It is 20th May 2018. We celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. The Catechism teaches us (CCC 731), “On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given and communicated as a divine person; of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.” It is the birthday for the Church. The community of all communities gather together under one umbrella of the Holy Spirit. The boldness and courage to preach the Word of God and to be witness to Christ by the decent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and Mother Mary as the tongue of fire (Acts.1:14). The Pentecost is the fiftieth day of the harvest festival for the Jews to thank God for all the blessings. But for the Church it is the day God’s Spirit descended on the Church with the power of the gift of tongues. The church receives the mandate from the Holy Spirit to speak and preach every language, culture and ethnic groups. The barrier of the language is broken by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity offers the power to speak and stand for the Christ. It is the celebration of the Presence of the Holy Spirit and acknowledgment of the forms of the Holy Spirit as the breath of God (Gen.2:7), fire symbolising the pillar of fire (Ex. 13:21), oil, the water, and dove (Gen.8:11). We need to acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit every day more specially on this solemnity. The readings are from Acts 2:1-11; and the second reading is from Galatians 5:16-25; and the Gospel is from John 15:26-27, 16:12-15. In the first reading, we witness the spectacular decent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and Mary. Once they were filled by the Holy Spirit, they all began to speak for Christ and the Church. The responsorial Psalm praises, “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” (Ps.104:30). The second reading highlights the fruits of the Spirit opposed to the works of the flesh. “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these… and those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal.5:19-22). Our spiritual character is manifested either by the works of the flesh or ruled by the gifts of the Spirit. Are our lives ruled by virtues or led by the vices? The Gospel assures that the Spirit of truth will lead us to all the truth. It is to say that the Apostles would continue to testify and teach the unerring truth leading us all to Christ. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit defends the truth through the ministry of the Church. The Church invites everyone of us to renew our commitment to Christ on this day. Let us proclaim the truth untiringly not only by words by works. May we begin a new page of life in the spirit starting from today approaching the throne of mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May we all be filled with the Holy Spirit today and the days ahead of our lives dispelling all fear, darkness, anxiety, and worries. May you have a good day with the Holy Spirit.

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