Pentecost Sunday

In the Scripture Readings for today’s Mass, we hear two accounts of the Pentecost. The more dramatic of the two   occurs in our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-11) where the Holy Spirit descends upon the  Apostles, empowering them to speak in different tongues so that the Jews from different lands who had gathered in Jerusalem could hear the message of Jesus proclaimed in their own language. The second, and perhaps less dramatic account is found in today’s Gospel (John 20:19-23) where the Risen Jesus, himself, appears to the Apostles on Easter Sunday, breathes the Holy Spirit upon them, empowers them to forgive sins in his name, and commissions them to go forth and continue the mission of announcing the coming of the Kingdom of God.      

Taken together, these two accounts make one thing clear – that even though Jesus has ascended back to the right hand of the Father in Heaven as we celebrated last week in the Ascension, his work of proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God was not yet finished, and he was entrusting that mission to the Apostles. By virtue of our Baptism into the life of Christ, that mission of proclaiming Christ has been entrusted to us as well.      

As we go about the work of announcing and building God’s Kingdom here on earth, it is important to remember  as St. Paul makes clear in our Second Reading today (1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13) that each of us has been gifted by God in some unique way and therefore has a special contribution to make to the overall mission of the Church. Like the body with many parts that Paul refers to, we are to work in harmony and collaboration, calling forth and   welcoming the authentic spiritual gifts of all. We acknowledge the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit – wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord – all of them tools that equip us in our mission as co-workers with Christ for the spread of the Gospel and the salvation of souls. Filled with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and nourished by the sacred Body and Blood of Christ through the Eucharist, may we boldly go forth to  be and bear Christ’s presence to the world and so continue the work of building God’s Kingdom here on Earth.