Pentecost Sunday - The Descent of the Holy Spirit

Homily

Pentecost

Sunday 19th May 2024

It is hard to believe that we were celebrating Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of Jesus, 50 days ago. Where has that time gone? 50 days ago, last Friday, we mournfully witnessed the death of Jesus upon a cross, where he took all our sins upon himself so that we could be acceptable to God and be saved. Mary Magdelene through her tears was astonished to find Our Lord’s body was no longer in the tomb where it had been laid. While Peter and John had rushed inside to search for Jesus and then raced home, Mary stayed in her sorrow. After a time, she made her own way inside the tomb to see two angels. They wondered why she was crying, and she told them she didn’t know where they had put Jesus’s body. In her grief, she turned and thought she was talking to a gardener and asked him where Jesus’s body had been taken. It was only when he said her name that her mind was opened to see Jesus standing there before her.

Jesus appeared to a select few over the following forty days. He appeared amongst them even when the doors were locked. He walked with them to Emmaus, who were surprised to hear that he had not heard of Jesus being crucified in Jerusalem, as they did not recognise who it was with them. He explained to them how the Christ must suffer to enter into his glory. He revealed to them what scripture said about him from Moses through all the prophets. It was only when they invited him in for supper and he broke bread, that their eyes were opened and saw him, then he was gone. When these disciples shared their experiences with the others, Jesus again appeared before them. He showed them his wounds and they realised he was the risen Christ.

Jesus’s last instructions to the Apostles was to go out to the world and preach to all nations, that in his name through repentance of our sins, we would be forgiven. Before his Ascension, celebrated ten days ago, he promised to send the Advocate who would clothe them in the Power of God.

In Jerusalem, ten days later, while they assembled in their meeting room, they heard a roaring like a storm from Heaven. The whole house was filled with the sound, and it could be heard across the city, drawing visitors from many countries. Then a fire came into the room as a single flame that separated to rest on each of those present. The Holy Spirit filled them, and they were able to preach in many languages recognised by the people outside.

Jesus is the light of the world. Through him, all is revealed. He knows each one of us. He knows who His followers are, and they trust in him. St Paul said to the Corinthians, if we are not influenced by the Holy Spirit, we cannot say Jesus is Lord. As I researched for this Homily, I noted one commentator say that to be able to say “Jesus is Lord” we have to be humble. This is why Satan and his followers struggle because they cannot acknowledge this statement, because by doing so they would have “to acknowledge and accept the lordship of Christ”[1]

In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the Advocate he sends is the Spirit of Truth issued by the Father, who is a witness to Jesus, who will allow his disciples to become witnesses to his truth. As such, when the Holy Spirit rests on us, he will lead us in the truth, and we will not be speaking from ourselves but what the Holy Spirit has learnt from Jesus, through the authority of God the Father, which has been passed to his Son. Through the Holy Spirit, our faith is strengthened, even when we are persecuted because of what we believe.

Through Jesus’s Ascension into Heaven, the Holy Spirit was able to come to us. He shows us and the rest of the world how wrong it is about sin, which is proved by the world’s refusal to believe in Jesus.

Last week, the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Sweden. Ireland’s entrant sees herself as a Goblin Witch and the Catholic Herald suggests that “an exorcist is needed” to sort out the troubled contestant. There was an assassination attempt on the Slovenian prime minister, that echoed the one in 1914 in Serbia that sparked off the First World War.

 On 13th July 1917, three shepherd children were told by Our Lady of Fatima, when the night is illuminated by an unknown light, this will be a sign from God he is about to punish the world.

On January 25th, 1938, millions across the globe saw the Aurora Borealis lights. Such an event had only been documented in Europe since 1709 and across America in 1888. So quite unusual. St. Faustina wrote in her diary on the same day that she had seen God’s anger hang heavy over Poland.  Hitler’s army marched into Austria the next month, the following September Poland was invaded, and World War Two began.[2]

A week last Friday, the same phenomena was witnessed across the planet. Many people rushed out with their digital cameras to capture the event. From NASA’s perspective, the cause was a “Magnetic chaos in the Sun, sending a burst of electrons, protons, and a massively charged nuclei into the Solar System”[3]. Several days later, reports of the aurora were made across the planet from as far apart as the north and south poles. An event considered extremely unusual.

When I came out into the night with my camera, what struck me was that the strange light reminded me of images of the Divine Mercy.

We live in precarious times. It seems we humans cannot find the solutions to the worlds problems and there is an ever-increasing risk of a new World War. It is at this time; that we need to be humble and recognise that Jesus is Lord and allow the Holy Spirit into our lives. He will tell us the truth and be our guiding light. Through the Holy Spirit, we have nothing to fear. 

As the Gospel Acclamation says, “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia.

References

Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. (2019, Jan 7). 'A Strange and Unknown Light'. Retrieved from The Divine Mercy: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/strange-and-unknown-light

Nemiroff, R., & Bonnell, J. (2024, May 12). Astronomy Picture of the Day. Retrieved from NASA: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240512.html

Njoku, C. (2024, 05 16). Homily for Pentecost Sunday, Year B - Renew us Lord with Your Spirit! Retrieved from frcanicenjoku: https://frcanicenjoku.com/2024/05/16/homily-for-pentecost-sunday-year-b-4/

 

 

[1] (Njoku, 2024)

[2] (Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M., 2019)

[3] (Nemiroff & Bonnell, 2024)