Dear Parishioners,
This Sunday, we joyfully celebrate one of the most significant feast days on our liturgical calendar. That is, the Solemnity of Pentecost. It marks the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to send the Holy Spirit upon His disciples, empowering them to go forth and proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Occurring fifty days after Easter, Pentecost is often referred to as the “birthday of the Church,” for it was on this day that the Apostles, once fearful and uncertain, were transformed into bold witnesses of Christ.
We hear in the Acts of the Apostles, as they were gathered in the Upper Room, “a noise like a strong driving wind” filled the house, and “tongues as of fire” rested upon each of them (Acts 2:1–11). Filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in different languages, enabling them to proclaim the Good News to pilgrims from every corner of the world. This miraculous event signifies the universality of the Church and her mission to evangelize all peoples.
The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, is not a distant or abstract figure. He is living and active in the Church today. At Baptism, each of us received the Holy Spirit and His gifts: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (CCC 1831). These seven gifts were confirmed within us when we were sealed at our Confirmation and are not meant to lie dormant but to be stirred into flame, guiding our lives and helping us become witnesses to Christ in our families, workplaces, and communities.
Today, let us ask for the Holy Spirit to do just that as we pray:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Bill Duffert