Cycle A - Year II:  

8 June 2014: Pentecost Sunday 

(Liturgical color: Red)

John 20:19-23

The Holy Spirit empowers the Church!

The Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday fifty days after the resurrection of our Lord. That is why it is called "Pentecost". After Jesus ascended into heaven, now it is the turn of the Holy Spirit to continue the work of Jesus through his disciples and our Holy Mother Church.

The first Reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the very first Pentecost day: "When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they (the first disciples) were all in one place together. And suddenly there came  from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim." (Acts 2:1-4)

Pentecost Sunday celebrates the great beginning of the Catholic Church. So today we greet ourselves a Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary as we mark a fresh start for all of us as the New Church, the People of God in journey toward the Father's house in heaven.

The Gospel reading is from John which speaks about the first encounter of the risen Lord with his disciples. 

When the resurrected Christ appears, he offered proof of his resurrection by showing the disciples the wounds of his passion, his pierced hands and side. Then he calmed their fears and brought them peace, the peace which reconciles sinners and makes one a friend of God.

In the gospel, Jesus commissioned his weak and timid apostles to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. He breathes on them the gift of the Holy Spirit to equip the disciples with power, grace, and strength in accomplishing their mission.

And just as Jesus empowered the disciples on the first Pentecost with the gift that is the Holy Spirit in order to do their mission to evangelize the world, so also we are empowered today by the same Holy Spirit to continue the missionary work, to face the challenges of our time, especially in matters of faith and morality.

Through the gift of faith we, too, proclaim that Jesus is our personal Lord and our God. He died and rose again that we, too, might have new life in him. The Lord offers each of us new life in his Holy Spirit that we may know him personally and walk in this new way of life through the power of his resurrection.

In practical life, at times when we struggle to pray because of so many distractions, or when we want to pray but do not have the words, it is the Holy Spirit that links us to God and interprets our desire before him. In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, "It is the Holy Spirit who helps our inability, who enlightens our minds and warms our hearts, guiding us as we turn to God."

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit empowers us with his seven gifts (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord) to keep us unwavering in our faith and remain committed to all the teachings of the Church handed down from the apostles to the bishops and the Pope. And let us use these gifts to build and strengthen the Church as the Body of Christ through constant prayers. Because it is through prayers that the Holy Spirit works in our humanity, strengthens our weakness and transforms us from men bound to material realities into men filled with the Spirit of Christ. Amen.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.