Lord’s Day Reflection: ‘Pentecost and the Spirit of Truth’

By Fr. Edmund Power, OSB

The fifty days of Easter culminate with the solemnity of Pentecost, a feast richly adorned with biblical readings, whether during the extended vigil or on the day itself.

What we are essentially celebrating is the Spirit of the Lord WHO filled the whole world (entrance antiphon) and continues to fill it.

The Gospel of the Mass of the Day of Year B considers the Holy Spirit under a particular attribute expressed in the phrase repeated twice Spirit of truth.

The Gospel is set in the context of the Last Supper, but Jesus has already introduced the idea of ​​truth with the words addressed to Thomas: I am the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6).

The truth will return, during the Passion, when Jesus declares its centrality, evoking Pilate, spokesperson for the entire profane world, the question: What is truth? (Jn 18:38).

The word of God in this year of grace 2024 challenges us on a personal, moral and spiritual level.

We have received the Spirit of truth who has filled the whole world. We are now invited and exhorted to live with maximum integrity, being who we truly are, avoiding the garish glamor and fickle falsity of the masks we wear.

The lie is a long spider thread that pulls other sticky threads, entangling us in the lie. “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me”: this provocative statement from the children is a lie.

Lying words, spoken subtly, can completely destroy a person, their life, their reputation and everything. Lying words, spoken cynically or in ignorance by politicians and popularizers, can destroy what is peaceful, just and light among nations.

In the second reading, from Galatians, Paul lists the irritating, divisive, and destructive qualities that accompany the absence of the Spirit.

It also lists the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience etc. What is truth? The “Truth” stands before Pilate (I am the truth). The truth is what it all really means, without subterfuge, without evasion: a world and a universe ultimately providential and personal, which has a face of compassion behind it.

Through the spirals of confusion, though often hidden, the Spirit of the Lord moves, permeating the recesses of human existence, bringing form and order to the void.