Pentecost is a great day in the Church’s life. It is a celebration of Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church and to each of the baptised.Today we recall the powerful events in Jerusalem on that first Pentecost Sunday. Before then, the disciples were frightened behind locked doors. On Pentecost, the doors were opened as they received the Holy Spirit in a drama of wind and flame and are suddenly unified by mission and purpose. They become confident and courageous. That Holy Spirit has remained within the church.

Frequently, when we think of the work of the Holy Spirit, we select the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit such as people speaking in tongues and being gifted with healing or grand inspirations. But there are also the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit that we can easily overlook. These are the gifts that bring healing to the broken soul, the gifts of the holy Spirit that enable us to forgive, to have the power to be faithful to our promises and vows, the Spirit that can bring us back to a living faith, a renewed trust in God, the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to pray sincerely, honestly, powerfully.

The Holy Spirit is present whenever we manifest courage in living the Gospel, when we open our heart in prayer, when we reach out to one another, when we make wise choices, when we appreciate the magnificence of God’s presence, when we deepen our knowledge of God. The fruits of the Spirit can be manifested when Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are present in our lives and we bring these fruits into our families, our communities and to the strangers we meet.