PENTECOST SUNDAY
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. (Acts 2:1-4)
With this dramatic description, we hear today the evangelist Luke portray the descent of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church as the apostles are empowered to speak to the crowds who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Feast of Weeks – the annual festival appropriately celebrating the beginning of the harvest season. As we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, allow me to reflect on its significance in the Church and in the lives of every follower of Christ.
The Pentecost episode in Acts – part of which we hear in today’s Eucharistic celebration – present the Holy Spirit coming upon all of those gathered in prayer as Jesus had instructed. The Spirit’s presence was experienced as a strong, driving wind and “tongues of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them” (v. 3). This enabled the apostles to preach convincingly to people of all nations in their own language. Some scholars suggest that this reverses the unintelligible babble of languages that had separated nations from the time that people tried to build a tower to heaven (cf. Gen 11:1-9 – the account of the Tower of Babel). It is also seen as a beginning of the Church’s ministry which spread the Gospel far and wide in just a few centuries.
The celebration of Pentecost empowers each generation to new beginnings in the Christian ministry. The Gospel must still be proclaimed near and far today! At the same time, the festival provides occasion to celebrate all the gifts of the Spirit. Traditionally, the Church speaks of the seven gifts of the Spirit that are listed in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 11:1-3: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, fortitude, counsel, piety and fear of the Lord. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states so well, “the moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit” (§ 1830). The Church also speaks of the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit, derived from the Letter to the Galatians 5:22-23: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity. The fruits of the Spirit, as the Catechism explains, “are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory” (§ 1832). In celebrating the gifts and fruits of the Spirit, we Christianize the Old Testament Festival of Weeks and rejoice in the first fruits of our faith!
In identifying Pentecost Sunday as the birthday of the Church, we recognize the many effects of the Spirit of God in our lives. We, who follow Christ, are able to call upon the Spirit to embolden us in doing God’s work. Just as those who were in the Upper Room, we receive the power of the Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. With this power, we can live as God calls us to live in the Book of Genesis – in his image and likeness! Now that we have been freed from the power of sin through the death and resurrection of Christ, we can live the moral life that Jesus showed us through his teachings and actions while he lived among us. Infused with the gifts of the Spirit of God, we can boldly proclaim the Gospel in our daily lives with wisdom and understanding. We can live piously, respecting God and everyone we meet, for everyone is made in the image and likeness of God. And living this way gives us the fruits of the Spirit, which allows us to live in joy and peace, with patience, kindness, goodness and generosity toward all, and faithfulness to God and our vocations.
Yes, Pentecost is still very important to us today. Let us, daily, open ourselves to the power of the Spirit and watch, amazed, as the apostles did, while the Spirit moves us in new and wondrous ways!
FATHER DAVID WANG’S FIRST PRIESTLY ASSIGNMENT
As we congratulate Father Wang on his priestly ordination, I’m sure many of you are wondering where he was assigned to serve. He has been assigned as parochial vicar (assistant pastor) of Nativity of our Lord Parish in Warminster while continuing pastoral service at Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church in Philadelphia. His assignment begins on 1 July. In the meantime, he will continue to live here while making trips to Maryland, Washington, D.C., New York and New Jersey where he will celebrate with friends and priestly associates he has come to know over the eight years that he has been here in the United States. Please keep Fr. David in your prayers as he begins his new life as a priest in the service of God’s people in Warminster and, indeed, throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia!