Reflections of a beloved son

Pentecost is known as the birthday of the Church. On that day the Holy Spirit descended upon the people and the barriers that separated them were taken down. The people were all together – the apostles, the disciples, and Mary. They were bound together by the love of God and they were ready and open to receive the Holy Spirit into their hearts. Though the people were from different places and spoke different languages they were able to understand one another because the Gospel is one and the same. The Gospel and the love of God transcends all barriers, even language barriers. The language of the Gospel is the language of love, a language that speaks from the heart to the heart. With the Spirit we will be able to weather the storms of our lives joyfully because Jesus comes to us and says, “Peace be with you.” The world today is filled with violence and unrest because as a people we are divided. The people at Pentecost were united in the love of God, and because they were united together...

Pentecost is called the “birthday of the Church ,” because on this very day, 50 days after The Resurrection, and 10 days after the Ascension, the Holy Spirit was sent down to the people, whose hearts were opened and a flame was instilled in their hearts that remain burning despite the many attempts to extinguish it.  On that day many were baptized with the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit, the baptism that gives us the inheritance of God.  On that day a new and common language was granted to the people - the language of the Holy Spirit, the language of love. On Pentecost, the nations were gathered together and all received the same Spirit.  But this Spirit is manifested in different ways, unique ways to each individual as appropriate and conducive to their calling just as different gifts and talents are given to different people. Yet, though as diverse as the manifestations of the Spirit may be, they are all unified by the one binding element - love.  Before ...