AS A SEMINARIAN, I spent four years helping out in a small parish that was not blessed with more than a handful of Sunday Mass lectors. Every year it seemed that the same lector was scheduled to read on Pentecost.

Today’s readings tell us that the Holy Spirit in us:

I HEARD of a family where the dad was concerned that his many kids weren’t getting along. As they began to reach adulthood the kids each went their own ways.

"FATHER, they are your gift to me.” Guess who Jesus is talking about when he makes that statement in today’s gospel? All of us.

WITH THESE WORDS the writer of the Book of Revelation calls on the Lord to be present to his people. Come, Gracious God, Come is the name of a prayer written by Rev. Jason W. Coulter, pastor of Ravenswood United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Dying Words: In some courts, a person’s dying words are admissible as evidence in a trial. They are given special standing as true and meaningful.

IN HIS VISION of the holy city, the author of the Book of Revelation says he saw no temple; the temple was God.

MY SISTER'S FRIEND Natalie was the richest girl in our town, mainly because most of her father’s property was owned by trusts in her name.

AT OUR HOUSE Sunday lunch was pasta. It always had been and I guess that I always expected that it would be.

You can develop stories around the themes in this week’s readings.