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The Spirit Has Fallen Upon Us All!
The Continuing Echo of Pentecost
by Jacquie Jambor

You may recall that during the three years leading up to the Church's Jubilee Year 2000, the Catechetical Sunday resources focused one year on God the Father, one year on Jesus Christ the Son, and one year on the Holy Spirit. Among the materials for the year of the Holy Spirit was an excellent article by Brian K. Johnson. The point he made in his article was that, in fact, the Spirit has fallen upon us all.

On the day I read this for the first time, the Spirit moved me to somehow read those words in a whole new way. It was suddenly very clear to me that while the historical event of Pentecost has unfathomable significance, one amazing implication is that the power of the Holy Spirit has continued to fall upon each of us throughout time. As I continued to reflect on this realization, I began to recognize that this is an important truth for all the baptized, but particularly for those of us involved in evangelization and catechesis.

On Pentecost, when we read in Acts 2:1-11 about the crowd hearing the words of the disciples each in their own language, we know with certainty it is the work of the Spirit. Yet, is it any less the work of the Spirit when a catechist speaks to a class of eighth graders and they can somehow hear the message? Do we know with certainty that this too is the Spirit at work?

Those in catechetical ministry have many experiences of the Spirit at work in us. We know that it is the Spirit who puts the words in our mouth, the patience in our hearts, and the faith in our teaching. Still, we seldom stop and reflect on the powerful and very real Spirit acting in our lives.

So, as the feast of Pentecost arrives on May 30 this year, this could be an opportune time to gather catechists and teachers together to celebrate. Since it occurs at the conclusion of the school year calendar, why not get together to celebrate with a year-end event? Perhaps you could have a prayer and social event that is an expression of gratitude--giving thanks for such things as:

the commitment of catechists and teachers to the children,
the commitment and support of catechists and teachers to one another,
the willingness of catechists and teachers to live out their baptism by sharing their faith,
the reality that the Holy Spirit has fallen upon us ALL, and
the wondrous and reassuring truth that the Spirit is in our midst.

After all, Pentecost continues to echo in our lives. The Holy Spirit has fallen upon us all. Isn't that something to celebrate?