the homes of Gentiles, the Lord worked a series of miracles so that Cornelius would receive the Holy Spirit at home.
Where will you have Pentecost this year? Very likely, it will begin at home and then reach your neighborhood, parish, city, and the ends of the earth (see Acts 1:8). Therefore, during this Pentecost novena, make your home more than ever a house of prayer (see Is 56:7) and a place of reconciliation and evangelization.
"Charity begins at home." Charity (love) is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). The Spirit of Pentecost begins at home. Come, Holy Spirit!
Prayer: Father, make my home the center of a Christian community.
Promise: "Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." —Jn 16:24
Praise: Robert's neighborhood council begins every meeting with prayer.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, November 9, 1996
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 15, 1996