They Were All filled with the Holy Spirit
june 8, 2025 | pentecost sunday, Year C
Exodus 19:3a-8a, 16-20b; Psalm 104; Romans 8:22-27; John 7:37-39
Background of the feast of Pentecost
God has been unveiling his plans for the world in chronological order through the ancient Jewish feasts. Jesus was crucified on the feast of Passover, when lambs were offered as an atoning sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus, is the true Lamb who died in order to take away the sins of the world (Cf. John 1:29). Jesus died and three days later he rose from the dead. The day of the resurrection happens to be another day in the Jewish calendar: the feast of “first fruit”, which is the feast of the harvest, on which the Jewish will present the first fruit to God in order to thank him. He is indeed “the first fruit from the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:20). The next feast in the Jewish calendar is the feast of Shavuot for the feast of weeks, which we are celebrating today as Pentecost, meaning fifty. The feast of Pentecost or Shavuot in Hebrew was celebrated for 7 weeks following the feast of the harvest of the “first fruit”. The Jews celebrate it for two reasons: 1) They commemorated the gift the Law that Moses received in Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24). 2) They wanted to celebrate the end of the wheat harvest by offering at the temple two loaves of wheat bread made with yeast (Leviticus 3:16-17), which represents God’s acceptance of his sinful people. The two loaves according to the Church’s Fathers would also symbolize the harvest of new believers (Jews and Gentiles).
People of the new Pentecost
As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost today, we commemorate the birth of the church. “Today,” says Saint John Chrysostom, “we have reached the mountain top of everything good. We have arrived at the capital city of all our feast”. On this day, the prophecies of the Old Testament (Isaiah 66; Ezekiel 37; Joel 3) come to pass. John the Baptist could not have been clearer: “After me comes the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11). Today's first reading recounts the new Pentecost by telling us that: during Pentecost, all the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke in diverse languages, astonishing a multinational crowd in Jerusalem as each heard God’s wonders in their own tongue. This is the fulfillment of the words of prophet Joel, “I will pour my spirit in all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” (Joel 2:28) We are these sons and daughters, young men and old who have been baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit, who should now have an influence in our lives. His presence in our lives helps us lead the life of God, a life with God, a life for God, a life of love and truth, a life of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation. That is the goal of our Christian life-to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Come Holy Spirit, come into my heart and fill the hearts of the faithful and renew the face of the earth!
Jesus I trust in you,
Fr. Georges Roger BIDZOGO SAC
Living the Gospel this week. Mission of the confirmed
After the ascension of the Lord, we enter the immediate preparation of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. I’m interested to reflect on the Mission and witness the confirmed person. According to the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, “Confirmation deepens our baptismal life that calls us to be missionary witnesses of Jesus Christ in our families, neighborhoods, society, and the world.” … With confirmation, the Holy Spirit helps the confirmed person to be at the loving service of the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit bestows seven gifts – wisdom, understanding, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and the fear of the Lord assisting the confirmed person in their mission of witnessing. “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8)
How do I live my confirmation status?
Happy Sunday!
Fr. Georges Roger BIDZOGO SAC