As is well known, the word "Pentecost" comes from the Greek and means the fiftieth day. The number 50 is, for the Jews, a symbol of fullness: a week of weeks (seven by seven, plus one). This feast, which originally had an agricultural character, is celebrated fifty days after the Jewish Passover. It is thought that fifty days after the exodus from Egypt, the people of Israel sealed the covenant with Yahweh on Mount Sinai under the guidance of Moses.
Today, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, Christians celebrate the outpouring of the Spirit to the apostolic community, not as an independent feast, but as the culmination of Easter: "Receive the Holy Spirit!"
In the midst of the bustle of people of different tongues who came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the strength to communicate Jesus’ message of love to all. After the departure of the Lord, confusion and dispersion could have triumphed, but the Holy Spirit inspired the community of disciples to work for the common good and to share the message of unity with all the nations. In this way the Risen One reaches the ends of the earth.
In a society as polarized and fragmented as ours is, we need to live celebrating Pentecost. We ask for the presence of the Holy Spirit, and we can say:
Come Holy Spirit, teach us to dialogue as brothers and sisters.
Come Holy Spirit, help us to understand the language of the adversary.
Come Holy Spirit, teach us to discover that we are all brothers and sisters.
Come Holy Spirit, free us from the threat of turning our countries into a new Babel, incapable of building a future of fraternity.
Come Holy Spirit, and free us from intolerance, from stubbornness, which increasingly distances us from all effective collaboration.
May we repeat among ourselves those words of Paul to the first Christian communities: "Do not stifle the Spirit" (1Thes 5,19). Let us not weaken our faith in the Father of all, and let us not quench our hope for a more fraternal society.
Today, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, Christians celebrate the outpouring of the Spirit to the apostolic community, not as an independent feast, but as the culmination of Easter: "Receive the Holy Spirit!"
In the midst of the bustle of people of different tongues who came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the strength to communicate Jesus’ message of love to all. After the departure of the Lord, confusion and dispersion could have triumphed, but the Holy Spirit inspired the community of disciples to work for the common good and to share the message of unity with all the nations. In this way the Risen One reaches the ends of the earth.
In a society as polarized and fragmented as ours is, we need to live celebrating Pentecost. We ask for the presence of the Holy Spirit, and we can say:
Come Holy Spirit, teach us to dialogue as brothers and sisters.
Come Holy Spirit, help us to understand the language of the adversary.
Come Holy Spirit, teach us to discover that we are all brothers and sisters.
Come Holy Spirit, free us from the threat of turning our countries into a new Babel, incapable of building a future of fraternity.
Come Holy Spirit, and free us from intolerance, from stubbornness, which increasingly distances us from all effective collaboration.
May we repeat among ourselves those words of Paul to the first Christian communities: "Do not stifle the Spirit" (1Thes 5,19). Let us not weaken our faith in the Father of all, and let us not quench our hope for a more fraternal society.
