Spirit opens us up to the life-affirming gift of faith
Reflections on the readings for Pentecost Sunday – Mass during the day (June 9, 2019): ACTS 2:1-11; PS 104:1,24,29-30,31,34; I COR 12:3-7,12-13; JN 20:19-23
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
After the Ascension, Jesus’ disciples did what He had instructed them and stayed together.
They prayed for nine days, for what is generally considered the first novena. Then their lives were forever changed when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. This special revelation of the power of the Holy Trinity opened those present to gifts that would enable the followers of Christ to grow spiritually and to share their faith with others. “Brothers and sisters: No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.…For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3,13).
On this Pentecost Sunday, we need to understand not only that the Holy Spirit worked within the disciples two thousand years ago, but also that the same force acts within all who know Christ through Baptism and Confirmation. And, like those early disciples, we, too, have an obligation to cooperate with God grace for the sake of our own souls – and for the welfare of those around us. That means we must be willing and ready to reveal God’s gift of salvation in what we say and do each day. We are called to be open to the action of the Holy Spirit so that all people will be able to proclaim from the heart, “Jesus is Lord!”
