God's going to punish you!" the angry older sister said. Her little brother had been misbehaving since they'd arrived at the playground. Her babysitting resources all depleted, the girl resorted to her trump card--threatening punishment from God.

Back when I was a student in the seminary, we would be tested in general areas of theology as well as in the specific course work we were taking. They would give us an extensive reading list for those "area" exams. One of them included the theology of the Holy Trinity.

Let God speak for himself. People erroneously caricature the God of the Old Testament as a punishing God. Here's how God introduces himself in today's first reading, "The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."

The Lord brings spirit into us so that we may come to life, the prophet Ezekiel tells us, and that is what we believe happened at Pentecost for the disciples and what happens with Christians in every age as we confirm our faith in Jesus.

When I think of Pentecost I think of teaching my younger daughter to ride her bike. It was about this time of year many years ago that she was ready to try riding without training wheels.

At the wake of the priest who had died suddenly, I overheard among those standing around sadly that they felt he had "walked the talk." That is an interesting expression. Lots of us can verbalize our concerns with passion.

Pep rallies try to generate enthusiasm that will transfer over into more spirited play on the court or field. Every player knows the benefit of home-field advantage, which has as much, or more, to do with the cheering of the crowds as it does familiarity with playing in a particular location.

A brother who belonged to the Missionaries of Charity, the community founded by Mother Theresa, once wrote about finding meaning in suffering: "Pope John XXIII, speaking on suffering, stressed the need to find a purpose in it."

I watched Mystery and glory revealed each time my mother knelt down to pray. Mom didn't look particularly different--no far-away gaze, ethereal glow, or contorted features that you might associate with someone tapping into eternal life.

Listening to an opposing team's coach giving the pep talk against our school's team, I was appalled by how completely negative all the comments were. Our team, he sneered, looking at us with disgust, had no heart. We were quitters. We would easily back down. We were, in short, "a bunch of losers."