Sunday:       PENTECOST SUNDAY
Date:         June 11, 2000
Year:         B
The readings: [Acts 2:1-11; Gal. 5:16-25; Jn. 15:26-7, 16:12-5]
The message:  Filled with the Holy Spirit.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  2368

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My brothers and sisters, from today's readings that commemorates the Feast of Pentecost Sunday, we learn how, when, where and why the Holy Spirit was given to mankind.

Before proceeding to review the readings that we have just heard, I wish to point out that you will notice a continual interchange of the Three Divine Presences of the Holy Trinity. I will explain this as I review the relevant Bible passages.

Beginning with the reading from the Holy Gospel of John, we heard Jesus saying, "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf."

The first thing that comes to mind is, "What is an advocate?" An Advocate is like a lawyer who defends and supports someone's cause. He is a champion who encourages, supports and upholds the rights of the person. He advances, promotes and recommends the cause of the individual. He urges the person to persevere in his beliefs.

This description of the Holy Spirit as an Advocate perfectly described His personal interest in our spiritual well-being. As children of God, when we pray, "When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God..." [Rom. 8:15-6] The Holy Spirit pleads for us for the grace of God the Father to shine on us. He supports us in the perseverance of our living faith in Christ.

Now, elsewhere in the Bible, it says that Jesus is our advocate. "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." [1 Jn. 2:1] Does this conflict with the words of Jesus who says that the Holy Spirit is our advocate? No, it does not because both, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. [Rom. 8:9; 1 Pet. 1:11; Phil. 1:19] He is the also the Spirit of God [Gen. 41:38; Mt. 3:16; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 2:11; Eph. 4:30; 1 Pet. 4:14; 1 Jn. 4:2], the Spirit of the Father. [Mt. 10:20] Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit, being One in God, are our Advocates before God the Father.

Continuing in His instructions to the disciples, Jesus said, "You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning." Just as we called to testify about our living faith, the disciples of Jesus were called to testify on behalf of Him because they were living witnesses to His ministry, His teachings that were full of the Holy Spirit, His prophecies, the miracles that flowed through Him, His crucifixion, His death and His glorious resurrection.

Jesus said, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." These words echo the words of St. Paul to the Hebrews. "We have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. [Heb. 5:11-2]

From the words of Jesus, it has to be realized that the disciples were still expecting a worldly kingdom on earth. Even though they had been with Jesus for three years during His ministry, their worldly minds were conflicting with the spiritual teachings of Jesus. They fell short of perceiving the spiritual Good News that Jesus was delivering to them. But, in time, through the grace of God the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples gradually perceived the mysteries of the incarnation, the crucifixion of the Lamb of God and the glorious Resurrection of Christ. Sanctified by the Holy Spirit, they matured from milk to solid food.

Next, Jesus said, "When the Spirit of truth comes, He (the Holy Spirit) will guide you into all the truth." As sad as it is to say, many have misinterpreted this Bible passage which is similar to John 6:45. (And they shall all be taught by God. [Jn. 6:45]) They have applied this passage as meaning that each person is personally guided by the Holy Spirit and as such, there is no need to submit oneself to the authority of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This kind of thinking has led to division within the Church.

When taking the entire context of the instructions that Jesus was giving, it is realized that these specific instructions were given to His disciples who were called to administer on earth the Catholic Church that Jesus had just instituted. When Jesus said that the Spirit of truth will guide you into all the truth, this particular reference was meant for the apostles and to the early Church.

Afterwards, Jesus said, "For he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears." Again, these words echo the word of Jesus who does not speak on His own, but speaks what he hears of the Father. [Jn. 3:32; 5:30; 8:26, 8:40] In these words, we perceive the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity where one Divine Presence of God cannot contradict the other two Divine Presences. All three are in perfect harmony.

Jesus finished His discourse by stating that the Holy Spirit will declare to the disciples the things that are to come. He will glorify Jesus, declaring to the disciples the same teachings that Jesus had taught during His ministry on earth. The Holy Spirit will teach them the Divine knowledge and wisdom of the Father that belongs to Jesus, both the Father and the Son being one in the Blessed Trinity.

Today's First Reading from The Acts Of The Apostles tells us that the promise of Jesus that I have just spoken about has been fulfilled. The disciples did receive the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day.

The arrival of the Holy Spirit came with a sound like the rush of a violent wind. So powerful was the sound that it was also heard by devout Jews from every nation under heaven who were living in Jerusalem.

It is interesting to note here that not everybody heard the sound, only the "devout" Jews. This echoes that those who embrace a spiritual heart and exercise a devout spiritual life have no difficulty seeing the actions and presence of the Holy Spirit in their Church, in their Parishes and in their lives. The non- believers and those who are indifferent to their living faith are not receptive to the grace of God and the manifested power of the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit arrived, divided tongues, as of fire, rested on each of the disciples. This Divine manifestation that was recorded in the Holy Bible is to make it very clear that it was on Pentecost Day that the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the Holy Catholic Church to guide it in the truth of God.

