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          FIRST READING
    Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11
    When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”
          SECOND READING
    1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
    Brothers and sisters: No one can say, “Jesus is Lord, ” except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

    SEQUENCE: Veni, Sancte Spiritus

    Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store! Come, within our bosoms shine. You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome guest; Sweet refreshment here below; In our labor, rest most sweet; Grateful coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of yours, And our inmost being fill! Where you are not, we have naught, Nothing good in deed or thought, Nothing free from taint of ill. Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away: Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. On the faithful, who adore And confess you, evermore In your sevenfold gift descend; Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them your salvation, Lord; Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.
          GOSPEL Cycle A
    John 20:19-23
    On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
    My sisters and brothers in Christ,

    What an incredible joy to celebrate this Solemnity of Pentecost. Always on Pentecost we recall in a special way that the Holy Spirit came down on Mary, the mother of Jesus, as well as on the apostles and followers of Jesus. Mary is a symbol of the Church at the same time as a wonderfully personal presence of the grieving mother, the Pietá, now transformed into the Mother of us all.

    The reading from the Acts of the Apostles reminds us that we are one in the Church together with people of every nation and culture. We are one in the Church with all those who follow the different Rites of the Church. We are one in the Church with all those who celebrate Holy Mass in its extraordinary form, in its ordinary form in Latin or in the ordinary form in any of the languages approved by Holy Mother Church. Pentecost is a time of unity and a time of respect for this variety in the Church.

    What we speak of in our praise of God is the might works of God in the life, death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. It is the Lord Jesus that we follow. It is in the Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus that we hope to be transformed entirely. As followers of the Lord Jesus we desire to be saints, to give our lives completely to Jesus and in His service. So we pray with the Responsorial Psalm: Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

    There is always a need of renewal here on earth and in all the nations and cultures. Perhaps this renewal is even more urgent in our own time when the forces of secularism and materialism are so strong as to threaten all of our Christian values.

    We can only proclaim that Jesus is our Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we are told in the second reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians. As the followers of Christ, we must proclaim that Jesus is Lord by our words but more importantly by our actions. You and I proclaim that Jesus is Lord by our fidelity to the Roman Catholic Church and by our regular participation in the Sacraments and by our daily commitment to prayer, both public and private.

    One of the greatest signs of our belief in Jesus Christ is our regular celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Regular confession has almost died out in many parts of the Church. We ourselves must be deeply committed to confession in order to proclaim God\'s mercy and compassion. As we celebrate the Holy Spirit today, we celebrate the presence of our Lord Jesus in our lives and in our complete dedication to allowing the Lord Jesus to form our lives in His image by our actions and by our commitment to the Church.

    May we rejoice today in gratitude for the vocation that the Lord has given to each of us. May we rejoice today and ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us on this path through life, given to us by Him. Come, Holy Spirit!

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