"Receive the Holy Spirit!"

The Church is born today.

The Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised to his disciples had finally come,

descending upon the apostolic band in a way they could have hardly imagined.

And it filled them with tremendous power and zeal for the Gospel.

This fire continues to animate and embolden the church.

 

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Acts 2:1-11

When the day of Pentecost came,

They were all together in one place. And suddenly, out of the sky, came a sound, like a strong rushing wind; and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared tongues, as if of fire, which parted and came to rest upon each one of them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

 

Staying in Jerusalem were religious Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered, all excited, because each heard them speaking in his own language. Full of amazement and wonder, they asked, "Are not all those who are speaking Galileans? How is it that we hear them in our own native language?

 

Here are Parthians, Medes and Elamites; and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia; Pontus and Asia; Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt; and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene; and visitors from Rome; both Jews and foreigners who accept Jewish beliefs, Cretians and Arabians; and all of us hear them proclaiming in our own language what God the Savior does."

 

Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 (or Galatians 5:16-25)

I tell you that nobody inspired by the Spirit of God may say, "A curse on Jesus," as no one can say, "Jesus is the Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. There is diversity of gifts, but the Spirit is the same. There is diversity of ministries, but the Lord is the same. There is diversity of works, but the same God works in all.

 

The Spirit reveals his presence in each one with a gift that is also a service.

As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptized in one Spirit, to form one body, and all of us have been given, to drink from the one Spirit.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

John 20:19-23 (or John 15:26-27; 16:12-15)

In the evening of that day, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews. But Jesus came and stood among them, and said to them, "Peace be with you!" Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples, seeing the Lord, were full of joy.

 

Again Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you." After saying this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit! Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; those whose sins you retain, they are retained."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Received the Holy Spirit!"

Lectio Divina

 

READ: On the first day of the Sabbath, in the evening, the disciples locked themselves up out of fear of the Jews. Despite the locked doors, Jesus stood in their midst while giving them the greeting of peace. Jesus showed them his hands and side. Upon seeing Jesus, the disciples were filled with joy. Immediately after, Jesus sent them in the same way that the Father had sent him. Then he asked them to receive the Holy Spirit while breathing on them. Jesus also gave them the authority to forgive sins.

 

REFLECT: While the synoptic tradition tells of the ascension of Jesus, and that of Luke narrates the descent of the Holy Spirit after Jesus' ascension, the Gospel of John narrates the immediate reception of the Holy Spirit by the disciples during one of his post resurrection appearances. Jesus' sending of the Holy Spirit upon them happened immediately when Jesus breathed on them.

 

We may reflect on the way the narrative ends. Simultaneous with the reception of the Holy Spirit by the disciples is the authority shared to them by Jesus as regards the forgiveness of sins. We need to understand that whenever Jesus spoke about the forgiveness of sins, it was always profoundly connected with compassion. Thus, a disciple who has already received the Holy Spirit is not only peaceful and joyful but also compassionate.

 

PRAY: Come Holy Spirit and make us more compassionate.

 

ACT: Let us exercise compassion by being kinder to the people in our workplace this week.