Dear Parish Family,
Pentecost was ordinarily an annual celebration among the Jews. In fact, the word Pentecost, from the Greek pentēkostē, means “fiftieth (day)”. Hence, it was celebrated fifty days after Passover. It was a celebration in thanksgiving to God for the gift of the Commandments at Mt. Sinai and it was highly festive. It was on this particular day that the Holy Spirit came down on the apostles. They were gathered together in ONE place. The mention of ONE PLACE here is very instructive for us. It is a realization of the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ: “that they may be one”. When people are gathered together as one, great things really happen. There is power in being one and united especially in prayer. That was why our Lord Jesus Christ said: “when two or three are gathered in my name I am in their midst” (Matt.18:20). They were gathered together in one place and were praying together when a mighty wind came upon the Upper Room and the Holy Spirit descended on them like tongues of fire and they began to speak in various languages such that people from various nations could hear them speaking in their native tongues to their amazement. It is noteworthy that there was understanding in the midst of the various tongues spoken on the day of Pentecost. This was unlike story of the tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis where there was one language but no understanding because the people were gathered in their name, not in God’s name; thus, they were scattered as they wanted to make a name for themselves.(Gen.11:1-9).
The Spirit’s first appearance in the Bible is in the second verse of the first book: “The earth was formless and void... and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” The Spirit’s last appearance in the Bible is in Revelation 22:17, “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’” The Bible ends four verses later. In between those two, there are dozens and dozens more. So we can safely say that the Spirit is really important.
In today’s first reading the Spirit is manifested in tongues—in two senses of the word: tongues of fire, referring to a tongue-like shape, and “tongues,” meaning languages. The Apostles apparently learned new languages instantaneously, without boring grammar drills and vocabulary lists. Believe it or not, that original gift of languages still exists today, but in a less spectacular form. Where? In the Church, which proclaims the Gospel in every language!
So… what else does the Holy Spirit do exactly, besides giving language? In the Creed we read that he “has spoken through the prophets,” that, in other words, he took possession of them, much as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, “enabling” them to proclaim God’s word. In the Creed the Spirit is also called “Giver of life,” the One who stirs everything to life. We see this in a broad sense in the sacraments. At Mass, just before the Consecration, the priest extends his hands over the bread and wine and asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon them, so that they will become the Body and Blood of Christ. The same “imposition of hands” and calling down the Spirit occurs at Ordination and at Confirmation. In the Anointing of the Sick, the gesture stands on its own, wordlessly invoking the Spirit to descend with gifts of hope, patience, courage, and acceptance.
Today’s Gospel associates the Spirit with the Sacrament of reconciliation. “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.” The second reading goes beyond the Sacraments to many manifestations of the Spirit. It appears that there is nothing the Spirit can’t do. You and I need to allow Him to work through us. The Spirit is the great enabler! We don’t get to pick and choose the gifts we want, but we can discover over time what gifts we have received.
Fr. Tom Kunnel C.O.