Video Transcript
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
This coming Sunday we will celebrate the great Feast of Pentecost – the Birthday of the Church. With joyful hearts, we will praise the Father for pouring forth the Holy Spirit and uniting us with Jesus, His Beloved Son.
What Jesus did and taught before His Death and Resurrection, He continued to do and teach after Pentecost through the members of His Church. In this way, the Kingdom that Jesus initiated in Galilee spread far and wide throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.
Wherever the Spirit was welcomed, He moved human hearts to trust in His truth and mercy. He brought to life the words of Jesus, “Do not be afraid…, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.” Through the breath of the Holy Spirit, we who are Jesus’ disciples today find courage to be His faithful witnesses.
Whether times be peaceful or not, even when facing a pandemic, the Church continues to bear good fruit. The Father is pleased to give us the Kingdom.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we prepare for Pentecost 2020, let us keep in mind three things:
- Remember that the primary gift of the Spirit is love. St. Paul writes, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given us.” Each day, then, let us say to Jesus, “I will be love wherever you put me, no matter the time or place, no matter whom you call me to serve.”
- Remember that the first effect of the gift of love is forgiveness. Let us, therefore, be patient and forgiving with everyone. During the uncertainties of the pandemic, our nerves may get frayed and our patience tested. But forgiveness covers a multitude of sins.
- Recall the words of St. Paul, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness.” He helps us by making Christ present among us in the Sacraments, with His tender mercy in the Confessional and supremely in the Eucharist. When Jesus is with us, of whom could we be afraid?
This past week, one of our good priests wrote these words to me: “I am convinced that the necessary abstinence from the sacraments has created… a deeper desire in the faithful for their Lord and Savior.” His words ring true, yes? At the first Pentecost, the Apostles and their companions had waited for 50 days, days that seemed like an eternity, but days that deepened their longing for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Without the fire of the Spirit, they knew they could not go on. But, once He filled their souls with His love, nothing could stop them from bearing witness to the Kingdom of God.
This coming Sunday, the same Holy Spirit will be poured afresh upon you and me. Today and tomorrow, it is our turn to be the ones through whom Jesus continues to redeem the world. We don’t have to go far to do His work. We need not speak to strangers – we can do it within our own home. Each of us has a story to tell; it is the story of the living Jesus Christ at work within us who believe.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Diocese of Phoenix, pray for us.
Jesus, we trust in you.
May Almighty God bless you, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