Following this manifestation, the disciples began to speak in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them ability. As we all know, speaking in tongues is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those who were present from a number of different nations were all witnesses to this Divine event by the fact that they understood in their own language the disciples who were Galileans.

Today's Second Reading from the Letters to the Galatians teach us how the Catholics faithful should conduct themselves once they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit during the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Prior to proceeding with this reading, I would like to point out a discrepancy in the modern Versions of the Holy Bible versus the older Versions. In the Jerusalem Bible, the Revised Standard Version, the New Revised Standard Version and the New American Bible, whenever the word "spirit" is mentioned, there is a tendency to capitalize the "S" to imply it is a reference to the Holy Spirit. In the Greek New Testament and in the English Translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible, the word "spirit" is not always capitalized, sometimes referring to it as the Holy Spirit, other times as the human spirit, the new creation received during the Sacrament of Baptism. Having carefully studied the context in which the reading is presented and its association with other Bible passages, I have chosen to adopt the older Versions of the Catholic Bible that apply non-capitalized "s" when it refers to the human spirit.

(For further references on the human spirit, please see: Job 32:8; Prov. 18:14, 20:27; Ecc. 3:21; Eze. 11:19, 36:26; Zech. 12:1; Mt. 26:41; Lk. 8:55; Jn. 3:6; Rom. 8:15; 1 Cor. 2:11 and "For a body without a spirit is dead." Jas, 2:26)

In today's Second Reading, St. Paul stated, "Live by the spirit and do not gratify the desires of the flesh." Reviewing this passages, St. Paul is saying, now that you have been born again [1 Pet. 1:23] through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism and you have received God's gift of a new heart and spirit, you belong to God. You are called to embrace the spiritual ways of the spirit. You are called to live a holy life as a child of God.

As such, do not gratify the desires of the flesh. Do not embrace the worldly ways that serve the purpose of the worldly desires. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the spirit, and what the spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want to do and should be doing.

St. Paul was speaking from personal experience. He knew of the inner conflict between the worldly mind and the spiritual mind. In Romans 7:15, he states, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."

How often do we make a spiritual resolution to go to Church, to be more charitable towards others, to bite our tongue or to give more generously only to find that what we spiritually desire to do is not being accomplished because we have allowed our worldly desires to conquer? This is what this whole reading is all about!

Those who are led by the Spirit are not subject to the law. If you live by the flesh, your worldly desires seek fame, riches and pleasures. As such, you are bound by the law. You will be made accountable for your actions. But, if you are led by the Spirit of God, living your faith through the new creation that you received during the Sacrament of Baptism, you are not bound by the law. If you sin, you have the Sacrament of Confession available to you to erase your sin so it will never be used against you. It will be as if it never happened. Does this mean that you should sin a lot? Certainly not! It means that the grace of God is abundantly available to you to erase the sins that you commit when you were weak in your human nature, sins that would otherwise have be used against you on judgment day.

St. Paul gave us a list of sins that can prevent us from inheriting the Kingdom of God. You all heard the list during today's reading. If you have forgotten what those sins are, when you get home, pick up your Holy Bible and read Galatians 5:19-21.

St. Paul continues by giving us the list of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these. If we perform these spiritual actions, it will not be held against us because we are walking in holiness towards God with a well disposed heart.

St. Paul concludes by saying that "those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit." If we belong to Christ, we were crucified with Christ, we died with Christ, we were buried with Christ and we resurrected with Christ as a new being. Through faith in Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism, we received our new heart that draws us towards God. While we are in this world, we are not of this world. We live according to our living faith because we are being guided by the Holy Spirit. If we say we are of Christ, we live by our new creation. If we do not live by our new spirit, then we are not of Christ.

The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the new heart and the new human spirit that we received during the Sacrament of Baptism are the three most wonderful gifts that we have received from God. Without the Holy Spirit to guide our new heart and spirit to walk in the living faith of Christ, we do not have a chance of being saved so we may enjoy eternal life in the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, is like a father to us, a teacher, a big brother and even a friend. He has our best interest and wants us to become and remain children of God so we may inherit our blessed hope, the eternal Kingdom of joy and peace.

As we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, let us remember the far reaching impact of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Holy Catholic Church, to our Parishes and to each and every one of us. Without the Holy Spirit, we would be nothing. The Church would not have flourished as it did. We would have no living hope of salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. We would still be in our corrupt and sinful nature that could never stand in the Divine presence of God. Now, through the piercing fire of the Holy Spirit, we can answer our call to become saints and to be transformed in the likeness of Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit, we are equipped with all the necessary spiritual gifts that we need and which will help us during our earthly journey towards Heaven.

Praise be the Holy Spirit. Praise be Jesus and the Father for blessing us with all these spiritual gifts so we may be filled with the Holy Spirit as the disciples of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"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 all heard them speaking in their own languages. 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 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 converts, Cretans and Arabs - in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." [Acts 2:1-11]

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Second Reading...

"Brothers and sisters: Live by the spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 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. I am warning you, as I warned you before: 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. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit." [Gal. 5:16-25]

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Gospel Reading...

"Jesus spoke to the disciples: "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you." [Jn. 15:26-27, 16:12-15]

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