Compelled to Preach - Missionary Commentary for Sunday, May 28 - Pentecost

See the readings on USCCB

Saint Paul reminds us that it is the Holy Spirit that powers our faith, that gives us different gifts for the benefit of others, and knits us into a community, a people, one body. The Spirit compels us to preach the Gospel everywhere so everyone can hear the good news in their native tongue. 

Jesus, in the Gospel, gives us a clear choice. Do we want to stay locked up in fear or do we want to embrace the peace he offers, accept the many gifts of the Holy Spirit, and go with him into the world he came to save? We are all called by Jesus to go forth into the world. What does that look like for you, for me, today? 

The Holy Spirit is the protagonist for the mission Jesus has entrusted to us. It begins with our simple profession of faith and rushes forth – like a strong wind – taking the Gospel to every people, in every tongue, in every stratum of human life. Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Notes on the Sunday Readings

First Reading
The disciples are compelled by the Holy Spirit to go forth and preach so people – from across the known world – hears the good news in their “own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

Responsorial Psalm
A prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit and a song of praise for the power and the mission of the Spirit – “to renew the face of the earth.” 

Second Reading
St. Paul makes it clear that the Spirit of God is alive in us in the very act of professing our faith, that the gifts we have were given by that same Spirit, “for some benefit,” and the Spirit forms us into “one body.” 

Sequence
The Pentecost Sequence is a beautiful hymn of praise – recognizing and honoring the power of the Spirit – and petition. “O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of yours, And our inmost being fill!”

Gospel
It is Easter and in the evening the disciples are gathered behind locked doors out of fear. Amid their fear and confusion, Jesus, the Risen Lord, appears. He greets them with “Peace be with you” and shows them his wounds. It is really him. Once again, “Peace be with you” but this time he adds, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” and he breadth on them saying “receive the Holy Spirit.”  

Connections

Tune in to the Go Forth… podcast with Ben Ouyang to hear the story of Fr. Tage Danielson, a Capuchin on mission in Papua New Guinea. Available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and your favorite listening platform. We’d love to earn 5 stars from you, so be sure to leave a review. 

Come to the online Mission Cafe Monday, May 29th, at 8 pm ET to reflect on the readings, connect with others, accompany each other through our highs and lows, and explore what mission means for us today. Register now!

Pray for Go Forth… that it will be an instrument God uses to strengthen the missionary Church. 

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