My dear people of God, today is the Pentecost Sunday. The feast of Pentecost marks the end of the Easter Season and opens up a new liturgical season for the Church. Since the beginning of Easter Sunday, we have celebrated the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and his subsequent triumphant Ascension into heaven. Today, we have come to celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.
For us Christians, the feast of Pentecost is a celebration of Christ’s fulfillment of His promise, that he will send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth and Love to the apostles. Pentecost is when the Church was born and officially inaugurated in the world. Hence, the feast of Pentecost is a celebration of the descend of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and a birthday for the Church of Christ.
The gospel reading tells us about the promise Jesus made to the apostles, that the Holy Spirit will come upon them. He described the Holy Spirit as the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth who would guide them in all the truth. As their Counsellor, the Holy Spirit will unveil everything to them and guide them for defence. Since the apostolic era till date, the Holy Spirit has not left the Church alone. He has guided the Church through the storms of this world- to witness in every generation the timeless message of God’s love-a truth revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Today’s first reading gave us a narrative of how it happened on that great day. The Apostles and believers were gathered in a room, praying and waiting with one accord for the fulfillment of Christ’s promise. On this account, we noticed their faithful obedience to Christ’s instruction to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from above. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit found them exactly where the Lord Jesus had instructed them to wait.
The scripture says it was like a mighty wind that filled the entire house where the apostles stayed, and the spirit descended on them like tongues of fire. This mighty wind reminds us about the irresistible force of God’s Spirit to lead and to guide God’s faithful through centuries. The suddenness of this phenomenon reveals the freedom of the Spirit and its operations. It means that God’s Spirit cannot be restricted or programmed at any given moment even when what he says disconcerts human hearts. The Holy Spirit leads, guides and directs the Church at every given moment. “The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn. 3:8).
Again, the tongues of fire are the fire of love that makes the faithful to live in the world but never belonging to the world. It enkindles fire of ineffable love of God on the faithful, the fire of proclaiming the Good News to the whole world. It is the fire that makes the apostles able to speak in different languages on that faithful day. This fire ignites in all the baptized power to be faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
More importantly, it is good to understand that God does not speak a particular language; He communicates in all languages and understands all languages. Within the Church many languages are spoken and understood among the faithful. Hence, the Sacred Liturgy is celebrated in many languages and vernaculars. The same is applicable to sacred scripture which is written, read and interpreted in many languages. And so, in every language the children of God sang a hymn of praise in unison; for the Spirit brought the scattered races together into a unity, and offered to the Father the first fruits of all the nations. Above all, the central language which unites God’s children together in the song of praise and worship, and which is very common in the presence of God is the language of love. Hence, St. Paul tells us, at last three things remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest is love (1Cor. 13.13).
Let me conclude this homily with prayer for consecration to the Holy Spirit: O Holy Spirit, the Divine Spirit of light and love, I consecrate to you my understanding, heart and will, my whole being for time and eternity. May my understanding be always submissive to your heavenly inspirations. And to the teaching of the catholic Church, of which you are the infallible guide; and may my heart be ever inflamed with the love of God and of my neighbor; may my will be ever conformed to the Divine will, and may my whole life be a faithful imitation of the life and virtues of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to whom the Father and you be honor and glory forever. Amen.