A prayer Blessed Pope John XXIII began that was echoed by subsequent popes including Blessed John Paul II and now Benedict XVI was the hope of a New Pentecost.
As we enter this Easter season with such hope and joy in the face of a deeply troubled nation and world, I can only imagine those first disciples facing much the same. The joy of their risen Lord among them must have been the most exciting, hopeful and joyful of times. Yet, they found themselves surrounded by a religious community and a foreign occupation that would attempt to thwart them at every turn.
It seems the Resurrected life in Christ has always, and will always, find itself in the midst of serious and sometimes perilous challenges. The real question then is…what now? I think, like the Apostles, we must heed the words of Christ to prepare for the Holy Spirit to be sent. That is where we find ourselves today-awaiting the Holy Spirit this Pentecost.
Knowing the supernatural impact of that first Pentecost makes it is easier for us to envision Jesus’ plan for us in the New Pentecost. An outpouring of The Spirit to embolden, comfort and animate our faith in the risen Christ to a whole new level, that we might be his ambassadors and witnesses to a wounded, frightened and confused world.
The real question is- are we ready? Are we totally committed to Christ right now? Are we prepared to be filled with the Holy Spirit and His power, so as to take the Gospel into every area of our lives? Our personal, family, professional and civic lives? This call to an integrated living out of the Gospel is no simple challenge. Compartmentalization is a standard practice for many of us. Even as the curtain in the temple was torn apart at Our Lord’s death, so any divide between Christ and our everyday lives is a fiction.
We are called to make this year different. Role away the stone that separates our life of faith from the other spheres of life. In short, be ready for the New Pentecost.
