Sunday 08 June 2025- Pentecost Sunday (Year C)
Mass
Readings:
Acts 2:1-11 Ps 104 1 Cor 12:3-7.12-13 Jn 20:19-23
Key
Verse to Meditate:
When
he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy
Spirit (Jn 20:22).
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Today, the Church
celebrates the Solemnity of Pentecost-the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon
the Apostles-as narrated in the Liturgy of the Word. While the first reading
from the Acts of the Apostles recounts the first Pentecost event, the second
reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians speaks of the variety of gifts
and services, all stemming from the same Spirit and the same Lord. The Gospel
reading presents the risen Lord imparting His peace and sending the apostles on
a mission to forgive sins. Jesus breathes on the apostles, imparting to them
the gift of the Spirit and strengthening them in their apostolic ministry.
As disciples of the Lord, we too are confirmed with the gift of the Spirit, so
that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can become instruments of peace and
reconciliation.
The First Reading
Today's first reading,
taken from the Acts of the Apostles, narrates the event of the first Pentecost.
As Jesus had commanded, the disciples remained in Jerusalem, united in prayer
with Mother Mary, awaiting the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:1). On the day
of Pentecost, all of them were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit:
"Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on
each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability" (Acts 2:3–4). This
astonished the Jews gathered in Jerusalem from various parts of the world, as
they heard the apostles speaking in different native languages. This was the
gift of the Holy Spirit: the gift of speaking in tongues. “At this sound the
crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the
native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked: ‘Are not all these
who are speaking Galileans?’” (Acts 2:6–7).
Thus began the bold preaching of the Word of God by the apostles.
Wherever the Spirit of God
descends, people receive power and grace to accept the Word of Christ and
embrace new life in the Spirit. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles were
also given the gift of invoking the outpouring of the Spirit on others. We see
in Acts that when Peter and John laid hands on the people of Samaria, they too
received the Holy Spirit:
"Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the
word of God (through Philip), they sent Peter and John to them. The two went
down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet
the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they
received the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:14-17).
The Second Reading
With the outpouring of the Spirit from on high, the Church was born in
power and with the accompaniment of the Spirit. It is the same Spirit that
Jesus shared with the apostles before His departure: "When He had said
this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’"
(John 20:22).
It is the same Spirit in various forms, and it is the same Spirit
manifest in every charism and renewal within the Church. This is the point
emphasized by St. Paul in the second reading from the First Letter to the
Corinthians: "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and
there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To
each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Cor
12:4-7).
All these gifts are given for the common good of the Christian
community, and no one can boast about them individually. The Holy Spirit is not
the possession of any single Church, and there can be no true Church of God
without the presence of the Holy Spirit.
St. Paul also lists the specific gifts of the Holy Spirit: "To one
is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the
utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the
same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the
working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of
spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of
tongues" (1 Cor 12:8-10).
The Nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The nine gifts of the Holy Spirit—wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing,
working of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues, and
interpretation of tongues—are spiritual gifts given to us in abundance to know
Christ and to live a holy life.
These can be categorized into three groups:
- Three
gifts to know: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, and
discernment of spirits.
- Three
gifts to do (power gifts): faith, working of
miracles, and gifts of healing.
- Three
gifts to say (vocal gifts): speaking in tongues,
interpretation of tongues, and prophecy.
The Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
In his Letter to the Galatians, St. Paul also speaks of the nine fruits
of the Holy Spirit:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against
such things" (Gal 5:22–23).
The Gospel Reading
The Risen Lord brings us peace: “Peace be with you” (Lk 24:36). In
today’s Gospel, we witness the Risen Lord sharing the gift of peace with His
fearful disciples. Twice, He greets them with the words, “Peace be with you”
(Jn 20:19b, 21). After the death of their Master, the disciples retreated into
secrecy, hiding from the religious authorities. If their Lord had been
crucified, they knew they might face the same fate.
In their fear, they had forgotten Jesus' teaching that He would rise
from the dead on the third day. On Easter Sunday, in their encounter with the
Risen Lord, Luke tells us, “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”
(Lk 24:45). This moment reveals Jesus, post-resurrection, enlightening His
disciples about the necessity of His suffering, death, and resurrection.
Even before His Passion, after the washing of the disciples' feet, Jesus
had offered them one of His greatest gifts—His peace: “Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (Jn
14:27). This peace is not like the fleeting, conditional peace the world
offers. It is a divine, enduring peace that springs from union with God. At the
Last Supper, Jesus consoled them: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God; believe also in me” (Jn 14:1).
