PENTECOST SUNDAY - Jn 20:19-23 - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (Jn 20:22)

READING OF THE DAY

First reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,

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.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.

At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,

but they were confused

because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,

"Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?

Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?

We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,

inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,

Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,

Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,

as well as travelers from Rome,

both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,

yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues

of the mighty acts of God."

Second reading from the Letter to the Galatians

Gal 5:16-25

Brothers and sisters, live by the Spirit

and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.

For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh;

these are opposed to each other,

so that you may not do what you want.

But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh 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.

I warn you, as I warned you before,

that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, generosity,

faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such there is no law.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh

with its passions and desires.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:

"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father,

he will testify to me.

And you also testify,

because you have been with me from the beginning.

"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,

he will guide you to all truth.

He will not speak on his own,

but he will speak what he hears,

and will declare to you the things that are coming.

He will glorify me,

because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

Everything that the Father has is mine;

for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine

and declare it to you."

PENTECOST SUNDAY - Jn 20:19-23

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In God's word today, God proclaims to everyone about the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God, the Trinity of God is always united with the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. In God's work of salvation, there is never a lack of any in the Trinity: that is God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. The Trinity of God is always united as one to carry out God the Father's work of salvation. Whoever wants to reach God the Father and the Son also needs the strength, power, and spirit of the Holy Spirit to impact and guide them.

People today often forget the power, authority, and the works of the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit, the breath, the life force. He is invisible, so humans cannot see Him with the naked eye. If He were not present next to and within each human being, then humans would have no breath, no life; humans would not exist in this world.

It was not until today that the Holy Spirit became active, but from the moment God created heaven and earth, all things, all creatures and created humans, the Holy Spirit has already been in humans. But in today's era, the Holy Spirit is officially revealed to humanity to recognize His power and strength, as Jesus Christ announced: after He returns to God the Father, He will send the Holy Spirit to stay with humanity in a clear, official, and visible way for humans to know, as the apostles of old said: Without the Holy Spirit’s guide, humans will not be able recognize the power of God the Father; humans cannot do what God the Father teaches, and cannot unite as one.

That is why today's Word of God calls all humanity:

- To run to the Trinity of God, to ask Him for more strength, courage, and wisdom to listen and practice the words of God with courage.

- Whoever the power of the Holy Spirit is in will have the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven and will have the Holy Trinity reigning in their soul. But on the condition that they must live and practice according to the commandment of the only Son of God, that is love: Love God the Father above all things and love others as ourselves.

- The Word of God today also calls on all of us to run to the Holy Trinity: “Please give me more of Your strength; especially, I ask for the power and spirit of the Holy Spirit to descend into my heart and mind so that all my words, thoughts and actions will always be active and guided by the Spirit of the Holy Spirit, so that I can walk along the path of righteousness that God the Father has called me to follow.”

- Live righteously, live according to the calling that God Himself has engraved in the hearts of each of us, that is: charity, altruism, upright living, justice, and integrity.

- Today's Word of God, God also tells humanity that: the fact that Jesus Christ sacrificed to death, and resurrected is true, and He appeared to the apostles to prove to humanity that: He is a true man, and He is also a true God. He is sitting at the right hand of God the Father.

- God the Father calls us: to have absolute faith in Jesus Christ and His teachings. Furthermore, believe in the testimony preached by the apostles in the past: this testimony will be passed down until the end of the world.

Thanks be to God. Amen.