Pentecost Homily

Today we come to celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost which brings about the conclusion of the Easter season.

What is this celebration of Pentecost all about? The people of Israel also celebrated Pentecost. For them this day marked the 50th day since the Passover. On this day they would come to bring their fruits to the temple in Jerusalem to offer them to the priest in gratitude for all that God has done for them. At the time of Passover they came to be liberated from their slavery and entered into the desert as they wondered about for their ultimate destination of the Promised Land. Once they had entered into the Promised Land it was said that they would receive seven crops which would bear fruit.

From Deuteronomy we hear, “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and honey.” The people would mark the first of each of these fruits which would spring up. When they had collected all seven they would be brought to the Temple to be given to the priest in order that they may be offered to God.

For us Pentecost marks the 50th day after the celebration of Easter. It is this solemnity which marks the gift of the Holy Spirit which descended upon the apostles as a strong driving wind sending them out into the abundant harvest of the Lord. We do not have crops like the people of Israel, but we do have the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

These seven gifts are given to us in the 11th chapter of the Book of Isaiah, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” From this list it would seem that there are only six gifts, but the Latin text uses the word piety for the sixth gift instead of fear of the Lord which is only listed once in the Latin.

Again the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are, (1) wisdom, (2) understanding, (3) counsel, (4) strength, (5) knowledge, (6) piety, and (7) fear of the Lord. 

A lot takes place in our life over the course of one year. Hopefully as we continue to nurture our faith and relationship with God we constantly find growth. The gift of the Holy Spirit is important. Not only at the day of baptism or confirmation, but always. We should realize through our encounter with the Holy Spirit we receive these seven gifts. We should be thankful for these gifts and offer them to God.

At Pentecost the apostles received these abundant gifts and from them they were sent into the world to live the faith and to evangelize. So too do we receive these same gifts. People say I need this or that in order to evangelize, but in the end all that we need is what God has already given us. Let us not impede the gifts of the Holy Spirit , but be found thankful and willing to be moved more fully by these gifts.