“Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Answer Is Always Jesus Christ,” Liahona, May 2023, 127).

“The more you learn about the Savior, the easier it will be to trust in His mercy, His infinite love, and His strengthening, healing, and redeeming power. The Savior is never closer to you than when you are facing or climbing a mountain with faith” (Russell M. Nelson, “Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains,” Liahona, May 2021, 103).

“I have learned that Heavenly Father’s plan for us is fabulous, that what we do in this life really matters, and that the Savior’s Atonement is what makes our Father’s plan possible” (Russell M. Nelson, “Think Celestial!,” Liahona, Nov. 2023, 117).

“When you wonder how much pain you can endure well, remember Him. He suffered what you suffer so that He would know how to lift you up. He may not remove the burden, but He will give you strength, comfort, and hope. He knows the way. He drank the bitter cup. He endured the suffering of all” (Henry B. Eyring, “Tested, Proved, and Polished,” Liahona, Nov. 2020, 97).

Pentecost 25, John 20:19-23- "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit!"

A young boy went to market on his bicycle in order to buy something. But there was simply no place to park in his bicycle. So he went to a nearby church and made a request to the parish priest. The priest granted it without any hesitation.

“Is it safe here, Father?” the boy asked the priest and concerned that someone might steal his bicycle.

“Of course,” said the priest. “The Holy Spirit will keep watch over your bike. But first, let’s go inside the church and pray.”

They kneel down and making the sign of the cross, the boy said: “In the name of the Father and of the Son. Amen.”

The priest interrupted him. “You forgot the last part, ‘and of the Holy Spirit’ son?”

The boy replied: “We should not disturb the Holy Spirit. He is watching over my bike!”

Dear friends, the Holy Spirit not only watching over his cycle, but everything and everyone. He takes care of all of us. But we should have a desire and faith that he is living and active…

From the readings, we heard of the account of what had happened at the moment of that Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and disciples, strengthening and rejuvenating them all with hope and great courage,

And Holy spirit is given to all who call upon the lord. He told the disciples to wait in the upper room, pray and prepare…if you have done this, you also will get it.

St. Paul the Apostle spoke to the faithful people of God in Rome referring to the Holy Spirit that has been given to all of the faithful, calling on all of them to holiness and to live their lives in accordance to the way of the Lord and strive to live in the manner that is worthy of the Lord, following His examples and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit at all times, keeping ourselves away from the wickedness of the world and from all the sins and darkness present all around us.

Who is the Holy Spirit? We know that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the Love of the Father and the Son, present within God the Father and God the Son from all eternity.

Anyone who desires for the helper…God will provide. Because it’s the promise of the Lord…

At the Last Supper, Jesus tells them that He will send a gift from the Father, the greatest of all gifts and that is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus knew that his disciples would need the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission entrusted to them. That is why Jesus instructed the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49).

Why did they need power from on high? The Gospels tell us that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit when he was baptized at the Jordan River:

"And John bore witness, 'I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him... this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit'" (John 1:32,33; Mark 1:8; Matthew 3:11).

"And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit for forty days in the wilderness... and Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee" (Luke 4:1,14).

Just as Jesus was anointed with the Spirit at the beginning of his ministry, so the disciples needed the anointing of the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission entrusted to them by Jesus.

-At the time of the ascension Jesus had given his disciples the clear mandate, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation.” Jesus had also urged his disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. The promise of the Father for which Jesus wanted his disciples to wait in Jerusalem was the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Feast of Pentecost reminds us of a day when the Church began Her journey. It was in that room, in Sehion, that the Holy Spirit transformed the disciples into great apostles.

The apostles had a fearful past—shy to talk about Jesus, closing themselves off in a room. But Jesus stood among them and breathed on them, telling them to receive the Holy Spirit. This breath gave them new life…

This breath is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus promises in Luke 11:13, “How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” On this Feast of Pentecost, let us deeply desire the breath of Jesus and live a Spirit-filled life.

The Pentecost experience is rooted in a relationship with Jesus.

