May 31 2020 Reflection
Sunday 31 May 2020
First Reading: ACTS 2:1-11
Responsorial Psalm:
Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
PS PS 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
Second Reading: 1 COR 12:3B-7, 12-13
Gospel Reading: JN 20:19-23
Today’s Note: Mass During the Day
Gospel Reading:
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Reflection:
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:4)
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told the apostles that they would be “baptized with the holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). So together with Mary, they “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer” (1:14). And sure enough, the Holy Spirit came—with wind and fire and with a new boldness to preach the gospel.
Pentecost tells a beautiful story about God’s power and the apostles’ transformation. But they didn’t receive the Spirit just that one day. They were immersed in the Spirit again and again. The Book of Acts records at least seven times that the apostles were “filled” with the Spirit (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 6:8; 7:55; 13:9, 52). And this doesn’t count all the other times that never made it into the Bible!
The same is true for us. Although we received the Holy Spirit in Baptism, we too need more of the Spirit’s power and gifts to follow the Lord and proclaim the good news.
Jesus knew how much we would need the Holy Spirit, and so even long before his Ascension, he encouraged his disciples to pray for this gift: “If you . . . know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit?” (Luke 11:13). And John’s Gospel assures us that God “does not ration his gift of the Spirit” (3:34). There is always more that God has for us!
Today, follow the apostles’ example. Believe in God’s promise of the Spirit and then pray for it. Keep praying, not just on this special feast, but every day. You might even ask a few faith-filled friends to pray with you for a new outpouring of the Spirit in your life. You may not see wind or fire, but the Spirit will come to you in new, unexpected, and even extraordinary ways—not only for your benefit, but for the good of his body, the Church!
“Holy Spirit, make your home in my heart, today and every day.”
