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Gospel reflection for May 24, 2026, The Solemnity of Pentecost
By Father Garry Koch
The stained glass image depicting the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles is found in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Maple Shade. Monitor file photo
Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, is the celebration of the Birthday of the Church. Pentecost, however, is not the same as a birthday. Here we do not simply remember an event from the distant past. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are continually being renewed and recreated. The Church is born anew at each Pentecost as we enter into the life of the Holy Spirit in our midst. St. Paul reminds the Corinthians that each of us is a member of the Body of Christ with the gifts that the Spirit has bestowed upon us for the service of that Body, the church. They are not for us alone, but for the entire Body of Christ.
We are reminded of this in a subtle but clear way at each Mass. At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, as the bread and wine are being prepared – what is often called the “Presentation of the Gifts” the priest prays first over the bread by saying: “Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you;” then, he prays over the wine saying: “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you.”
These two prayers, often said silently as a hymn is being sung, remind us that the gifts we offer to God are gifts that he has first given to us. The produce of the land, which provides our food and nourishment, is a gift.
We express this gratitude when, as we pray before our meals: “Bless us O Lord, and these, thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty.”
In simple and ordinary ways we acknowledge that the Lord gifts to us what we in turn, gift back to him.
The Holy Spirit pours out the Gifts of God upon us: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fear of the Lord, fortitude, knowledge and piety. We do not all receive the fullness of each of these gifts, rather we receive those Gifts that the Holy Spirit has judged us to need within our own lives so that we can serve the People of God to the best of our ability given the limitations of our sinful humanity in cooperation with those Gifts.
St. Paul reminded the church that all are not prophets, or apostles, or speakers of hidden wisdom, but rather that together we build the Body of Christ.
The image of the human body, also used by Paul, is another way of expressing this same reality. The eye is as essential to the full function of the human person as is the hand, the foot, or nose, each plays its particular role in the full expression of our human health and well-being.
We are all gifts given by God to the Church. We are all gifts given to God for one another. A husband is a gift to his wife, as a woman is a gift to her husband; children are gifts to their parents as parents are gifts to their children. The same is true of our siblings, friends, neighbors, coworkers and even those random people whom the Lord puts into our lives.
When we recognize the gifts that the Lord gives to us each and every day, and as we begin to see ourselves as gifts in humble service to the Church, our lives and our attitudes towards others necessarily change.
The Holy Spirit transforms us, enabling us to see his work in the world, by opening our hearts through the power of his love gifted to us and for the welfare of the world.
This cannot happen but once, but rather is the constant movement of the Holy Spirit who is always guiding the Church along the path towards the fullness of the Kingdom of God.
Yet, we can also and often in fact do, squander these gifts. The gift does not suppress our freedom, serving instead to enhance our freedom to say “yes” to the call of God and his invitation in our lives. However, we are always free to reject the gift, but we do so at great expense to ourselves and to the Body of Christ.
Pentecost reminds us of our gifts – those what we receive each day of our lives – and our burning desire to return those gifts, not as a rejection, but as a fulfillment of God’s promise of love and mercy for us.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.