“Receive the Holy Spirit”

"We hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God." These words, coming from those experiencing the fruits of the Apostles' and other disciples' Pentecost encounter with the Holy Spirit, are important for us to hear! For on this day, the promised coming of the Advocate, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, was not just some internal, mental, spiritual reality. Something so profound happened that it caused the recipients to go forth with boldness out into the streets!

We have been hearing Jesus say for weeks now that the Father would send the Holy Spirit in his name and that it would "teach [the Apostles] everything and remind [them] of all that I told you." He promised that they would "do the works that [he did], and will do greater ones than these." In this vein, in John's Gospel, upon appearing to the Apostles, Jesus said "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." And in the Acts of the Apostles, as Jesus prepared to ascend into heaven (which we heard last week), he said to them: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses." And now the moment has arrived! 

And so, praise God, those who received the Holy Spirit that day cooperated with the graces and gifts bestowed on them and went out into the world to proclaim the Gospel! They didn't allow fear of persecution or a selfish desire to hoard it all for themselves to take hold. They didn't explain it all away as some psychological event or emotional trauma response. They went forth and spoke of "the mighty acts of God" to all who would listen in languages they didn't even know! They eventually risked and lost their lives doing this very thing. And they inspired their followers to do the same for generations to come, down to our very day.

Let us pray that, as we celebrate this great day in our own liturgy together, we too are emboldened and inspired to go forth! The Holy Spirit continues to move, to inspire, to do amazing things! There are still "mighty acts of God" to be spoken of! May our hearts, lips, and minds be emboldened anew to make them known to the ends of the earth!

Want to prepare your heart and mind for Mass this weekend? Click here to find the readings this Sunday's Mass.