Solemnity of Pentecost at the Vigil
Catechism Links [1]
CCC 696, 726, 731-732, 737-741, 830, 1076, 1287, 2623: Pentecost
CCC 599, 597,674, 715: apostolic witness on Pentecost
CCC 1152, 1226, 1302, 1556: the mystery of Pentecost continues in the Church
CCC 767, 775, 798, 796, 813, 1097, 1108-1109: the Church, communion in the Spirit
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| “Pentecost” by Sir Anthony van Dyck,1618-20 |
Readings for Pentecost Sunday [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Acts 2:1-11
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.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
"Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God."
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Commentary on Acts 2:1-11
“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled” – the word in its Greek form means “fifty” so we understand this phrase to mean fifty days after Christ’s resurrection (Easter). An interesting coincidence is the Jewish Festival of Weeks (Harvest Festival “Shavuoth”) was also called Pentecost. Whether it was taken first by the Christians and later adopted by the Hellenistic Jews we do not know.
Those present (not just the disciples) heard a loud noise like the rushing of the wind. This signified a new action by God. Indeed, we see the symbol of the Holy Spirit, a flame, descend upon the Apostles launching them into prayers of ecstasy that were heard by all present in their own language. This event can be interpreted as a representation of the universal mission of the Church to all peoples of all nations.
CCC: Acts 2:1-4 1287; Acts 2:1 2623; Acts 2:3-4 696; Acts 2:11 1287
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O Lord!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
In Psalm 104 we find a refrain that is the most popular hymn sung at Pentecost. The final strophe recognizes the third person of God and asks for the blessing of the Holy Spirit. The psalmist recognizes the Holy Spirit is God since the creative effort of God is manifested by the Holy Spirit: "If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created."
CCC: Ps 104 288; Ps 104:24 295; Ps 104:30 292, 703
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
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Commentary on 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13
In this letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul acknowledges the role of the Holy Spirit and the different gifts supplied to the members of the Mystical Body of Christ. At the same time he also proclaims the oneness of the triune God. The unity theme is carried finally to the people of God who are one in the Spirit and therefore one with God.
In v. 13: "by one spirit: That is, by the divine action of the Spirit working in Baptism. ...one body: This is not simply a metaphor for the Church, with the focus on her organizational unity, but it expresses the metaphysical reality that every believer is truly united with Christ by the Sacraments (1 Corinthians 10:17; CCC 790). The Spirit is the soul of this mystical body, giving life, growth and direction to each of its members (CCC 797). ...Jews or Greeks: Union with Christ makes ethnic and social distinctions irrelevant in the eyes of God (Galatians 3:28; CCC 1267). ...to drink of one spirit: Baptism renews (Titus 3:5) and refreshes us through the Spirit (John 7:37-39), as does the spiritual drink of the Eucharist (1 Corinthians 10:4)." [5]
CCC: 1 Cor 12 1988, 2003; 1 Cor 12:3 152, 449, 455, 683, 2670, 2681; 1 Cor 12:4-6 249; 1 Cor 12:6 308; 1 Cor 12:7 801, 951; 1 Cor 12:13 694, 790, 798, 1227, 1267, 1396
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Or: Romans 8:8-17
Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
we are not debtors to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
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Commentary on Rom 8:8-17
St. Paul focuses on the Holy Spirit indwelling as a consequence of baptism. The Holy Spirit once received overrules the flesh and the faithful become one in Christ. Christians, by reason of the Spirit's presence within them, enjoy not only new life but also a new relationship to God, that of adopted children and heirs through Christ, whose sufferings and glory they share.
CCC: Rom 8:9 693; Rom 8:11 632, 658, 693, 695, 989, 990
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Gospel: John 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."
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Commentary on Jn 20:19-23
St. John gives us the picture of the disciples (now Apostles) in hiding immediately following the Lord’s crucifixion. Twice Jesus comes to them, once with Thomas absent, and then again when he is present.
There are a number of very important elements of this version of the story. First, the Lord’s greeting: “Peace be with you.” While this may have been a simple shalom, it is more likely intended to emphasize the rejoicing sense of the meeting. Immediately the Lord sends them on their mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you." As part of this action, we are told the Lord gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen them, and gives them authority to act in his name.
CCC: Jn 20:19 575, 643, 645, 659; Jn 20:20 645; Jn 20:21-23 1087, 1120, 1441; Jn 20:21 730, 858; Jn 20:22-23 976, 1485; Jn 20:22 730, 788, 1287; Jn 20:23 1461, 2839
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Or: John 14:15-16, 23b-26
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Those who do not love me do not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”
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Commentary on Jn 14:15-16, 23b-26
The farewell speech of the Lord continues with the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. We note he says, “another Advocate.” Jesus himself is the first advocate (in St. John’s Gospel the term used synonymously with spokesman, mediator, intercessor, comforter, and consoler). Jesus says this gift is: “The Spirit of truth.” (From the Qumran or Dead Sea Scrolls- a moral force put into a person by God.) This promise is made because the disciples are becoming worried, and are afraid of being left without Jesus’ guidance. In addition to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he leaves his peace, not just the greeting “Shalom,” but an inner peace that conquers fear.
