Receive the Holy Spirit: Reflections on the Readings for Pentecost 2026, Mass during the Day

If you haven’t already read the readings you can find them here.

Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23

John the Baptist, whose task was to announce the coming of the Messiah and prepare the way of the Lord was challenged by the pharisees as to his purpose. He told them, “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Fire is appropriate for the Holy Spirit as He intends to inflame our hearts with ardor for God. Before Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection He manifested Himself as a dove, which we often take as a sign of peace. On Pentecost, however, He manifests Himself as a strong driving wind and tongues of fire, bringing wisdom and power to the apostles.

The first reading from Acts describes this in detail. Recall that Jesus told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem at the Ascension and “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you ...” This event occurs on a Jewish feast day and so, as we see in the first reading, there were “Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.” The reading tells us that they, too, heard the driving wind and were drawn to where the apostles were. And note that after receiving the Holy Spirit the apostles were no longer timid but spoke with power and conviction. In the next paragraphs, if you read further into Acts, we learn that 3000 believers were added to the Church that day.

The responsorial psalm talks about the power of the Spirit as a creating force. It is a force that renews the earth and all in it. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we also receive power. We should be using that power to bring others to Jesus and His Church. If we truly accept this amazing powerful gift from the Trinity, we will be a force for changing, hence renewing, the world.

St. Paul talks about the many gifts of the Spirit in the second reading. Note especially his comment, “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” He then goes on to talk about the body of Christ, of which we are all a part. Thus, those gifts aren’t given to us for our benefit, although we might get some from exercising them. They are given for the benefit of the whole body of Christ. In other words, we are expected to use those gifts for the benefit of others. In verses 8-11 which were not included in this reading selection, St. Paul delineates some of those gifts, including wisdom, faith, knowledge, and healing. Thus, he explains, the Spirit distributes His gifts as He sees fit, to be used by us for others to the best of our ability. If we don’t use them that way, we are ungrateful servants.

In the sequence available for today’s celebration we see a reflection of some of those ideas:

“Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.”

The sequence concludes with the promise of virtue’s sure reward, salvation and everlasting joy.

The gospel reading takes us back to the day of the Resurrection, Easter. The disciples are fearful and have locked themselves in the upper room for fear of the Jews. Jesus miraculously appears in their midst and bids them peace. He then shows them that it is truly He as He bears the wounds of His crucifixion. Venerable Fulton Sheen tells this anecdote: “In an old legend, it is said that Satan appeared to a saint and said: ‘I am the Christ.’ The saint confounded him by asking: ‘Where are the marks of the nails?’ Satan may appear in many disguises like Christ, and at the end of the world will appear as a benefactor and philanthropist – but Satan never has and never will appear with scars.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen, On the Demonic, compiled and edited by Fr. Dave Tomaszycki.

As He did earlier in His ministry, Jesus tells them once again that they have a mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you." He then breathes on them saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

In this reading we see that Jesus not only is sending them on to continue His mission, but He also gives them the authority to forgive (or retain) sins (the sacrament of Penance). This is not a trivial task. It should not be taken lightly by either the priest in granting absolution nor by the penitent asking for forgiveness. Recall the “Our Father” when we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We need to approach this sacrament in all seriousness and with the full intent of avoiding further sin. We know that we will sin again, but we need to try our best to reconcile ourselves to God.

As the Catechism tells us, Jesus calls us to conversion. “Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance.” (CCC 1430)

In a similar way, as the apostles were sent to continue Jesus’ mission of bringing people to Him, empowered by the Holy Spirit, so are we, by our baptism (and especially confirmation, if we have received that sacrament). We are reminded of this every time we go to mass. After the final blessing we are told to “Go forth the Mass is ended.” Other sending commands include, “Go and announce the gospel of the Lord.” Dr. Edward Sri in his book on the mass (A Biblical Walk Through the Mass) notes: “The closing line of the liturgy, therefore, is not an aimless dismissal. It is a dismissal with a mission. It is a sending forth of God’s people to bring the mysteries of Christ into the world.”

We are a part of Christ’s Church, the Body of Christ, not members of a social club. As such we have purpose in our lives, to bring Christ to others and to bring others to Christ.

“…[T]he Church exists for nothing else but to draw man into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy missions, sermons, even the Bible itself are simply a waste of time.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity