When the apostles were in the upper room during Pentecost, it is described that they were all in one place together and the doors were locked for fear of the Jews. Their master, their teacher, Jesus Christ was already hanged on the cross. Most probably they were next. Of course, this fear also comes from the fact that they were also uncertain what’s next. What would they do now that their master is killed? What would they do now that the one whom they thought was the Messiah is dead? There was an atmosphere of fear and doubt.
Imagining the situation of the apostles at Pentecost makes me also think of our situation in this COVID Pandemic. If we try to look at it, the apostles were somewhat also in a quarantine. They stayed indoors at home. They were in fear and in doubt as we are in fear and doubt in these times of crises. These doubts are the things that prevent us from doing what we ought to do. In the case of the apostles, it prevented them from doing their mission of preaching the message of Christ. In our case, our fears, our doubts prevent us from doing our current mission of learning in order to become better Christians, to become future priests and religious.
What is beautiful is that when the disciples were afraid and uncertain Jesus Christ comes to them. It is said in our Gospel that Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Dear friends, when we are in doubt, when we are uncertain, when we are hurt, when we are sick, when a family member is sick and we worry, Christ always comes to us and brings us his own peace. Peace! Shalom! When Jesus said this, it transcends to just being a common greeting of peace. Now it gains a new meaning. It is a gift peace that overcomes fear. It is a peace that assures us that no matter what happens, Christ is with us and He will never abandon us and with Him, there is always victory.
Aside from giving the apostles peace, He gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. He breathed and them and said, “Received the Holy Spirit.” This is reminiscent of creation. In Genesis, God breathes on man and gives Him life. Brothers and sisters, in the Holy Spirit we become a new creation and it is just fitting that in the song Veni Creator Spiritus, we recognize that the Holy Spirit is the Creator Spirit. Not only that, in the creed we also acknowledge the Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life.
So, when Jesus breathed on the disciples, he was recreating them. He was recreating man through the Holy Spirit. That is why, in the first reading, when the apostles received the Holy Spirit, they went out from hiding. They were no longer afraid and they proclaimed the name of Christ. The disciples no longer lived in fear but they fired up with the love of Jesus. They were inspired by the love of Jesus through the Holy Spirit and so they overcame their fears. Fear is conquered by love. Charity conquers fear. This is how it is to be renewed. This is how it is to be recreated.
Brothers and sisters, we celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit because we acknowledge that it is the Holy Spirit who gives us life, who removes our fears and doubts. Our prayer must be, “Come Holy Spirit, we need you.” We need Him right now as we start the new academic year because what we will be experiencing now is really something new. We are going to have fully online classes and this is not easy. We sometimes fear exploring online classes because we think it is difficult to do so. We doubt too whether or not the quality of learning will be the same now online as compared to the traditional one. Nevertheless, we have the Holy Spirit who removes fear and doubts. He is the Spirit who gives us courage to continue on with our mission. He is the Spirit who allows us to reach out to others, to our professors, to our students, to the administration to make quality Loyola School of Theology learning still possible.
In the First Reading, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples as tongues of fire. Fire, but it did not burn them. Fire because the Holy Spirit inflamed them with love. As we start this academic year, let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us more love. More love towards our studies, more love towards our students and professors so that we may be more understanding and patient to one another. More love for the common good so that we could share and be more compassionate to those in need especially in these times. And most especially, more love for God as we know Him better in our theological studies. As we start this school year, let our prayer be, “Come Holy Spirit, we need you!”
