Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. (Psalm 103)
There is great excitement in Luke’s account of Pentecost, which we hear in the first reading. The sound of a powerful wind from heaven, tongues of fire, the Apostles preaching to a multi-lingual crowd, each hearing in their own language.
By contrast, the Pentecost John describes in the Gospel is quiet, private, intense. and deeply personal.
Jesus himself bestows the Holy Spirit on the disciples a week after his Ascension. In this act of conferral, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon his Church – embodied in the disciples.
This Love, which proceeds from the love of the Father for the Son, bestows power, authority, courage and all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit upon the faithful. Above all, the disciples received the unique power to forgive sins.
Our power is to be able to invoke this wonderful Gift.
Come, O come, Holy Spirit.
