Reflection for Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2021

By Barbara Hickey, Notre Dame Associate

John 20:19-23

Jesus said to his disciples:  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.”  That Advocate is the Holy Spirit who we received at our baptism and again at Confirmation.

Jesus told the disciples to go and forgive sins.  They did as they were told.  Our sins today are forgiven by our priests.  We too can show our discipleship by forgiving others and hope they will forgive us.

The Solemnity of Easter and the Easter season brings a focus on the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist.  Pentecost is a reminder of our own receiving of the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Confirmation by which we receive a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Through Confirmation, the Holy Spirit gives us the increased ability to practice our faith in every aspect of our lives and to witness Christ in every situation.

May we come to trust the Word of God in our hearts, 

to speak it with courage, to follow it

faithfully and to fan it to flame in others.