Solemnity of the Pentecost, Cycle A (2026)

The Gospels describe two moments when the disciples experienced the movement of the Holy Spirit. We hear the first in today’s (Sunday’s) Gospel: on the evening of the Resurrection, Jesus suddenly appeared to his disciples and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In that moment they received the Holy Spirit, though they likely did not yet understand what they had received—similar to our Baptism as children, when we first received that inward grace, that gift of the Spirit.

Then, fifty days later, in a great and cataclysmic event, the Spirit they had received was stirred into action. Bursting forth with power, it became the beginning of the definitive Christian movement. This calls to mind Confirmation, which we receive later in life, in which the Holy Spirit, received at Baptism, is actualized in a new way and drawn outward from us.

The mission of the Holy Spirit is both familiar and mysterious. Consider Jesus’ words before his death: “Now I am going to the one who sent me…it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you…I will send him to you…” (John 16).

Just as Jesus was present to his disciples throughout the Gospels, so the Holy Spirit is present to us: to guide, comfort, strengthen, and challenge us. Yet because we do not fully grasp the gift and mystery of the Spirit, we can lose awareness of his presence among us.

In whatever way the Spirit you received in Baptism and for perhaps most of you, enlivened at Confirmation—that this Spirit seems not to be present in your life, it might help to consider how you need him to strengthen you.

• For marriages, especially those that struggle or are no longer life-giving, and for spouses who have given up seeking help in rediscovering God’s plan for their union.

• For any young people quietly considering a religious vocation, that they may be supported in their discernment and not stifled by fear.

• For our families that are broken apart, and for all the hurt that remains.

• For those trapped in addiction, whether chemical or psychological, that they may seek and receive help. I include those bound by pornography and the ways it distorts our understanding of self and sexuality and wounds our marriages.

• For parents struggling in the demanding work of caring for the children entrusted to them.

• For those trapped in cycles of sin, fearing that if they leave them behind, they will not be fulfilled.

• For those unable to forgive themselves for past sins and unable to fully receive and trust in God’s mercy.

• For those who harbor burning and unrighteous anger in their hearts.

• For those who suffer the effects of abuse or neglect and who have not yet experienced healing.

• For those hanging on to faith by a thread.

• For those who continue to grieve the loss of loved ones, especially parents who have lost children.

• For those who feel stuck in life, fearing that God have no plan for them.

• For those who give in to the devil’s whispering that they are alone and unloved, words that can lead to despair, self-harm, and thoughts of suicide.

• For those who are weary from caring for infirm or elderly family members.

• For those who struggle with lifelong illness, whether physical or mental, and who are weary and unable to see the meaning and dignity of life with their diminished capacities.

• For those who fear the radical life to which Jesus calls them.

• For our loved ones who are lost.

In just a moment, some of our brothers and sisters will be Confirmed. There is a moment in the Rite of Confirmation when the bishop extends his (I will extend my) hands over those to be confirmed, just as a priest does over the bread and wine, calling down the Holy Spirit to act and transform. The bishop prays (I will pray) in silence over the candidates for Confirmation, asking that the same Spirit further actualizes their baptismal graces.

For those of us who struggle in any of the ways I cited—or any others—I pray for you, that the Spirit you received may be so enlivened in the ways you need Him:

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who brought these your servants to new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, freeing them from sin: enliven them today, O Lord, through your Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the one called to their side….

Heavenly Father, give us the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety; fill us with the spirit of awe. May we, enlivened and transformed through your Holy Spirit, receive guidance, comfort, strength, and growth, through Christ our Lord.