Photo by Chris Dixon on Unsplash
At the end of Saint Matthew’s gospel is the Great Commission: Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And in Saint John’s gospel we learn the way in which this is possible. Jesus sends us forth, all of us with the breath of the Holy Spirit.
And yet, do we allow ourselves to be sent to preach the Good News? Do we ask the Spirit to deepen our prayer life so that we can have the type of relationship with Jesus that makes our lives, our actions, an authentic witness to what we believe?
Do we share our belief in Jesus with others? Do we listen to their story so that we can find where the Spirit of God is already active in their midst? Is it possible that we can feel the brokenness that is part of the lives of others and witness to what Jesus and the Spirit can do to heal this brokenness?
As Catholics, we are not so good at evangelizing. When was the last time you invited someone to come to church with you? When was the last time you offered to take someone to an RCIA class? When was the last time you volunteered at a charity agency to help the poor?
Pentecost is called the birthday of the Church. While this is not completely accurate, the point is clear. Pentecost provides timid apostles with God’s grace and they become courageous. Pentecost gives them God’s grace and they move from meekly hiding to boldly proclaiming.
And Pentecost reminds us all that we have received an unbelievable gift from God. But it cannot be a gift we keep just for ourselves. It must be a gift that we share with others. Jesus is risen from the dead. We are saved. We must tell others.
Let us pray.
Dear Jesus, you promised to send us an Advocate, your Holy Spirit, so that we can be filled with peace. In all we do, help us to be authentic witnesses to all you have done for us, and wish to do for others. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Music: Cheezy Piano Medley by Alexander Nakarada
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4833-cheezy-piano-medley
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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