This Sunday we formally end the season of Easter with the Solemnity of Pentecost. After seven weeks of rejoicing and reflecting on the risen Christ, we now come to this point when we have to focus on how the resurrection event has transformed our lives anew. Pentecost is not just a closing event for the season of Easter, but rather an important period that marks the beginning of a new chapter. And what is that new chapter? The birth of the Church. Pentecost, which is commonly referred as the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Blessed Mother, is the birthday of the Church. It was during the first Pentecost that the Church was established and was built upon the foundation of the apostles. Before Pentecost, the apostles and the disciples of Jesus were all afraid to come public. They were hiding underground in fear of persecution, and they were terrified that they might suffer the same fate as Jesus did. They were filled with distress, disappointment and fear. And it seemed that everything that they had hoped for had vanished. But all of these feelings were transformed and overturned with the coming of the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised them. The Holy Spirit changed their fearful perspective of the future, turning them into bold and courageous evangelizers, proclaiming the Gospel without ceasing and, even to their amazement, they spoke new
languages in order for others to understand them. This was the beginning and the birth of the Church, our own beginning and our own history. Quite a few times I have been asked what makes us Catholics’ different from other religions? If God is also present in other religions, then why become Catholic? Though it is true that the Spirit of God works in various ways and is present in other groups or denominations, we hold the special privilege of tracing our very roots and origins (our tradition) way back to the apostles and to Jesus, himself. This fact can never be taken away from us and surely makes us one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church. Our foundation did not just come from a decision of a certain person to found a church, but rather on the will of God himself through Christ to make himself present in the world and for us to be saved at the end of time.
Like the apostles before the first Pentecost, who were filled with fear because they too might suffer the same fate as Christ, at times others might also have some reservations on practicing our faith in public because of fear of rejection within our families, from friends or co-workers, or we might be hurt by the unfair judgment of others knowing our faith affiliation because of the countless scandals that we have faced. The truth is: we live in such a time when to be a Catholic seems to be a disadvantage, but why do we stay? We stay because we believe deep within our hearts that this is the faith that Christ entrusted to us in order to merit eternal salvation in the end. The lapses and the weaknesses of the Church as an institution only attest that we all need one another in our journey to holiness and that we need constant purification on our part in order to become credible witnesses of the Gospel. The hope is as we confront our own lapses and weaknesses, we find ways in order to make it better and to truly be agents of the Gospel. The misgivings and the mistakes of the people within the Church, including us, do not invalidate what we believe, but rather are vivid proofs that there is still a lot of work to be done in order for us to realize the very purpose why Christ founded this Church in the first place, which is to continue the work of salvation. Let us ask ourselves, how courageous and confident are we in our practice of faith? Is my life a living witness to the Gospel? The feast that we celebrate today is not about a building or an edifice, but rather what we celebrate today is each and every one of us, the living stones who continue the ministry that Christ began two thousand years ago. The same spirit that the apostles received during the first Pentecost was also given to us upon our baptism and confirmation and continues to strengthen us every single day in our practice of faith.
As we celebrate our birthday this Sunday, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed and collaborated to our HVAC collection two weekends ago. So far, we have collected $37,000 for this much needed project. It was such a very generous response that truly reflects your love and ownership of the parish. Thanks so much again from the very bottom of my heart! – Fr. Cary