Reflection From

Fr. John

June 8, 2025

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. Pentecost, derived from the Greek word for fifty, denotes the passing of fifty days between Easter Sunday and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostles were all gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Shavuot, which occurs fifty days following Passover. This feast celebrates the giving of the Torah, or the first five books of the Bible to the Jewish people. It is also known as the "Feast of Weeks" because it occurs seven weeks following Passover. Shavuot is a major Jewish holiday that reinforces the importance of the Torah and the covenant between God and the Jewish people.

By the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, God fulfilled His promise to write His law upon the hearts of the faithful. He completed the Old Testament promise He made to the prophet Jeremiah, "But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days— oracle of the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jer 31:33)

God no longer dwells in cloud or fire, but through the sending of the Holy Spirit, He dwells in each and every one of our hearts. The Feast of Pentecost is a fulfillment of the giving of the Law to Moses, and it is a fulfillment of the words of Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Jesus told His disciples, "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." (John 14:26)

The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the birth of the Church. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles received the gift of faith and were able to boldly proclaim the Gospel. Where they had previously been hiding in fear, they went out and freely proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord. We too, through the gift of Baptism and Confirmation, have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, acting through His Church, has endowed us with the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and the fear of the Lord. These gifts are for our own personal growth in holiness as well as for the building up of the Church on earth.

Through the giving of these gifts, Jesus has written His law upon our hearts and come to dwell within each of us. This Pentecost, may we learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit who speaks within each of our hearts. Let us ask for a renewed outpouring of the graces received at our Baptism, so that we too can become the saints God is calling us to be and boldly proclaim Christ as Lord.

Father John

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