Homily for the Solemnity of Pentecost, Year C (using Year A Second Reading and Gospel)

My previous car was of a fairly modest size, being a silver Toyota Auris. The

engine, though, was quite big for a car of that size – a two litre turbo diesel. It

had the economy of a diesel engine, and also had great strength for getting up

the hills of my first parish. It was even able to pull the car uphill in second gear

with no pressure on the accelerator, just ticking over at idle speed – useful in

slow-moving traffic. But there were occasions when it wouldn’t start. On one

occasion, a parishioner tried to jump start it with his Land Rover, to no avail,

and it required someone from the RAC to get it going. On another occasion, I

had driven it back to my parents’ house, so it should have charged on the way,

but later on, it wouldn’t start. It required both the RAC van and a big battery

the chap pulled out of the back to get it going. But once it got going, it got me

all the way back to Redditch.

Perhaps we can draw a comparison with the Church and the Holy Spirit. The

Church is like a big engine, able to do great and powerful things, but without

the Holy Spirit, we just sit there. Before they could begin their mission, the

apostles had to wait for the Holy Spirit. When that mighty rushing wind

appeared, then things really got moving, and the mission of the Church began

with real earnest, like a diesel engine roaring into action.

The Holy Spirit was not a feeble breeze. A few years back, a fellow priest gave

me a ride in his new car. It was the same model as his previous one, but he’d

opted for a smaller, petrol engine. He really regretted it, as it just didn’t have

the power. He said it was like driving a sowing machine.

There is a lot of work to be done, and we too need the power of the Holy

Spirit. The mission of evangelisation can be complicated, and there can be lots

of twisted threads to be untied. In the second reading, St Paul makes a

comparison with a body – the Church is made up of many different members,

and we aren’t all supposed to do exactly the same thing. We all have our

different functions, but we all act as a unity. We could say similarly that the

work of re-unifying Christianity isn’t always so simple either, and requires the

powerful force of the Holy Spirit. One of the devotions to Our Lady that I’ve

become aware of in recent years is that of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. We

need Our Lady to intercede powerfully for us to her Son, that He may obtain

from the Father the Holy Spirit, to give us a new and second Pentecost for the

Church and the whole of humanity.

As part of being sent on mission, in the Gospel, the apostles are given the

Sacrament of Reconciliation, an important tool in the building up of the

Church. Despite the work of the Holy Spirit, people still sin against God, each

other and themselves. Their bad example causes damage, both great and small,

to the Church. To heal them and renew the Church, to reconcile them to each

other and to God, Jesus says to them: I am giving you this sacrament. We can

make a comparison: just as it’s possible to stall not only a petrol engine, but

also a diesel engine, so it’s also possible to really hinder the work of the Holy

Spirit, and for that negative influence to spread. Perhaps we can be more easily

aware of the sins against others, but what about the sins against God?

Well, the first place to look is the Ten Commandments. Do we consider other

things to be of more importance than God? Have we uttered the Lord’s name

in vain, or disrespected Our Lady, the saints, or holy places, treating what is

sacred as if it were just like anything else? When we enter or leave the church,

do we reverence Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, or do we forget He is here?

Do we keep Sundays and other Holydays of Obligation sacred, by attending

Mass and refraining from unnecessary work? Do we avoid making

unreasonable demands on others so they can rest as well? And do we receive

Holy Communion having made sure we are free from all serious sin, by going

first to confession?

Lastly, the mysterious “sin against the Holy Spirit” to which Our Lord refers in

the Gospels. If a sin is unforgivable, then we ought to find out what it is. But

surely God can forgive all sin? How can any sin be unforgivable? You’re

right. All sin is forgivable. The only thing that can stop it being forgiven is if

we are plain not sorry, and if we die in that state and it’s a serious sin, that

separation from God becomes permanent. We don’t want that. We really

don’t.

So we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so we can experience the

powerful grace of the Holy Spirit, and get our car back on the road again. And

with the Holy Spirit, it won’t be like driving a sowing machine. It might even

not be like a turbo diesel. But rather, more like the acceleration of an electric

car, that can be recharged at any Catholic church anywhere in the world.

Curious about exploring things further?  If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk