June 8, 2025 – Feast of Pentecost: Fr. John Edmunds, ST (@27:25 in the video)

PENTECOST SUNDAY
Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23

The coming of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts is like a Hollywood Blockbuster with special effects: After fifty days of waiting 120 men and women gathered in one place, strong driving wind coming from out of the sky, tongues as of fire resting on each one, speaking in different languages. You would need CGI and a John Williams soundtrack to do justice to the scene. However, that is not the only account of the coming of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. St. John’s Gospel also speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit. His account is spare enough it could be staged in the Cort Theater. Ten men behind locked doors full of fear on Easter Sunday. Suddenly Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” No need to wait for fifty days. Get yourself some Holy Spirit today. What stands out is the sign of the Holy Spirit in St. John’s version. No strong wind or tongues of fire or other dramatic manifestation. The sign of the Spirit is forgiveness. “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven.”

We can easily be impressed by the extraordinary, the unusual, the astonishing, the wonderful so we imagine that is what it takes for us to have the Holy Spirit. But St. John suggests otherwise. St. John challenges us to look at the normal, everyday encounters that make up human life and find there the presence of the Holy Spirit. Where can we find the presence of the Holy Spirit today? As the flags on the back wall and the poly-lingual rendition of the first reading today illustrate we have the Holy Spirit here at St. James. That people from twenty plus countries speaking as many languages gather together in prayer and fellowship is only possible because we have the Holy Spirit. Another sign of the Holy Spirit: Kids Word. When the children leave this assembly for their own reflection on the Bible we enjoy the energy and enthusiasm which they young people exhibit in their own journey with God. Again, the more than fifty people who volunteer in the Food Pantry every week are an indication of what the Holy Spirit can do. For ordinary people to give of themselves in helping their neighbor suggests Holy Ghost power. And that is just one example of parishioners who heed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to use their time, talent and treasure to make the world look a little more like the kingdom of God. On a bigger stage we felt the action of the Holy Spirit in the election of a south-side Chicagoan as Pope Leo XIV. Surely only the Holy Spirit could have plucked someone who roots for the White Sox and puts mustard on his hot dogs to serve the Church as the Holy Father. When you have the eyes to see, you can recognize the presence and action of the Holy Spirit everywhere.

Of course, on this Pentecost Sunday we are celebrating in particular that the Holy Spirit has prompted Brothers Javier and Chukwuma to profess perpetual vows as Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. They are responding to a vocation, a calling. As we reminded ourselves with the opening ceremony commemorating our baptism, all of us have a calling, all of us are given the Holy Spirit to help us do what God wants us to do in life. Javier and Chukwuma are heeding the call to join with their brothers as poor, chaste and obedient men in a life of serving others, in particular those who are poor and abandoned. They are responding to the call as part of a family in the church which seeks to preserve the faith in the tangled portion of the vineyard. They are following Jesus by inviting men and women from all walks of life to join with them in the mission as fellow apostles, as missionary disciples, to create a more just a peaceful world. This is cause for rejoicing.

That they do so here at St. James creates a two-sided response in us. First, we are reminded how important dedicated men and women are in the life of the Church. We have all been touched by the priests, brothers and sisters who serve the people of God. As religious life continues to change and adapt to our contemporary world we all have an obligation to pray for, to support, to encourage a generous response on the part of those who are called to or are considering a life of consecration. The other side of the response: we are reminded today that we all have been gifted with the Holy Spirit and have a vocation to bring Christ into the providence of our everyday lives. The founder of the Missionary Servants had a motto: every Catholic is called to be an apostle. So let us rejoice that Javier and Chukwuma have given their “yes” to the call of God for them. But let each one of us also pay attention to the words of Jesus we heard in the gospel for we are sent with the power of the Holy Spirit to bring peace and forgiveness into a hurting world. As an old song put it, “I heard the Lord call my name, listen close you’ll hear the same. Take my hand, for we are glory bound.”