Pentecost Sunday
“Tongues as of fire? Resting on them??” What a weird image our first reading gives us today. As the writer of Acts, Saint Luke the Evangelist, recollected this monumental day, I’m sure he stumbled putting words together to describe the miraculous event. “Yeah, there was this loud...wind noise?...and then all of a sudden tongues(?)...of...fire(?) showed up on everyone...? Eh heh?”
Before the bizarre events break out though, Luke takes note, “They were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1). They were unified, and that is the heart of what we celebrate today on this special feast. Pentecost is the birthday of our Church. It is a reminder that we are all united in front of the one altar, partaking of the one bread, worshiping the one Lord, and becoming the one Body of Jesus. As Pope Benedict XVI says so clearly, “The Church is a Eucharistic fellowship. She is not just a people: out of the many peoples of which she consists there is arising one people, through the one table that the Lord has spread for us all.”
The Church is the home where we are made into one family. It’s the home where the orthopedic surgeon stands next to the immigrant scrambling for work. It’s the home where the old stands with the young, where the Russian stands with the Ukrainian, and where enemies recognize their mutual need for grace.
When we eat, our bodies break down food into proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Those macronutrients are then delegated wherever they are most needed. When we eat the Eucharist, the reverse happens. We become a part of the bread we eat. We each become a part of the one body of Christ, and we are each delegated to the one mission of the Church.
In order to do our part for the Eucharistic Revival, we need to do our individual parts for our communities. Here are a few ideas:
- Break out of the routine of showing up, going through Mass, and then leaving. Arrive a little early, introduce yourself to those around you, stay afterward, and have a conversation with someone.
- EAT A DONUT! It’s not only a tasty treat but a social good to partake in. It could even be considered an act of charity.
- Invite someone over for coffee, make amends with one another, and thank your pastor. If we open our mouths to receive the Eucharist, we need to open our mouths to communicate with one another with or without tongues of fire! If Christ shares his body to unite us all, the least we can do is share our time with one another. The Lord gives us life to share life with others!
Henri Nouwen once said, “As the Beloved ones, our greatest fulfillment lies in becoming bread for the world.” Our Lord teaches us how to become bread for one another, to nourish one another, to lay down our lives for one another. To be truly Eucharistic people this Pentecost, may we revive Eucharistic fellowship.
From all of us here at the National Eucharistic Congress, Happy Pentecost!