With Sharee Thomas 

On the weekend we will celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. Pentecost is the first recorded event of the Sacrament of Confirmation that we know of, and it is an example of Jesus’ perennial life-giving fidelity to us. It was also a time of transformation: it was when the disciples grew from being a crowd into what we would call a community. Pentecost also begins in the last place we would expect! The disciples are huddled in the upper room, with doors locked…why? For fear! Fear has seized them –paralysed after all that has happened, they’re trapped, uncertain and confused.

Both of these messages really resonate in our current world climate. These days of isolation have allowed us, in a certain way, to experience a feeling similar to those disciples following that first Easter experience.

Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the Church. The Gospel for Pentecost reminds us that the Church begins with the command to forgive. Within the family, the domestic Church, we learn how to forgive and how to accept forgiveness. The gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to do both. As we are currently unable to attend Mass and other Sacraments as a large community, this weekend is a fitting time to share a family celebration of reconciliation.

As you gather together as a family, sit quietly for a few minutes, inviting everyone to reflect upon their need to forgive and to receive forgiveness. If there is a situation or an issue within the family that needs attention, spend some time reflecting on how your family might address it. Read together today’s Gospel, John 20:19-23. Talk together about how Jesus gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us in the work of forgiveness and to bring us peace.

Have a wonderful week!