Now, after the Resurrection, Jesus reaffirms this peace—a peace that
will remain with them even after His departure. This peace will strengthen them
through persecution and sorrow. Only after bestowing this peace does Jesus
commission them, saying: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn
20:21). The mission of Christ is to be carried out through the power of this
peace, lived and proclaimed by the disciples.
The Holy Spirit and the
Forgiveness of Sins
Following this gift of peace, Jesus anoints the apostles with the Holy
Spirit through a symbolic and sacred act: “He breathed on them and said to
them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (Jn 20:22-23).
While John presents this giving of the Spirit as part of the Easter
event, Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, situates the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit fifty days later at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-3). In John's account, Jesus’
act of breathing the Spirit upon His disciples is a moment of preparation and
empowerment for the ministry ahead.
Just as God breathed life into Adam, making him a living being (Gen
2:7), Jesus breathes the new life of the Holy Spirit into His disciples-granting
them strength, courage, and divine authority to carry out His mission.
Importantly, this act shows that the Spirit proceeds not only from the Father
but also from the Son.
Forgiving and Retaining of
Sins
Having breathed on them, the Risen Lord entrusts the apostles with the
authority to forgive sins: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:23).
This gift of reconciliation is rooted in God’s infinite mercy. As St.
Paul teaches, forgiveness is given to those who are reconciled with God and
their neighbor (Rom 3:21–5:11). The apostles, empowered by the Spirit, now
share in Christ’s ministry of healing and reconciliation.
This authority, passed on to the ministers of the Church-our priests-continues
in the sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus had previously demonstrated this
authority when He healed the paralytic, saying: “Friend, your sins are
forgiven you” (Lk 5:20). Though the Pharisees objected, Jesus declared: “But
so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins…” (Lk 5:24). As God Incarnate, He alone could offer such forgiveness-and
now He shares that power with His Church.
"By Beelzebul?" –
The Rejection of the Spirit
When Jesus healed a man who was mute and possessed by a demon, the
Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the
prince of demons (Mt 12:24). Jesus rebuked this false accusation, affirming: “If
it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has
come to you” (Mt 12:28).
He warned them of the danger of attributing the work of the Spirit to
evil, a sin that would not be forgiven: “Whoever speaks against the Holy
Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Mt
12:32). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit-wilful, persistent resistance to
God’s grace-is a grave rejection of truth.
Jesus Filled with the Power
of the Holy Spirit
From the beginning of His
earthly mission, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit:
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the
Spirit in the wilderness” (Lk 4:1). After His time of testing in the
desert, we read: “Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned
to Galilee…” (Lk 4:14). In the synagogue at Nazareth, He proclaimed: “The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring good news to
the poor” (Lk 4:18–19).
At His baptism, John the
Baptist bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove,
and it remained on Him... He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is
the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (Jn 1:32–33). Thus, Jesus was
anointed by the Holy Spirit at the beginning of His public ministry.
The Need to Ask for the
Gift of the Holy Spirit
Jesus Himself taught us to
ask for the gift of the Spirit: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Lk 11:13).
On Pentecost, Peter echoed
this call: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
Through the prophets, God
had already promised this outpouring: “I will pour out my spirit on all
flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy…” (Joel 2:28; cf. Is 32:15;
44:3; Zech 12:10). Jesus confirmed this promise: “The Advocate, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything…”
(Jn 14:26). And again: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you
from the Father, the Spirit of truth... He will testify on my behalf” (Jn
15:26).
Points for Personal
Reflection
- Have
I truly experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in my life?
- Like
the early disciples, do I recognize my need for the Spirit’s presence and
guidance?
- Do I
open myself daily to the renewing and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit?
- The
Spirit fills our hearts with the love of God (Rom 5:5). Do I ask Him to
fill me with that love?
- Do I
desire to live a holy life, knowing that the Holy Spirit is the giver of
all holiness?
Conclusion Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, poured out upon the Church
at Pentecost. Fill our hearts today with the same fire of Your love. Grant us
the courage to bear witness to the Gospel, the wisdom to discern Your will, and
the grace to live in unity and peace. May the fruits and gifts of the Spirit be
alive in us, so that we may be true disciples of Christ and instruments of Your
reconciliation in the world.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth - Amen.
