Pentecost Sunday: "Renew the face of the Earth!"

We experience a lot of catastrophes in our lives, both natural and man-caused: El Niño, La Niña, floods, typhoons, food shortage, war, epidemics, etc... and many times in our lives we are discouraged and we just want to lurk in the corner in sheer hopelessness thinking that we can do nothing. But tomorrow's Solemnity of Pentecost, the remembering of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Blessed Mother should, as followers of Christ, change the picture for us. The Holy Spirit is not only with the apostles and the Blessed Mother, precisely, the Holy Spirit is in us!

Dear friends, in the Gospel Jesus told His disciples: "Receive the Holy Spirit." This spurred them on to share the story of Jesus to the ends of the earth, fearless and zealous even amidst persecution and martyrdom. As we celebrate Pentecost, let us ask the Spirit to fortify our hearts and make us courageous in facing whatever concerns that come our way -- H1N1 epidemic, food shortage, corruption, problems, etc... -- with new eyes, with the eyes of the Holy Spirit. And as we are fortified and renewed by and in the Spirit, may we fortify and renew our world. Amen.