Reflection for 24 May 2026: Pentecost Sunday
“Lord, send out Your Spirit and renew the face of the earth” (Ps 104:30).
Dear Marian Helpers and Members of our Marian Family,
Today the Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter, 10 days after the Ascension, and one of the three most important feast days in the Church’s liturgical calendar (the other two being Christmas and Easter.)
For weeks now, we have heard over and over in the Scripture readings, Christ promising to send the Spirit. Today we rejoice that this promise of Jesus has been fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity and, proceeding from the Father and the Son, descends from them to us and to this world. God promised to be with us always…and He is, through His Spirit. The world, being filled with Him, is ripe for conversion, longing to know the truth of who God is and of His great love for us.
This is why all of us, in our various personalities, skills, talents, and character traits, have been given different gifts by the Spirit, so that we can use our own unique gifts for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God. No matter who we are, how “much” or “little” we are able to do or offer, all of it is used by God for the salvation of souls and the growth of the Church.
By the Spirit, we receive the three theological virtues of faith, hope and love. In the Spirit, those three virtues grow and blossom. Through the Spirit, we are able to stand boldly in the face of adversity and proclaim loudly, “Alleluia! O bless the Lord my soul!”
We are all missionaries, whether we “mission” to our family, our neighbours, or complete strangers thousands of miles away from home. On our own, we might do a fairly decent job of teaching the truth of our faith, but to have success and for our work and mission to bear fruit, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit.
Whatever we do, if we do it in the Spirit, will produce spiritual fruit, even if what we’re doing isn’t “spiritual.” Cleaning floors, cutting vegetables, taking a walk, visiting family, going shopping — all of it, if done in union with Christ, will cause an increase in goodness and be the cause of spiritual good for others.
Pray that the Holy Spirit comes down upon you and your family today, that hearts, minds, souls, and spirits will be touched and turn towards God. And pray for bishops, priests, deacons, and religious brothers and sisters that we may be powerful missionaries of the Gospel, working alongside you, our fellow co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord.
May God bless you now and always!
Fr Alex Pumphrey, MIC
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Contact Father Alex at info@divinemercy.org.uk
Please send us your prayer intentions! (click here). We will place them at the foot of our altar in the Divine Mercy Apostolate’s Chapel here in West Ealing, London and will remember them in our daily Chaplets of Divine Mercy.
