Acts 2:1-11,
Psalm 104:1ab.24ac.29bc-30.31and 34,
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7. 12-13, or Rom 8:8-17
John 20: 19-23 or Jn 14:15-16, 23b-26 Full Readings (Vigil, Extended Vigil, Mass During the Day: Pentecost Sunday)
God's Gift of the Holy Spirit
Brethren, today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. Pentecost was a feast day in the Jewish culture. The Jews called it the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks. In the Old Testament, it is mentioned in five places in the first five books — in Exodus 23, Exodus 24, Leviticus 16, Numbers 28, and Deuteronomy 16. It was the celebration of the beginning of the early weeks of harvest or wheat harvest. It used to take place around mid May 50 days after the First Fruits.
For us Christians, it is on this day that the Lord sent forth His Spirit on the Apostles as gift for them; it is the day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of the Apostles and Mary, and as we celebrate it, the same Spirit comes upon us in the same way He came to the Apostles. What is the significance of Pentecost to us as Christians?
It's a special day where Jesus sends us a helper, an advocate whom He has been promising for the past 49 days after His resurrection. At this 50th day, He breathes on them his Holy Spirit. It's the day where we have our roots as the Church of Christ. Pentecost is the day when the Church was born by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and divine baptism as well as commissioning of the proclamation of the Word of God.
The ministry of Jesus starts with the coming of the Spirit at his Baptism, and so the ministry of the Church begins with the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. Just as Jesus was anointed with the Spirit at the beginning of his ministry, so the disciples needed the anointing of the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission entrusted to them by Jesus. The Church needs the Spirit in every aspect to carry out and continue the mission on earth until Jesus comes again. There can be no witness to Jesus or to his message, no spreading of the Kingdom of God, without the Spirit of Jesus. It's here therefore that the church has a mandate to spread the kingdom of God on earth by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Church and the life of the Church are the same as those of Jesus himself: to bring God’s kingdom to its fulfillment by bringing healing, love and joy through the message of the Risen Christ.
Why is the Church believed to have started this day? Firstly it's when Apostles were baptised in the Holy Spirit and given the mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all which is the core mission of the church. Secondly, the many and different languages and tongues of fire, denote the breaking out beyond the borders of Judaism to include all peoples of the world. The list of unpronounceable peoples is itself a witness to the universality of the Church.
Why did God pour out His Spirit to the Earth? It is a unique gift for His people, a renewal of His people. Just as God breathed His Spirit in Adam, Jesus also breathes His Spirit to His body, the Church, and to us too so that we may have new life in Christ, a life of love, peace, joy, and righteousness (Romans 14:17). This Spirit is to help us continue with the mission which Jesus started. The Spirit is the sure presence of Christ among us for He said He is with us always and this Spirit works in different ways; that's why we speak of different gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Brethren, the Spirit touches us in different ways and gives us His gifts and fruits according to the way He wishes. The gifts can also be called the roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives. St Paul in the second reading emphasizes this. We have different gifts but all come from one Spirit and so each one of us should be grateful and use the gifts Godly. The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the love of God (Romans 5:7), and he gives us the strength and courage we need in order to live as faith-filled disciples of the Lord Jesus. The Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26), and enables us to grow in spiritual freedom - freedom from doubt, fear, and from slavery to our unruly desires (2 Corinthians 3:17; Romans 8:21). The Spirit instructs us in the ways of God, and guides us in living according to God's will. The Spirit is the source and giver of all holiness.
In the Spirit, we are all baptised and become children of God. It's by the same Spirit that our sins are forgiven. In today's Gospel, Jesus Himself institutes the sacrament of Confession when He says after breathing the Spirit on Apostles: "For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, for those whose sins you retain, they are retained." As Catholics we are lucky to have this sacrament and so let us use it well, for it's Jesus Himself who Instituted it. The Spirit restores paradise to us and the way to heaven and adoption as children of God; he instills confidence that we may call God truly Father and grants us the grace of Christ to be children of the light again when we have gone astray and to enjoy eternal glory.
There are many roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the invitation today is to recognize those roles in our lives, and see if the Spirit is really the leader of our lives. Reflect today and pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2): Wisdom, understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. Pray also for the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5: 16-21): Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, mildness, faith, modesty, self control and chastity. With these you shall need nothing more. Let us thank God today for giving us His gift: the Holy Spirit and let us wholly receive Him.
Let us Pray.
O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of Your faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessed Pentecost Day. Thanks for praying Novena to the Holy Spirit.
SEE THE REFLECTION ON THE GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
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