Pentecost Sunday
There is something about Pentecost that leaves me a little wanting. We hear about the dramatic happenings at that first Pentecost and I want that for us today. I want all of it – the mighty wind, the tongues of fire, the speaking in tongues, people outside hearing us in their own language. I want all of it.
The manifestation of the Holy Spirit of that first Pentecost and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit at this worship is different. This church may not erupt in wild jubilation today. But the quiet movement of the Spirit is not any less certain. The word of God is still proclaimed here today. Moments from now we will offer simple bread and humble wine. But at consecration, worshippers will kneel and bow in quiet adoration before the same bread and wine because it is no more just bread and wine. At communion, worshippers will merely whisper a gentle “Amen!” And in the sharing of the one bread and the one Cup, we will recognize the same bond that binds us together into one body. All this without the mighty wind or the tongues of fire or the speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit is not any less alive in our midst than it was that first Pentecost.
Today, I would like to reflect on ways in which Pentecost is a daily reality for us as Catholics.
Personal Faith and Spirituality
On a very primary level, the scripture readings place the very existence of our personal relationship with God on the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul would say, “No one can say, “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3b). And again, it is by the Spirit of Adoption through whom we cry, “Abba Father!” (Rom 8:15). In other words, whether it is the remotest connection we have with God or a most intimate one, it is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Last Tuesday, I had a funeral. The person’s spiritual and religious journey began at the parish. But after childhood and adolescent years were over and until death, there really was no connection with the Church. In the eulogy, not one thing was said about the deceased person’s faith or spiritual life. But for some reason, it was his wish to have a Catholic funeral mass and a Christian burial. The casket was placed in front of the paschal candle. I said in my homily that life has come a full circle. He was here in front of this very altar as the life-journey began and was here again for the end of his life-journey.
The reason I share this story is to make the point that even the attempt to be connected to God after death at one’s own funeral is the work of the Holy Spirit. Any spiritual movement within us is the work of the Holy Spirit. Every prayer we whisper, every thought of God, any time spent in silence and solitude, our presence at Mass, our approaching the Sacraments, the goodness within us, the thought of forgiving someone, every act of charity, every call for justice and equality – these are all manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
The Sacramental Life of the Church
As Catholics, we are a Sacramental people. From Baptism to Extreme Unction, the sacramental life of the Church spans human life from the beginning to the end. It is the entire sacramental life of the Church where the work of the Holy Spirit is most powerfully evident.
Each Thursday, I am in the confessional for an hour, and often a lot more than an hour. Anywhere between ten -twenty-five people come each week. While I am in the confessional, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and another ten to twenty-five people are here for an hour of quiet adoration. This is also the time that anyone who is ill can approach me, and I minister the Sacrament of the anointing of the sick. Just in that one hour, the Holy Spirit is active and alive.
This Eucharist today is a Pentecost. It is the Holy Spirit that gathers us. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires God’s word. It is the Holy Spirit that transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit that brings us from various nations, cultures, races, and, languages, and draws us into a communion. At the vigil Mass for Pentecost, we celebrated the convalidation of the Sacrament of marriage. At today’s Mass a teenager is going to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. After this Mass there an infant will receive the Sacrament of Baptism. The Holy Spirit is having a Pentecost day right here in our midst.
The Global and Universal Dimension of Pentecost
Besides the individual and ecclesial work of the Holy Spirit, there is a global and universal dimension to Pentecost. Pentecost is not a new feast as far as the Judeo-Christian tradition is concerned. But the post Resurrection Pentecost was a whole new experience. The mighty wind, the tongues of fire, the speaking in different tongues, the amazement of the crowds as they heard words spoken in their own language – these were totally new manifestations of the power of the Holy Spirit.
In so many ways, the post-Resurrection Pentecost was a recreation of the world that was originally created by the same “mighty wind” that swept over the waters (Gen 1:2). That very mighty wind swept over that upper room fifty days after the resurrection. Just like at that first creation, chaos was replaced by a new order; misunderstanding was replaced by clarity; defeat was replaced by victory; Despair gave way to hope and fear was replaced by boldness.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit that first Pentecost, the early Church became a powerful witness to the transformation and new creation brought about by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I said in the beginning that I am left a little wanting on the Feast of the Pentecost. But in reality, the work of the Holy Spirit is already manifest in our individual life and in the sacramental life of this community. What we need is to become aware of the Spirit’s presence that is already manifested in and amidst us.
At this Eucharist and at every Eucharist, we are sent forth. Let us go forth, then, in the quiet power of the Holy Spirit to and become the manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit. Where there is chaos may we bring order. Where there is misunderstanding may we bring clarity. Where there is despair may us bring hope. Where there is fear, may we give courage. Where there is hate may we bring love.
- Fr. Satish Joseph