Pentecost (C)

Receive the Holy Spirit.

Jn 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week.
It was the evening of that day when Jesus rose from the dead, that is, Easter Sunday.

When the doors were locked…Jesus came and stood in their midst.
The resurrection gave Jesus had a glorified body. It no longer had the limitations of an earthly body. Thus, he can pass through walls.

“Peace be with you.”
The first gift of the risen Jesus to his apostles was peace. This peace is the salvation that he gained by his death and resurrection. Salvation means that our sins can be forgiven, we are brought back to God and heaven is now open to us again.

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The resurrection of Jesus changed his appearance. That was why that morning when he appeared to Mary Magdalene, she did not recognize him and thought he was the gardener. By showing his wounds, he identified himself as Jesus.

As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
The word apostle comes from the Greek word which means to send. The remaining Eleven were called apostles because Jesus sends them out on a mission.

He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
In Hebrew the word for breath and spirit is the same. He breathes on them to show that he was sending them the Holy Spirit.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.
On Holy Thursday Jesus gave to his church the gift of the Priesthood and the Eucharist. On Easter Sunday he gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Two Pentecosts
It seems that there has been two instances of Pentecost. The first happened on the evening of Easter Sunday and the second, 50 days after the death and resurrection of Jesus. How do we explain this? The first Pentecost which occurred on the evening of Easter Sunday was in fulfilment of the promise of Jesus to send the Advocate to his disciples after he has ascended to his Father. The second Pentecost represented the official birth of the Church in the world. On that day the birth of the church was symbolized by the apostles going out of the upper room into the world outside in order to the preach that Jesus is Savior.

Christian Pentecost and Jewish Shavuot
The Christian Feast of Pentecost coincides with the Jewish feast of Shavuot. It is also called the Feast of Weeks. It takes place 50 days after the Passover which is why Christians call it Pentecost (fiftieth day). The feast of Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah (the Law) to Moses and to Israel on Mt. Sinai.

Dream (Vision) of St. John Bosco about Confession

Don (Fr.) Bosco saw over 100 thousand boys coming down the hill in total silence. Carrying pitchforks they hastened towards the valley. On the other side of the valley, the sky was dark. Wild animals with small heads and blood-shot eyes were running to attack the boys. But the boys stood firm and defended themselves with the pitchforks.

Some of the animals tried to bite the pitchforks. They broke their teeth and disappeared. Those boys, however, who carried pitchforks with only one prong, were wounded. Others had pitchforks with broken or worm-eaten handles. Some fought the beasts with their bare hands and were killed.

Moving among the dead, Don Bosco noticed that some of them have been strangled. Others seem starved to death.

Don Bosco asked someone what all these mean. The two prongs stand for confession and communion. Broken handles meant sacrilegious communion and confession. Worm-eaten handles stand for faulty confessions. Those who were strangled were those who committed some sins in their early years but never confessed them. Those who starved to death went to confession but never followed the advice of their confessor.

Conclusion

• Let us show our appreciation for the gift of the sacrament of confession by going to confession. To show that I appreciate the gift given to me last Christmas, I wear it. In the same way, I go to confession to show to God I appreciate this gift.

• It is not enough to go to confession, however. We must make sure that we make a good confession. How? First, be honest. Say everything that you remember. But if you forget, don’t worry. God will forgive them, too. And second, follow the advice of the confessor. When you are sick, you go to a doctor. If you want to get well, follow his advice. In the same way, follow the advice of your confessor if you want to become better.


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The Salesians of Don Bosco is a religious congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to he welfare of the young. If you feel called by God to give your life for the good of the young, you may want help in discovering if this is really God's will for you. Please get in touch with the Vocation Director (Don Bosco North Province, Philippines) - 0917-7930112 - Bro. MON CALLO SDB.