Pentecost Sunday

05-19-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Aruldoss

Dear people of God,

Good morning to you! Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost, meaning "fifty," is the day that the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the apostles in the form of tongues of fire, fifty days after Easter in the upper room in Jerusalem. This event also marks the beginning of the Church. Our First Reading of today speaks the first Pentecost. During this encounter with the Holy Spirit, the apostles and Mary felt a driving wind, there were tongues of fire on the heads of each of them and the Spirit allowed them to speak in different tongues proclaiming acts of God.

The account in today’s Gospel, John 20:19-23, also recounts how Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Jesus fulfilled his promise to send to his disciples a helper, an Advocate, who would enable them to be his witnesses throughout the world.

In the context of the feast of Pentecost, John 20:19-23 reminds us about the integral connection between the gifts of peace and forgiveness and the action of the Holy Spirit. Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and sends them to continue his work of
reconciliation through the forgiveness of sins.

This Gospel reminds us that the Church is called to be a reconciling presence in the world. The reconciling presence of Christ is celebrated in the Church’s sacramental life. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are cleansed of sin and become a new creation in Christ. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Church celebrates the mercy of God through the forgiveness of sins. This reconciling presence is also to be a way of life for Christians. In situations of conflict, we are to be agents of peace and harmony among people.

In our day-today life, we must pause to listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say to us in order to know the direction he wants to lead us. Let us give him the chance to direct our lives, families, business and studies. If He leads us, no matter how complex our world becomes, we shall never be confused. We shall always find our way forward.

Also, let us humbly pray: “O Lord, send forth your spirit and renew the face of the Earth. Alleluia.”

Have a Joy-filled Sunday!