Before Pentecost, the disciples gathered in unity and waited in prayer, just as Jesus instructed (see Acts 1:4,14).

They were in the upper room…?

Not in the down room because it has a lot of distractions, but in the upper room- it’s a place of peace, it’s a place where Jesus celebrated last supper, washed their legs, it gives them a lot of memories…

Acts 1:8- you will be my witnesses till the end of the world. We r called to become his witnesses

Acts 1:14- they were staying together in prayer having one mind…

If you don’t have fire in you, you also won’t be able to give it to others.

1. From Fear to Courage- Are we hiding today — behind our doubts, our sins, our worries? Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit is not far. He is near, ready to breathe new life and courage into us.

-If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, your fear will go away…that’s why Peter does on the day of the Pentecost filled with the Holy Spirit

In Acts 2:38, Peter told the crowd to “repent and be baptized… and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

2. Unity in Diversity- People hearing the apostles in their own languages. — a divine sign that God’s message is for everyone. Each person hears in their own way, and yet the message is one: Jesus is Lord.

The event: On the day of Pentecost

1) The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary as fiery tongues. 2) The frightened apostles were transformed into fiery preachers and evangelizers and were given the gift of tongues by a special anointing of the Holy Spirit.

It is the Holy Spirit, who makes our faith strong, -The frightened disciples changed after receiving the Holy Spirit -Peter’s sermon which resulted in the conversion and baptism of about 3000 people

People are identified by the language they speak. English, French, Chinese, German, Hindi, etc. In India we have many languages. The disciples spoke in their language but everybody could understand them…

What is the language of Christians?

The story of Babel, where the language was scattered, and here one language unites them…?

3. We Are Sent- In the Gospel, Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The Spirit is not given just for comfort, but for mission. This means Pentecost is not just a past event — it’s a present calling. Every one of us, baptized and confirmed, has received the Holy Spirit and is sent into the world: into our families, schools, workplaces, and communities — as bearers of God’s love and truth.

An old beggar-man lay on his deathbed. As he was departing from this world, his last words to his only son who had been a constant companion during his begging trips were: “Dear son,” he said, “I have nothing to give you except a cotton bag and a dirty bronze bowl which I got in my younger days from the junkyard of a rich lady.”

After the death of his father, the boy continued begging, using the bowl his father had given him. One day, a gold merchant dropped a coin in this boy’s bowl. >> The merchant was, however, surprised to hear a familiar clinking sound. “Let me check your bowl,” the merchant said. To his great surprise, he found that the beggar boy’s bowl was made of pure gold. “My dear young man,” he said, “why do you waste your time begging? That bowl of yours is made of gold! >> It is worth a huge amount of money! Realize that you are a rich man. Be aware of the worth of the treasure that is with you, and live a life worthy of it!”

John 20,21: " As the Father has sent me, even so I send you".

Our life - whoever we are, whatever we are doing - is a continuation of the Mission of Jesus.

You are given this power, the gift of the Holy Spirit that you may share it with everyone. Jesus said, ‘Go to the ends of the Earth…which means, everyone should know the intervention of God how he acts in the life of human beings

Holy Trinity, John 16:12-15

The great Eucharistic prayers of the Mass end with the beautiful Trinitarian prayer: ‘Through him (Jesus), with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is Yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever’.

Today’s feast invites us to live in the awareness of the presence of the Triune God within us:

One God but Three persons? How can you understand this!

God reveals himself gradually…

A child in first class will not understand what is taught in class 5th or a child who is 5th will not understand what is being taught in 10th. It’s a gradual process.

First, we teach the letters, then words, then sentence and then Grammer complexities…

If a person who doesn’t use smart phone or computer, will not understand what is ChatGPT and AI etc.

It’s not easy to understand the Holy Trinity. It’s a gradual process

A person who doesn’t know the OT, will not understand what is NT, and if he doesn’t know the scriptures will not understand the working of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity.

