Friends,
The ancient Pentecost commemoration of God’s revelation (through the giving of the Torah and the making of the covenant) was now celebrated by the early Christians as God’s revelation through the outpouring of the Spirit.
In the Gospel, St John returns us to Jesus’s words of farewell to his disciples. The ‘Spirit of truth’ is promised to us as it was to them. So today, we can say, this is our season in the Spirit.
The Second Reading shows St Paul’s condemnation of self-indulgence amongst those belonging to the Church at Galatia. He tells them that only the consolations of the Spirit – ‘love, joy, peace … gentleness and self-control’ – can unite their hearts to the freedom of the Gospel.
We can ask for the help of this same Spirit in the words of the Psalmist: ‘Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.’
As we are called to witness the fire of God by bringing the light of the Son and the heat of the Spirit to all we meet, let’s join St. Paul and pray, ‘Since the Spirit is my life, let me be directed by the Spirit.’
Joy and peace.
