May 24, 2026
PENTECOST SUNDAY
FOCUS: The Holy Spirit empowers us to answer God’s call.
On this Feast of Pentecost, our readings reveal the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit drives out our fear, giving us courage to go out into the world. The Spirit inspires us to make connections with others. He empowers us to do the work God is calling us to do. May we open our hearts to the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
What's in Your Heart
From one to many and back to one. That's how the readings for Pentecost Sunday describe the work of the Holy Spirit. One Spirit is given in many different forms of witness and service for the same benefit. The many members come together in one body. The spirit is given to reconcile, to bring harmony out of conflict.
​
-
The Spirit inspired those gathered at the first Pentecost to speak of the "mighty acts of God." What have been the mighty acts of God in your life?
​
-
The Spirit grants different gifts and forms of service. What particular spiritual gifts and forms of service have you been given?
​
-
The Spirit gives forgiveness. Where have you been forgiven?
Homily Stories
To mark the Solemnity of Pentecost, one parish keeps a fire burning at the door of the church through the night. Parishioners take turns until dawn, a powerful sign to the community that the spirit lives—not safely confined and contained in a building—but in and among us.
​
“Keeping the fire” was important to our human ancestors. Without matches, without a way to start a fire in damp conditions, the flame had to be guarded so that the community would not fall victim to night predators or be left in the cold dark.
​
Fascinating in itself, fire has come to symbolize the holy. Imagine the bush on fire before Moses. In the story of the Christian church, “tongues as of fire” stand for the person of the Holy Spirit: neither visible nor touchable but powerful as fire.
​
As the long seasons of Lent and Easter come to a close, we teeter on the border of “Ordinary Time,” witnesses to the Spirit before the world’s darkness. Keep the flame alive! Tend the fire: Use your gifts, ordinary as they may seem. And let it tend you: Give thanks for the fire, the very spirit and breath of God abiding within.
​
