Pentecost
by The Most
Reverend John C. Nienstedt
O breathe on me, O breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the things you love,
And do what you would do.
Acts 2:1-11
1 Cor
Jn 20:19-23
How often do we find ourselves chasing
around, trying to complete so many projects on our busy to-do lists that we get
to a point when we say, “Hold on, I just have to stop and catch my
breath!” Perhaps even you, Father Denny,
found yourself saying that once or twice during these past months of
construction.
Well, today’s great feast of Pentecost
allows us to do just that: to stop,
catch our breath, reflect on the blessings that God has bestowed on us,
especially in the New Life won for us by Jesus’ Death and Resurrection then poured
into our hearts in the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
Specifically, I will bless three major
areas that have been added or enhanced by your recent renovation. Providentially, these three areas are given
emphasis in the Scripture readings that the Church gives us today.
First of all, the baptismal font recalls
that the first mass conversions and baptisms in the Church happened on
Pentecost Sunday. Our passage to which
we have just listened comprises the first eleven verses of Chapter 2 in the
Acts of the Apostles. But, immediately
following, the sacred author records the inspired preaching of St. Peter that
day in which he tells the crowd, “You must reform and be baptized, each one of
you, in the name of Jesus Christ…” (v. 38)
And as a result, three thousand accepted his message and were baptized.”
(v. 41)
The sacrament of Baptism must be a
heartfelt response to the Word of God and the movement of the Holy
Spirit in the heart of the convert. It demands
the renunciation of Satan and a rejection of one’s personal adherence to
sin. It is the gateway into the very
life of the Holy Trinity, thus affording immediate membership in the
Church. Whenever a catechumen is
immersed in the saving waters of Baptism, the dynamic new life of the Risen Lord
is reconfirmed as it was at that first Pentecost.
The Sacrament of Penance is, as
“Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, are forgiven them,
and
whose sins you retain are retained.”
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the
authority of Jesus to remit sins and the punishment due them is given to his
Body, the Church. This is such an
awesome gift and yet how infrequently Catholics take advantage of the graces
offered in this spiritually medicinal, sacramental encounter with the Divine
Physician. I only hope and pray that the
ministry of the Spirit’s reconciling grace will be well used in your new
Reconciliation Room.
Finally, the Narthex and Gathering Space
recall the words of today’s second reading:
“As the body is one though it has many
parts . . . so also with Christ.”
All are baptized into one Spirit and each
member of the Body is to use his/her gifts of the Spirit for the benefit of the
others.
In this way, each of us is not
called to salvation through a “me and Jesus” kind of individualism, but rather
as a “me and the Body of Jesus” kind of communal sharing. Obviously, there is a balance here that is
exemplified by the manner in which we celebrate the Eucharist. The offerings for the Sacred Liturgy are
consecrated in the context of the community lead by the priest and only
afterwards is each baptized faithful invited forward to receive Holy Communion
personally. Building up the spirit of
community within the Body of Christ can never be considered a secondary
responsibility, it is a necessary component for our journey to the Kingdom.
My brothers and sisters, I congratulate
you on the dedicated efforts you have undertaken in regard to these three areas
of your liturgical life here at the
As we now move into the Liturgy of the
Eucharist, let us with grateful hearts offer back to our heavenly Father the
very gifts he has given to us. And let
us realize more deeply than before that what is transformed by the powerful words
of the Consecration is accomplished through the Holy Spirit, poured out as
breathe for our spiritual lives.
O breathe on us, O breath of God, Fill us
with life anew, That we may love the things you love, And do what you would do.
wmu