Pentecost, 2025

Dear Friends and Readers,

As we approach the feast of Pentecost, I offer this updated meditation as a way of preparing for a more fruitful celebration of this important feast.

Fr. Jim Bacik

On this Pentecost Sunday, when we hear the story from the Acts of the Apostles of the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples, who proclaim the mighty acts of God in different tongues, the epistle, taken from first Corinthians (12:3b-7,12-13), describes the ongoing activity of the Holy Spirit in the Church. The Apostle Paul insists that it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can say “Jesus is Lord,” the title given to God in the Hebrew Scriptures and to the emperor in Roman society. For Paul, the Spirit is the unifying source of “different kinds of spiritual gifts,” such as prophesying during worship; “different forms of service,” including menial tasks like serving at table; and “different workings,” mighty manifestations of divine power. “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” or as another translation puts it, ”for the common good.” Paul uses the image of the human body, which has many parts working together to form one body, to suggest that the Christian community, the Body of Christ, should “drink of one Spirit,” celebrate unity in diversity, and foster cooperation for the common good.

Paul’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit can enrich our spiritual life. In general, Western Christian piety has focused on relating to the Father through his Son Jesus Christ. Most of us tend to address either the Father or the Son in offering prayers of praise, thanksgiving and petition. On the other hand, Eastern Christian spirituality, represented in the Orthodox Churches, has maintained a much more prominent role for the Holy Spirit: who proceeds from the Father;  who descended on Jesus at his baptism and guided his public ministry; who was poured out upon the disciples on Pentecost and continues to empower the Church in its worship and mission; and who dwells in all the baptized, enabling us to share in the divine nature and practice the command to love our neighbor. Pope John Paul encouraged us to “breath out of both lungs,” to learn from Orthodox spirituality, to be more attentive to the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  At the 2024 Synod in Rome, Pope Francis arranged “conversations in the spirit” designed to promote attentive listening among the participants as a way of discerning the will of the Holy Spirit. Shortly after his election, Pope Leo XIV preached a homily reminding us that it is through prayer and commitment to conversion that we can “hear within the voice of the spirit,” who shows us the way to follow the teaching of Jesus and purifies our heart to make our words “straightforward, our desires, honest and clear, and our actions generous.”

We can envision persons who have opened their hearts to the Holy Spirit. A lifelong Catholic participated in a charismatic prayer group and developed a more passionate love for her traditional faith. A vowed religious became a more tolerant member of her community by concentrating on the unique gifts of the Spirit manifested by each of her sisters. A Catholic involved in a Christian Buddhist dialogue found that talk of the Spirit at work in all religions enriched their discussion. Elected members of a parish council devoted themselves to bringing together liberals and conservatives so their parish would manifest the Spirit-inspired ideal of unity in diversity. A mother of three spent more time in prayer calling on the Spirit to help her meet the very different needs of each of her children.   Neighbors one a Democrat the other a Republican used the “conversations in the Spirit” approach (listening attentively, asking clarifying questions, and identifying common ground) to achieve a better understanding of each other’s political affiliation which makes their personal interactions les guarded and more spontaneous.