Commentary

Sunday, 5/20/2018, Pentecost Sunday

The Holy Spirit Is Among Us

First Reading Commentary: Acts 2:1-11

The Apostles together with Mary and other disciples were all together when suddenly there was a noise like a strong driving wind and there appeared upon them tongues of fire which rested on each one of them and they began to speak in languages which were not their own. There were devout Jews from every nation in Jerusalem and a large crowd of them gathered and they were confused because they heard the Apostles speaking in their languages of the mighty acts of God and they wondered how this could be.

This was able to happen because all things are possible with God and He had filled the Apostles and those who were with them with His Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues is one of the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit and there is more than one way to speak in tongues. What happened at Pentecost is the same thing that Pope Saint John Paul II was known for being able to do. That is, speaking a language which he did not know to people who understood that language.

What happened on Pentecost was the fulfillment of the promise made by Jesus of sending the Advocate. Jesus promised the Apostles that the Advocate would strengthen, teach and guide them. When we open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit, He will strengthen, teach and guide us with His Seven Gifts which are; Wisdom, Understanding, Council, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. Then the promise that Jesus made to the Apostles is kept within each of us. We are also strengthened by the fruits of the Spirit's gifts which are; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

With these gifts, the Apostles no longer needed to stay together for fear of persecution by those who did not want the Word of God to be spread. The Apostles and the disciples who were with them had everything they needed to go out and grow the Church by proclaiming the Word and performing great works (miracles).

We receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism. The Spirit is strengthened within us at Confirmation. We need to do two things in order for the gifts to work within us. First, we must believe. We cannot hear God or know God or love Him or obey His commandments if we do not first believe in God.

Second, we must listen to God who speaks to us through the Spirit. In order to do this, it is sometimes necessary for us to be still and quiet. We need to take time to pray in silence and meditate and shut out the rest of the world. Sometimes, we can hear God through a little voice in the back of our minds. Sometimes, He will talk to us by allowing certain thoughts to come across our minds. But we won’t hear any of it if we do not listen and sometimes we need to just be still.

Sometimes, God will communicate with us by way of things that happen in our lives and sometimes, He will talk to us through other people. Therefore, we need to be open-minded and listen to what other people have to say. It is not uncommon for God to use such occasions to talk to us. But again, we won’t hear any of it if we do not listen. The person talking to you may not have a clue that God is using them but you will know if you are listening because what they say will strike your faith with enlightenment and may even be the answer to a prayer.

There are many things which have been said and could be said about Pentecost. For me, I think that the most important thing to remember is that all things are possible with God and in the person of the Holy Spirit; God is with all of us always. We simply have to believe that and keep our eyes and ears open to the Spirit's good counsel.

One God and One Body

Second Reading Commentary: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13

Though impossible for us to fully understand, today’s messages from Paul are simple. First, Paul is reminding us that there are three persons in one God. When we say that “Jesus is Lord”, we proclaim His divinity but we cannot do that without recognizing the Spirit and the Father together with the Son as one. So, when we proclaim that “Jesus Christ is Lord,” we should have the Trinity in our minds and in our hearts as Lord.

Paul points out that there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, different kinds of service and divine works but they all come from the same God. All grace comes from the same God no matter which person of the Trinity acted according to Scripture or our understanding. When one person acts in a work or in bestowing blessings on us in any way; all three persons act.

This is not because one person cannot function without the other. It is because all three persons are one God. So, when the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and the Apostles on this day that we call Pentecost; God descended upon them and blessed them with all of the Spirit’s charismatic gifts.

Paul’s second message is all about the Mystical Body of Christ. Paul points out that a body has many parts and each of us is an individual part of the Mystical Body. It does not matter who we are or where we come from or what we believe before baptism.

The Mystical Body of Christ is the Church and once we choose to become a part of the Church, by the Spirit who we receive in baptism, we become a part of the Mystical Body. We are in total communion with Christ accepting Him as head of the Church remembering that Christ said, “…my church” when He said that Peter was the Rock upon which the Church would be built.

Accepting Christ as our leader means that it is Christ who we follow. Our faith is in Christ who is the Son, the second person of the Trinity, the one God that we believe in and to whom, we give all praise and glory.

The Holy Spirit in Three Sacraments

Gospel Commentary John 20:19-23

The disciples were in a locked room and Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

The first thing that Jesus did after He offered His peace to the disciples was to re-enforce their priesthood with the words, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When a man is ordained as a deacon, priest or bishop in the Catholic Church, he receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The disciples were the first priests and bishops of the Church. When Jesus told the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit, He was strengthening the Holy Spirit within them. This is what happens in the sacrament of Confirmation. Then Jesus gave the disciples the authority to absolve sins. This is the sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. With just a few short words from Christ, we see the institution of three sacraments.

With the sacrament of Confession, one of the most common objections that I hear, from Non-Catholics and Catholics who do not practice it, is that they don’t see why they should confess their sins to another man. For the second time, Christ instituted this sacrament in today’s gospel. To reject the Sacrament of Confession, is to reject this gospel.

Although this gospel exposes three of the seven sacraments, we must remember that the grace of any sacrament comes to us by way of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who comes to a newly ordained priest and guides that priest through his ministry. The Holy Spirit is strengthened within us when we accept His gifts and fruits at Confirmation. God forgives us of our sins by way of the Holy Spirit’s grace as the Son speaking through the priest grants absolution at Confession.

We do not always think of God being with us at all times and in everything that we do. But Pentecost Sunday gives us an opportunity to reflect on the fact that He is. When we allow ourselves to be led into sin, we ignore God's presence and if we do enough of that without repenting, He will ignore our request to enter His Kingdom. In the end, heaven or hell is a choice that we all make. This is because, what lives in our hearts and the way that we live our lives, are what we will be judged on, and, again, that is a direct result of the choices that we make.

Reading 1          Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they 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.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

Responsorial Psalm          Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34

R/ (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O Lord!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme; I will be glad in the LORD.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
R/ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Reading 2          1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13

Brothers and sisters: No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.
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.

Sequence — Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store! Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome guest; Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet; Grateful coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of yours, And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught, Nothing good in deed or thought, Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore And confess you, evermore In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them your salvation, Lord; Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.

Gospel          John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”