Today we celebrate Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples ten days after Jesus’ ascension and the birthday of the Church.  However, our readings actually describe two occasions upon which the disciples received the Spirit.  The first reading, from Acts, tells the familiar story of the Spirit descending on the disciples as tongues of fire, followed by the miracle of them all speaking in their native languages and yet being heard by everyone in the crowd in their native languages.  The Gospel reading takes place on Easter Sunday, when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, breathed on them and said “Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you” …followed by Him breathing on them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

There are parallels between these two accounts.  In both cases, the disciples are downcast and uncertain of what to do next; on Easter Sunday they thought Jesus was dead only to have heard accounts of His resurrection...they must have been confused to say the least.  On the day of Pentecost, Jesus had been gone for ten days.  He had left them instructions to remain in Jerusalem, but they were uncertain of exactly what was to happen.  In both cases, receipt of the Spirit resulted in profound changes in their attitudes; relief in the first case and a bold commitment to carrying on Jesus’ mission in the second.  

I find it interesting that it took two instances of receiving the Spirit to fully empower the disciples…to get them moving forward.  Likewise, for us; we receive the Spirit at our baptism and again at confirmation, and we continue to pray for an outpouring of the Spirit throughout our lives.  As St. Paul tells the Corinthians (and us) in our second reading, it is through the power of the Spirit that we are both able to proclaim Jesus as Lord and carry on His work.  He goes on to explain that there are many gifts of the Spirit, and that they are given to each of us according to our needs and our specific mission.  We do not all have the same “assignment”, but we all have one (or more).  Let us pray that the Spirit will help us to both understand and carry out our assignments, all for the glory of God and the building up of His Church.

Reflection by Parishioner John Ceglarek