Pentecost Day

Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 103(104):1,24,29-31,34
Romans 8:8-17
John 14:15-16,​23-26

Come, Holy Spirit! Ignite our spirits and make us alive with energy and purpose!

In today’s first reading, we dive once more into the awe-inspiring event of the miraculous gift of tongues! This wasn’t just any moment; it marked the dawn of the Church’s international, multiracial, and universal mission! Can you feel the excitement? It was the thrilling start of restoring mankind’s unity, which had been divided for centuries since the Tower of Babel!

Pentecost represents a bold new beginning, and there’s an electrifying connection between this extraordinary gift of the Spirit and the ultimate culmination of our world. St. Peter, in his powerful address to the skeptical crowd, invoked the Prophet Joel and proclaimed that in the last days—the great and terrible day of the Lord—God would unleash His Spirit like never before! And that, my friends, is exactly what unfolded on Pentecost!

With the gift of the Spirit, Christ and the Father infused a divine spark into the tender Body of their infant Church. In that pivotal moment, God endowed the Church with incredible gifts and powers. Think about the charism of infallibility promised to Peter, or the amazing power to forgive sins revealed in the upper room on Easter. Such divine gifts are simply extraordinary!

Thus, Pentecost is not just a moment; it’s the beginning of the End! This End time is characterized by the dynamic presence of God the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Blessed Trinity is gearing us up for Christ’s glorious return!

From the very start, He was there, gently hovering over creation! Throughout Israel’s history, He stirred and inspired the prophets, and with the new covenant, the Holy Spirit worked marvels through Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, paving the way for even more incredible wonders—the incarnation and the birth of our Savior! What we witnessed on Pentecost was a game changer because that outpouring of the Spirit was total and final! When the Spirit descended on the Apostles, they initially burst forth in ecstatic praise, but this time, the Spirit didn’t leave. The universal preaching ignited, and its flame continues to burn brightly today through our bishops, the successors of the Apostles. The Spirit marked the Church with an unshakeable seal of God’s everlasting ownership!

With the gift of the Holy Spirit sealing us, we have no choice but to press forward! Our gaze is fixed on the horizon ahead! With the coming of the Paraclete, a glorious dawn has shattered the night. As we anticipate the noon day’s glorious zenith, our sun rises ever higher in the sky. While we await the full brilliance of noon, we stand united in prayer and the breaking of the bread. And at the center of it all, guiding our faith, is none other than Mary, the Mother of the Church! This incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit ushers in the age of Mary. She is the Spouse of the Spirit, our beloved Mother, holding us close as we excitedly anticipate the arrival of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Happy Feast of Pentecost! Let the celebration ignite our spirits!

Fr Joseph Osho