SEND FORTH YOUR SPIRIT, O LORD, AND RENEW THE FACE OF THE EARTH

SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST - Acts 2:1-11

It happened fifty days after Easter when the Jews celebrated the feast of Pentecost. It began as a feast of thanksgiving for the beginning of the harvest and acquired a new meaning, becoming the feast of the covenant and the giving of the Law, which made Israel the people of God. On that day, gathered together as a community, the disciples experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, who constituted them as the new people of God.

The Holy Spirit manifested himself as a powerful wind and as tongues of fire. The wind represents the air that we breathe, the breeze that brings relief, the wind that pushes the clouds around and brings the rain, the hurricane that uproots trees and shatters buildings and the tornado that lifts everything in its passage, leaving destruction behind. At the beginning of times, the Spirit made possible the creation and he is the breath of life that God breathed into the nostrils of human beings. Always present, most of the time, the Holy Spirit breathes in us and whispers words of wisdom and guidance, but there are moments when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives like a tornado, forcing us to change direction and filling us with his power to do God’s work. Thus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles overcome their fear and were filled with courage and boldness to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Fire is another symbol of the Holy Spirit. God revealed himself to Moses in a flame of fire (Ex 3:2) and guided the people of Israel through a pillar of fire (Ex 13:21-22) and then descended on Mount Sinai in fire (Ex 19:18). The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in tongues of fire. Like fire, the Holy Spirit purifies and transforms. He gives warmth and leaves our hearts burning with his love. With his fire, the Holy Spirit can melt our hardened hearts so that we are created anew in the image of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit is the source of unity, making possible a new community, the Church, the new people of God who can give praise and thanksgiving to God in all languages. The diversity of tribes and nations is no more a source of division, but a contribution to the growth and communion of all.

May the Holy Spirit guides us in truth, give us commitment in love and strengthen us in courage to be true witnesses of Jesus Christ.