Message from Father Agustin

St. Gregory the Great

Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost and with this feast we conclude the Easter Season. Pentecost originates from the Jewish feast Shavout which commemorates that 50 days after the Passover celebration God gave the law to Moses and the Israelites on Mt. Sinai.

Now, on the Pentecost after the Resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit descends upon Mary and the Apostles in the cenacle, giving to them the new law in the Spirit, but no longer written on stone tablets but rather written on their hearts.This is what we see happen in our first reading that as we go through it we see that it is filled with the language of the Old Testament. The strong wind and tongues of fire are direct images coming from the encounter of the Israelites, with God on Mount Sinai and later on by the Prophet Elijah as well.

An interesting occurrence of Pentecost, is that after receiving the Holy Spirit and as Peter preaches, all peoples are able to understand him in their own language. We see that people who would have been separated by language and nationality are now brought together. In this image we see the reality of the Catholic Church. Pentecost marks the beginning of the Church and reminds us that the Church is meant for all peoples. In fact, the word “Catholic” means “universal,” indicating that it crosses societal, ethnic, and linguistic barriers. In the Church, we all speak the same “language” because we profess the same faith, despite our many differences and above all this we also share the same mission.

It is from Pentecost forward that the disciples of Christ will begin to take on the mission given them by Christ in going out into the world and being witnesses to the truths of our faith. We are all called to be witnesses to the love of God who has sent us his Son to ransom us from our sins to grant us a new life through the Resurrection of Christ. Through the paschal mystery of Christ he has won for us true life and joy which is found through Baptism; that is entrance into the Church. This is why we see, as the second reading tells us, that the Lord through the Holy Spirit gives us different kinds of spiritual gifts to all, in order to properly fulfill our mission. These are the mysteries we have been celebrating in this Easter season, and now as we wrap this season up, we do so knowing that we must now share with the world what we have received and celebrated in this time.

Father Agustin
Parochial Vicar