After Jesus has promised to send the Holy Spirit (the new Advocate – the Paraclete), he reinforces that promise with a summation of his great commandment. The Lord then completes our understanding of the Holy Trinity with: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name--he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” The Father and the Son are one and, in the name of the Son, the Holy Spirit now remains with us.
"The word translated here is 'bring to your remembrance' also includes the idea of 'suggesting': the Holy Spirit will recall to the Apostles' memory what they have already heard Jesus say and he will give them light to enable them to discover the depth and richness of everything they have seen and heard. Thus, 'the Apostles handed on to their hearers what he had said and done, but, with that fuller understanding which they instructed by the glorious events of Christ (cf. John 2:33) and enlightened by the Spirit of truth, now enjoyed' (Vatican II, Dei Verbum, 19)." [6]
CCC: Jn 14:16-17 729, 2615; Jn 14:16 692; Jn 14:17 243, 687, 2466, 2671; Jn 14:18 788; Jn 14:22 647; Jn 14:23-26 2615; Jn 14:23 260; Jn 14:26 243, 244, 263, 692, 729, 1099, 2466, 2623
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Reflection:
For the past seven weeks we have celebrated our joy in the knowledge that Jesus, who was crucified, died, and was buried, has risen as he promised. In rising he opened the gates of heaven and paved the way for our salvation. It has been a fifty-day celebration and today, Pentecost, we conclude our Easter with a coming-out party.
Pentecost is, for the Church, like Christmas is to Jesus. It is, in essence, the birth of the Church’s mission. I’d like you to read a quote from Pope Paul VI from an address he made back in 1969:
"Today, as you know, the Church was fully born, through the breath of Christ, the Holy Spirit; and in the Church was born the Word, the witness to and promulgation of salvation in the risen Jesus. “
He goes on to say:
“[A]nd in [those] who listen to this promulgation is born faith, and with faith a new life, an awareness of the Christian vocation and the ability to hear that calling and to follow it by living a genuinely human life, indeed a life which is not only human but holy. And to make this divine intervention effective, today was born the apostolate, the priesthood, the ministry of the Spirit, the calling to unity, fraternity and peace."
This Pentecost we celebrate is more than simply the fulfillment of a prophecy recorded in the sacred books of the Old Testament. It is more than the fulfillment of a promise, although it is Jesus’ promise fulfilled. It is more than simply the revelation of the third person of the Trinity, although in establishing that Divine Advocate within us the Holy Spirit is both revealed and active.
We look at the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus. We can go back to the very moment of his conception in Blessed Mary’s womb. We are told that the Lord himself was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Recall the words in St. Luke’s Gospel as the archangel Gabriel tells an astonished Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) From the very instant of his conception the essence of God the Father and the Holy Spirit were established in the truly human Jesus who walked among us.
We find that dove-like presence again in the life of Jesus as he walks out of the Jordan River after St. John the Baptist reluctantly provides symbolic repentance (for how could it have been other than symbolic for one who is sinless from birth?). “After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him.”(Matthew 3:16) That moment marked the beginning of the Lord’s active mission to proclaim God’s Kingdom and the salvation flowing from it.
The same gift of the Holy Spirit was given to each of us in our own baptism where we were sanctified, made holy, and claimed for God’s service and care. Like the Lord, at baptism we were given a piece of God’s mission. We or our proxies (our parents) made promises, a pledge to God and his Church: our belief in God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and our rejection of all that is evil in the world. At confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit was sealed as we once more promised to obey his direction and follow the path Christ has laid out for us.
What a precious gift he has left us in the Holy Spirit. Indeed, without that strength and grace, we would fail utterly in the task he has left us: to carry out the work he began and to bring the love and peace of God to all people. We see what a remarkable transformation that spiritual gift can accomplish when it is tapped. Look at the story in St. John’s Gospel. The disciples were utterly grief-stricken at the Lord’s death on the cross. They are incredulous at seeing his glorified body enter the locked room where they cower. The Lord breathes upon them, and the Holy Spirit fills them, and they are suddenly transformed into towers of courage, able to proclaim the risen Christ to all peoples of all cultures.
This is the strength we have been given. This is the grace that fills us and like all gifts from God, many and varied though they be, we are called upon to use those gifts to further the mission of Christ and His Church. We are called to bring the good news to all we meet; in actuality we are called upon to be the good news. Through our actions guided by the Holy Spirit we are called to be a flame that brings light to the world.
Pentecost brings an end to our Easter season, the season of rejoicing. It now launches us into the world at large, invigorated, refreshed, and renewed in the Risen Lord to bring the love of God into the world. We call on you now as Church to bring that light to the world.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used is “Pentecost” by Sir Anthony van Dyck,1618-20.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 303.
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p.660.
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