Pentecost Sunday

Today's Mass Readings

Peace be with you.

That’s how Jesus greets His disciples in the Gospel today. Not with condemnation, not with a lecture, not even with a to-do list. Just: “Peace be with you.” And He says it twice. Why? Because He knows what’s in their hearts—fear, confusion, guilt. They had locked themselves in, literally and spiritually. And Jesus walks through the locked doors of that fear and says: Peace.

This is the first gift of Pentecost: peace. Not peace as the world gives—temporary, fragile—but peace rooted in the presence of the risen Christ. Before any mission, before any power, comes this gift of peace. And it’s the same peace He offers you and me today. In the locked rooms of our own lives—where we hide our failures, our fears, our shame—Jesus enters and says: “Peace be with you.”

Then He breathes on them.

It’s a strange and intimate act. He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This breath is the same Spirit that hovered over the waters at creation. The same breath that gave life to Adam. The same Spirit that drove the disciples out of that upper room at Pentecost. Jesus gives it to them—and to us—not as a one-time event, but as a continual breathing-in of God’s life.

And what does the Spirit do? In John’s Gospel, the first thing the Spirit empowers is forgiveness. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.” That might surprise us. Not preaching, not miracles, not tongues of fire—but forgiveness. Reconciliation. Mercy. Pentecost begins not with thunder but with the quiet, costly work of peacemaking.

We might long for a dramatic Pentecost—tongues of fire, wind shaking the room—and rightly so. The reading from Acts is breathtaking. But even there, the fire leads not to spectacle but to communication. The Spirit makes everyone hear the Good News in their own language. The miracle is not just power—it’s unity. Connection. Belonging.

Paul reminds us of that in 1 Corinthians. There are many gifts, but one Spirit. Many members, but one Body. The Spirit doesn’t erase our differences. He binds them together in Christ. He gives each of us something unique, not for ourselves, but “for the common good.”

And here’s the challenge. It’s easy to celebrate Pentecost as a beautiful story from long ago. It’s harder to receive it now, in the messiness of our lives. But that’s exactly what the Spirit wants to do. Not just to visit, but to dwell. Not just to empower the Church, but to empower you—in your ordinary relationships, your fears, your decisions, your gifts. To breathe peace where there is conflict. To call forth forgiveness where there is hurt. To create unity where there is division.

So today, Pentecost is not just a feast—it’s a door. Jesus enters our locked hearts and says, “Peace be with you.” He breathes His Spirit into us, not because we’re ready, but because we’re His. Let Him in. Let Him breathe into you again. And then go—speak, forgive, build up, serve. The world still needs Pentecost. Let it begin in you.

Reflection by Fr. Etienne Huard, OSB