PENTACOST
June 5, 2022
Imagine for a moment that by some “mysterious power” you were able to change the world. What would you change? Super Heros use their power to outwit the bad guys. How would you change the world? Perhaps you would eradicate poverty, disease, ignorance, war, famine, and all the useless violence and destruction that we inflict on each other.

But changing the world is an inside-out job! You see, when we look to change the world – too often we look outside ourselves. When God looks to change the world, he looks deep within us – driving straight to the heart of the matter – human behavior.

This is the heart of today’s feast. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, which changed the way the Apostles thought, lived, and worked – it changed their behavior. You see, the Apostles and the early Christians did not just move through the world, leaving it unchanged. Changing the world was part of their mission:
            Catholic Christians broke the class barrier for education, invented the scientific method, always a leader in caring for the sick and poor. In the past 2,000 years, the church has played a powerful role in changing the world. It is a fact, Catholis changed the world.

Enough of the history lesson. Let me bring this point to the present. What about us? Like the early church, we have that “mysterious power”, the Holy Spirit. We need to tap into that power. You see, we too are called not just to move through the world, leaving it unchanged. No, we are called to change the world.