The gospel begins saying, ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now’

Can you think, what are the things that he wanted to share with them. At least one that he left?

Why he did not directly tell us about the Trinity? But in the gospel Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit and the Father who sent him.

I feel that Jesus has spoken the greatest and lengthy speech or sermon during the last supper. As you get time, read from John 13-17, there four chapters are given as one part during the last supper…

So, now you can imagine how much time Jesus might have taken for the last supper!

And here in John 16:12-he tells, ‘I have many things to tell you, but now you will not understand…

(v. 13b). Jesus did not speak his own word, but said, “everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you” (15:15).

First reading tells us that God the Father doing and interacting with human beings in the history, reminding them that there is a God above who controls everything; who wanted that His people should know him and adore him…

Through second reading Paul tells us that ours is not a God who is very far, but he came to us, lived with us, we could touch him, hear him…

First of all, the nature of the Most Holy Trinity, Our God Who is both Three and One at the same time, Co-Equal, Co-Eternal and Consubstantial-

Analogy: We can also use the example of the burning flame as a way to represent the Holy Trinity in a more understandable way. heat, light and lastly, the flame itself, which has a discernible shape,

Today’s feast invites us to live in the awareness of the presence of the Triune God within us:

We believe God the Father came for the people of Israel and Jesus came before 2000 years and now it’s the Holy Spirit who leads the church and how can this three be together?

Are they one? Are they present today? Or is it only the Holy Spirit present?

The mystery of Holy Trinity is a basic doctrine of Faith in Christianity, understandable not with our heads but with our hearts. In human body each nerve has its own functions in the same way trinity functions differently…but one

They were together before the beginning of creation- Gen 1:2- read…

Who was the first human person who received this revelation that our God is a Trinitarian God?

It was the Mother Mary. The angel says, the Holy Spirit will conceive the son of the Most High…

Jesus' mission is to reveal the glory of God to us - a Trinity of persons - God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and to unite us with God in a community of love.

Jesus speaks about the Father who has sent him. Jesus Speaks about the Holy Spirit Whom he will send

References to the Trinity in the Old Testament are less. But the New Testament gives clear teachings on the Holy Trinity.

1)    At the Annunciation, God the Father sends His angel to Mary, God the Holy Spirit comes upon her,

2) At the baptism of Jesus, when the Son receives baptism from John the Baptist, the Father’s Voice

3)  At the Ascension, Jesus gives the missionary command to his disciples to baptize ‘in the name of …

4) In John, chapters 15--18, we have a detailed account of Jesus’ teaching of the role of each Person of the Holy Trinity: a) God the Father creates and provides for His creatures. b) God the Son redeems us and reconciles us with God. c) God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, strengthens us, teaches us and guides us to God.

First, the Trinity teaches us about self-awareness.

The Father knows He is the Creator. The Son knows He is the Redeemer. The Holy Spirit knows He is the one who helps and guides. They do not compete or compare. Each one knows His role and works in unity.  This is something we may need to practice in our lives, always respect the role of others and give them the space to work. If you plan to take the space of others, both of you will not grow.

 Second, the Trinity shows us self-giving.

Jesus said, “He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14) The Father gave us His only Son. Jesus gave everything, even His life. The Holy Spirit gives us His grace, His strength, His gifts. None of them keeps anything for themselves.  This invites us to be generous in our day today lives.

 1) All prayers in the Church begin in the Name of the Holy Trinity and end glorifying the Trinity. 

2) All Sacraments are administered (we are baptized, confirmed, anointed, our sins are forgiven, our marriage blessed, and our Bishops, priests and deacons ordained) in the name of the Holy Trinity.

3) Church bells ring thrice daily, reminding us to give glory to the Holy Trinity for the Incarnation of Jesus and His Redemption of all of us.

4) We bless ourselves, and the priest blesses us, in the Name of the Holy Trinity.

Every time we make the Sign of the Cross, we proclaim the Trinity. Don’t rush it. Let it remind you that you are walking with the Father, saved by the Son, and filled with the Spirit.