Acts 2: 1-11
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Pouring Out the Spirit Into the Church
The Jewish feast of Pentecost celebrates the giving of the covenant at Mount Sinai by which the Jews were made God’s people.
The Christian feast of Pentecost celebrates the promised sending of the Holy Spirit by the exalted Lord Jesus, giving birth to a new people of God, the Church.
In the New Testament, through the Holy Spirit, we are one with Christ and the Father and one another, are faithful to the truth revealed in Christ, and are empowered to live a life of holiness.
The Holy Spirit “pours out” in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love of God and neighbor, and endows us with a multitude of virtues, especially those we call the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, and charisms or gifts of service we use in helping the Church to live its life and carry out its mission.
—Fr. Bob Hagan, SJ, is a member of a community of senior Jesuits at Saint Ignatius Hall in Florissant, Missouri. He gives spiritual direction and directs 31-week retreats in daily life, based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, online.
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, and fill me!
Come, Holy Spirit, and fill all those who belong to the Church!
Come, Holy Spirit, and give the Church all the renewal it needs in our time!
Come, Holy Spirit, and fill all people living on the face of the earth.
Come, Holy Spirit, and renew all creation.
Praise and thanks to you, Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life!
—Fr. Bob Hagan, SJ
Pray with the Pope
The Holy Father’s Monthly Prayer Intentions Brought to you by Apostleship of Prayer the first Friday of each month.