Nothing will ever be the same again

Pentecost Sunday – C

Whenever the Holy Spirit is present and active, something changes. In the Eucharist, simple bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. With a blessing, ordinary water becomes a font for eternal life. And within that font, everyday people become priests, prophets, and royal children of God. Where the Spirit is, change happens.

However, change also means that something dies. Ignorance gives way to wisdom and understanding; indifference and apathy to counsel and right judgment. Limited human perception opens to insight into divine will; and gloom, despair, and lifelessness give way to reverence, wonder, and awe.

Pentecost is the culminating moment of the paschal mystery in human history. From here, nothing will ever be the same again. To be people of the paschal mystery is to confess that death has not only been transformed into life but into life with a new purpose.

When we ask the Spirit to come and fill our hearts, it is for the purpose of kindling the fire of Christ’s mission within us. Every time the Spirit is sent forth, we, too, are sent to co-labor with the Sprit in renewing the face of the Earth. Whenever the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ, we who share in it are also changed that we may bear Christ to the world.

This post was first published in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal.”

Image credit: Przemysław Ceglarek.

Read more reflections on the Sunday readings here:

• The closeness of God
• Make room for Christ’s joy
• Co-laboring with the Creator
• Destined for the joy of salvation
• The good news of Advent