Gospel
John 20:19-23
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.”
Homily
My dear friends, All of us know the paralyzing effects of fear. As a little boy spending my vacations in Lopinot in the days of outhouses, fear of la diablesses and loup garoux assured that after dark we stayed inside. As we grew older it was the fear of snakes which we could not see in the dark which ensured that we remained inside. Even today, the fear of offending others or of losing popularity or of being blacklisted keeps us from doing what we know to be right. So it was with the disciples, they were locked away in a room “for fear of the Jews.” This fear kept them from doing, according to the Gospel of Matthew, what Jesus had commanded them before ascending to heaven: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and behold I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
The first reading of this Eucharistic celebration describes for us what happened on the day of Pentecost.“they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” These men who since the resurrection had been paralyzed for fear of the Jews, now left the room where the doors were locked because of their fear and boldly proclaimed “the mighty acts of God.” This, my dear friends was total transformation, a transformation brought about by the power of the Holy Spirit, which according to St Luke resulted in the birth of the church and gave to the church her raison d’être. My dear friends, the church exists to evangelize, to proclaim the mighty acts of God and to teach all those things that the Lord has commanded.
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The celebration of this solemnity of Pentecost cannot be celebrated properly unless we remember our baptism and confirmation because it is the same Holy Spirit with the very same gifts who came down on the apostles, who has been given to us in baptism and confirmation. This gift of the Spirit implies therefore transformation; transformation away from the deeds of the flesh which are according to St. Paul, in the second reading of this Eucharist, “are obvious: immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.”
The result of this transformation, again according to St. Paul, “is the fruit of the Spirit i.e., love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
The response to responsorial psalm which we have sung today also calls us to transformation, not only of ourselves but of the world; “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” As Trinidadians and Tobagonians, we would be less then ingenious if we said that the face of T&T does not need transforming. But it is for this that the Holy Spirit is sent, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us we may live its transforming effects; i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” What a change it would make to our nation if every baptized and confirmed Catholic together with those of other faiths and religions who have received God’s Spirit lived the fruit of the Spirit.
Today then my dear sister and brothers let us thank Almighty God for those persons who live the fruit of the Spirit and so change the face of the earth. Let us thank God for Pope Francis’ life and example which is making the church a kinder and gentler institution. Let us thank God for Blessed Mother Teresa and her sisters who make the world a kinder gentler place for so many living on the margins of society. Let us thank God for Caribbean institutions like, the Mustard Seed communities and the Brothers of the Poor who make the Caribbean islands kinder and gentler places for so many and let us pray for ourselves that in the power of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us, we too may dedicate ourselves to renewing the face of our families, our nation and the world.
Prayer
Father, you always send your Spirit to renew the face of the earth. Give us the grace Father to be receptive to the Holy Spirit so that we may become active agents in the renewal which our society so desperately needs. Help us to manifest in our lives the fruit of the Spirit so that we can be witnesses of the power of the Spirit in those who are receptive to his presence. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our Mother and Jesus your Son who promised that He would send the Spirit. Amen
