HOMILÍAS/HOMILIES
Homily 1
Pentecost Sunday
Cycle A
Readings: 1) Acts 2:1-11 2)1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 3) John 20:19-23
As we read the books of the Old Testament, we can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in all of the works of God since the beginnings of human existence. When the world was created, it was the Spirit that was sent out over the waters thus blessing them. The Spirit gave life and peace to all who dwelt on the earth. Since then the presence the Spirit has guided and blessed all of the good works that humanity has done. Nonetheless, before Jesus ascended to the Father, he promised his disciples that he would send them the Holy Spirit in a more visible manner. As a result of this promise, the Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday as the feast of the public revelation of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. Today we also celebrate the day on which the Church community was born. The readings of this great feast that we celebrate today show us how the Holy Spirit was sent by God the Father to bless the community of the new and ever lasting covenant that was announced by Jesus Christ.
The feast of Pentecost celebrates the inauguration of the Church in the world. And it celebrates the day that the Holy Spirit was publicly given the task of safeguarding humanity. Saint Irenaeus tells us that the same divine grace that was received by the disciples in the form of tongues of fire was later received by humanity as water that falls from the sky. And he adds, “just as the parched earth can not produce a harvest, we, who were before like a waterless tree, would never have been able to bear the fruit of life, without this freely given rain from on high.”
The grace of the Holy Spirit clearly enlightened the disciples to the mystery of the salvation of humanity by the Son of God. It clarified for them the mystery of the Church, the body of Christ, which Our Lord wished to leave as visible proof of his presence in the world. Both the Gospel of the Evening Mass and the Gospel of the Mass of the Day describe the last encounters that Jesus had with his disciples. It was precisely then, before he visibly left the earth, that Jesus spoke with them. He knew that the small community of his followers would soon enter into a new stage of its existence. After the Ascension of the Lord, the newly founded Church would find itself in a precarious situation. Only if unity were maintained would the disciples be able to reach the fullness of truth of a life in Christ. For this reason, Jesus tells them that he will not abandon them. And he promises to send the Paraclete, the Defender, the Consoler, to guide them as they journey on the road to a new life with him and with the Father.
In our Second Reading, Saint Paul reminds us that the Spirit that the disciples received on that first Pentecost Sunday is the same Spirit that all of us receive today. The grace of the Spirit is given to all of the members of the Church but each member receives it in a different way. Therefore, we could say that the Holy Spirit exists, at one and the same time, in the Church in general and in each member of the church in particular. Because of the different charisms or gifts that individual persons receive for the good of all, the body of Christ develops in harmony. An African preacher, speaking about Pentecost Sunday in the sixth century said, “Just as then one man, having received the Holy Spirit, could speak in all tongues, now it is the one Church, united by the Holy Spirit, that speaks to all in all languages.” The presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church is shown in the unity in mind and heart of the community
My sisters and brothers, let us pray to the Holy Spirit that we may receive the gift of unity and be filled with wisdom and courage so that, following the example of Saint Peter and the other apostles, we may show to the world our faith in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Come, Holy Spirit, come!