PENTECOST
This Sunday is Pentecost the day the Spirit descended in wind and fire on the Apostles and Mary gathered in prayer it is also known as the birthday of the Church. Red is the colour of the day. After fifty days of white and gold and alleluia, the Church puts on the colour of flame. On Pentecost Sunday the sound of a mighty wind filled the room, witnesses saw what looked like tongues of fire resting on each person’s head and despite being from different parts of the world they could all communicate and understand each other. With the feast of Pentecost, the seven weeks of the Easter season have come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person one with the father and the Son in the Blessed Trinity.
In the First reading from the Acts of the apostles, we hear that the disciples received the Holy Spirit, speaking in diverse languages. A crowd, amazed, heard them in their own tongues, witnessing God’s wonders transcending language barriers. In the Second reading we are told that Only by the Holy Spirit can one say, “Jesus is Lord.” Despite various gifts, ways of service, and workings, they all originate from one Spirit, serving the common good and uniting us as one body in Christ. By the time John wrote his gospel, Jewish Christians had been excommunicated for their belief in Jesus. Ostracized and socially persecuted, some Christians reacted in fear, while others boldly proclaimed the gospel. The First Christians needed a sense of stability, a sense of serenity and peace. With the sight of Jesus, fear turned into great joy. Anxiety turned into relief. Desperation turned into vindication. Most important, a lack of spiritual direction turned into a sense of deep spiritual grounding. The divine presence stood close to them and with the divine presence came peace. We too have the divine presence with us in the Blessed Sacrament, and it brings Joy and spiritual grounding to all those who come and Jesus says all of us you are welcome. We can’t ignore the problems that are there for ourselves and those around us especially these days. Most of the time, the problems we have just don’t go away by themselves and very often we need to stop and pray through the problems as well as thinking them through. Gathered as the Community of faith at the Eucharist we bring all our concerns to God in prayer and we raise our hope in the power of the father made real to every generation through the Holy Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit our relationship with God produces fruitfulness, satisfies our longings, and brings us serenity and peace. Because of God’s faithfulness, we give thanks, offer sacrifice, and once again present our needs as we remember the presence of God with us in our lives. As we encounter people who are different from us, whether in language, culture, or background, we remember that the Holy Spirit will give us the words and the wisdom to share the Good News with them. In today’s world, we are called to be ambassadors of Christ’s love, reaching out to all people with compassion and understanding. We must be willing to listen and hear their stories and learn from their experiences, so that we will be able to share the Gospel stories in a way that speaks to their hearts. So, on this feast of Pentecost, let us renew our commitment to God and ask for the grace to be open to the Spirit in our lives.
Fullerton T 