The feast of Pentecost provides us with a radical vision for the Church and the world. This week’s reflection celebrates the Holy Spirit’s descent upon the diverse community of disciples, and reminds us that the Spirit rests with us too, inviting us to preach love and peace in our communities.

June 8, 2025: Pentecost Sunday, Year C
Acts 2:1–11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29–31, 34  
1 Corinthians 12:3b–7, 12–13
John 20:19–23

Being Pentecostal People

A reflection by Jane Aseltyne, IHM

A few weeks ago, I began reflecting on the readings for Pentecost. During that time, I went with some of my housemates to a bonfire hosted by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The Sisters host a bonfire at the beginning of every spring to mark the change in season and welcome the warm weather. It is a time for community and great conversation.

When we arrived, the fire was just getting started. We circled the fire pit with our lawn chairs, enjoying the crisp evening air and the company of those gathered. The fire began to grow as the fire tender added more kindling and wood. It got bigger and hotter to the point where we had to move our chairs back for fear of being too close. To be honest, I was a little scared by the intensity. Sparks flew outside the fire pit, and flames got a little too close to the grass for my comfort!

As we settled into our seats at a safer distance and the fire began to mellow, I started thinking about what the disciples must’ve felt on that first Pentecost. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the disciples were all crowded together when they heard “what sounded like a violent, rushing wind from heaven; the noise filled the entire house in which they were sitting.” Then, what appeared to them as tongues of fire came to rest on each one of them. This imagery is so strong and unexpected that it always makes me stop and wonder, what did they see? Were their mouths agape, eyes the size of saucers, because they did not comprehend what was happening? Were they shouting? Or did they sit in stunned silence? Could they feel the fire’s warmth? If I had been there, I’m pretty sure I would have had a thing or two to say about what was happening!

Yet amid this seemingly loud, chaotic event, the Spirit comes and rests on each one of them, and fills them. The Spirit may have come in like a strong driving wind, but she did not bowl the disciples over. She rested on them. The juxtaposition of this imagery speaks of a Spirit that is both fearless and fierce, gentle and steady.

The Spirit animates the disciples first with an astonishing entrance, and then by bestowing on them the power to proclaim the mighty works of God. The Spirit does not ask the disciples to get their affairs in order so they can now go out and tell the Good News; instead, these disciples, gathered from all over the world, are sharing an experience so unique and so powerful that they can’t help but proclaim the Good News of Jesus immediately.

Pentecost offers a radically different vision for the Church and the world. The Spirit does not come and erase diversity among the disciples, but rather, diversity is celebrated and embraced. The worldwide community gathered in the house could express their experiences of God in their own language and be understood.

Our strength as a community of believers is in our diversity, each filled with unique gifts of the Spirit. Our unity in God does not mean uniformity, but rather making space for every person’s gifts, experiences, and desires.

With the eradication of so many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and our government's persistent march toward homogenization, it seems that capturing the spirit of Pentecost is essential if we are to live out Jesus's teachings: to welcome the stranger, the marginalized, the queer, and the immigrant. We may feel weary with so much discord happening around us, but we can rely on our communities to support us when we need it most.

Sometimes we may feel the Spirit come in like a driving wind and see or feel things we didn’t expect. Other times, we may feel the Holy Spirit as an ember, a constant peace that fills us as we move about our lives. Sometimes, we might feel the absence of the Spirit, a cold fire pit where roaring flames once were. This is the ebb and flow of life with God. Just as the fire changes, so too do we.

Although our circumstances may change, and we may face difficulties and joys, the Spirit is constant—always interceding, always guiding, always loving. It is important to remember, too, that the Spirit did not descend on only one person; the Spirit descended on the whole community. We are in this together, bound to one another through the love and peace Jesus freely gives.

As I recall my time with my community gathered around the first bonfire of the season, I am grateful to be on the journey with others willing to share their experiences of God, and who are willing to hear my own. It is in the telling of the mighty works of God through our experiences that we find connection, hope, and fuel for what lies ahead.

As we navigate these challenging times, let us remember that we are called to be Pentecost people. Let us go forth, listening to one another, challenging one another, and making space for the beautiful, diverse creation God has gifted us in one another.

Sr. Jane Aseltyne, IHM holds an MA in Systematic Theology and Spirituality from the Catholic Theological Union at Chicago. Her master’s thesis entitled, “Beyond the Binary: Expanding Understandings of the Imago Dei,” seeks to develop a more inclusive understanding of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God, particularly concerning gender and sexual orientation.

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