Today the Church rejoices in commemorating the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit would come upon His followers...
Reflections on the readings for Pentecost Sunday (June 5, 2022): Acts 2:1-11; PS 104:1,24,29-30,31,34; 1 Cor 12:3-7,12-13; JN 20:19-23
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
More than that, the Blessed Trinity is now fully revealed.
The feast of Pentecost is a great and beautiful gift to all who follow Christ. The New Testament tells how His Apostles and other men and women disciples, including the Blessed Virgin Mary, were gathered in prayer and mutual support just as Jesus had instructed them. After His Ascension they waited for the Holy Spirit and, as we hear in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the Paraclete or Advocate, did indeed come upon them. Many received the gift of tongues and were able to preach so that each person listening could understand in his or her own language. In the letter from St. Paul to the Corinthians we also realize that all believers are members of the Body of Christ. We are united in our Savior through the power of the one Spirit, yet we each have our own individual roles to play. “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different kinds of workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” (1 Corinthians 12:3-7).
Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, those present at Pentecost and all of us who have come after them in loving and serving our Lord, have received blessings that help us fulfill our responsibilities as Christians with joy and courage. St. Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador who was martyred in 1980, wrote about the crucial ongoing importance of this day: “It will always be Pentecost in the Church provided the Church lets the beauty of the Holy Spirit shine forth from her countenance. …The Church will be … attractive in every age, as long as she is faithful to the Spirit that floods her and she reflects that Spirit through her communities, through her pastors, through her very life.” Let us make a special effort to meditate on our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Suggested missionary action: We can venerate the Holy Spirit by praying today and every day that we may receive whatever gifts would be most beneficial, not only to us, but also to all whom we touch in any way. We can also offer our grateful thanks for each of the sacraments, especially Baptism and Confirmation.