08 June 2025 – Pentecost Sunday | Pentecost Feast Day

by Rev Fr Raymond Raj

My dear brothers and sisters in the blessed Lord, today we celebrate the Holy Spirit, the Advocate in whom the Father sent to us in the name of Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, when we hear the word Pentecost or even Holy Spirit, generally speaking, all of us here, we tend to assume this Feast of Pentecost is a celebration of speaking in tongues. Therefore, too much of emphasis is placed on speaking in tongue rather than the Holy Spirit itself.

In short, my dear friends, as we celebrate Pentecost, another year of Pentecost, our focus, our attention is misplaced on the gifts, not the giver. Let me say this again.

Our whole attention, our focus is misplaced on the gifts rather than the giver himself.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, speaking of the Holy Spirit, a little story comes to my mind.

Pope John Paul XXIII, by the way this is a true story. Pope John Paul XXIII visited a hospital in Rome, Italy, called the Hospital of the Holy Spirit.

This hospital is run by a group of nuns, sisters. I see one of the nuns here just now. I cannot notice. Too shy to raise your hand, nun? This hospital is run by nuns.

So hearing the news that Pope John Paul XXIII has entered the hospital, the Mother Superior, joyful, excited, ran to him and introduced herself. She said,

“Most Holy Father, I am the Mother Superior of the Holy Spirit.”

Pope John Paul replied,

“Wow! Fantastic! You must be very lucky to be the Mother Superior of the Holy Spirit. As for me,” Pope says, “As for me, I am just a servant of the Holy Spirit.”

 

If at all you caught me saying, if you caught me saying, “I am the Rector of the Holy Spirit”, “I am the Parish Priest of the Holy Spirit”, please gently come and correct me. I am not the Rector of the Holy Spirit. I am just the Rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit. Two different things, my dear friends.

Brothers and sisters, what I am trying to say today is without humility, no one can know the Holy Spirit. Without humility no one can experience the Holy Spirit.

It is very, very sad in my own experience now as a priest. When I have discussion, when I have chit chat with charismatic leaders, when I speak with the charismatic leaders, they tend to talk to me as though they own the Holy Spirit and they can confine and they can release the Holy Spirit as they wish. When I talk to some, not all, some of the charismatic leaders, they think they own the Holy Spirit.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, the Holy Spirit is like the wind, fire. It blows wherever it wishes. Therefore, none of us here, including the Pope, none of us here can control, dominate or even manipulate the Holy Spirit. You can manipulate the evil spirit. Go on. But no one can control, dominate, manipulate the Holy Spirit.

Today, as we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, our theme for today’s celebration is:

Renewed as Pilgrims of Hope.

 

Brothers and sisters, the theme for our celebration today is Renewed as Pilgrims of Hope.

Speaking of HOPE, HOPE is not daydreaming. HOPE is not wishful thinking, “I wish, I wish“. HOPE is not living in fantasy.

In spirituality, HOPE means undivided trust and faith in God. Which means no matter what happens, God’s will must prevail even if it involves failure, even if it involves death. God’s will must prevail.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, as we celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope, it is very sad though most of us here we are in opinion that Jubilee Year of Hope simply means going pilgrimage after pilgrimage, visiting one church after another. Therefore, most of us here assume by joining a pilgrimage, I have fulfilled my duties, responsibilities for this year.

Dear friends, the Year of Hope, the Jubilee Year of Hope has no meaning whatsoever if you and I fail, refuse to give hope to the poor, to the marginalised, to the outcast. Therefore, you and I may wonder how can I remain hopeful? How can I share hope to others?

Let me tell you a secret on how to expand, how to extend, how to share your hope with others. Listen carefully. 

The secret recipe to be a Hopeful Christian is having relationship with the Holy Spirit. The secret of being a Hopeful Christian is having an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, without the Holy Spirit, no one here can live a life that is worthy of hope. Yes, my dear friends. 2,000 years ago, the first 12 Apostles, the followers of Jesus were living a hopeless life till they encountered the Holy Spirit.

Everything changed in the life of the Apostles after they encountered the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room.

The Holy Spirit renewed the followers of Jesus with hope, with mission. Similarly, as we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is eagerly waiting today to empower us to be a Hopeful Disciple of Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, as parishioners of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, you and I definitely have no excuse not to be a Hopeful Disciple of Jesus.

I remembered what Fr Cyril said yesterday. This is our 65th year, I think. 55 or 65 years celebrating the Pentecost Day in this parish. By now, all of you should have doctorate in Holy Spirit. 60 years celebrating the Feast of Pentecost. You must be an expert of the Holy Spirit.

So brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, let us renew our hearts and mind to be a Hopeful Disciple of Jesus Christ, especially for the poor, marginalised and the outcast.

Let us not be afraid to give hope even though we may lose, it may cost us everything. The late Pope Francis would say,

“As Christians, let us not be satisfied with having hope. You and I must learn how to radiate, how to share hope to others.”

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, let us not wait and wait and wait for things to happen. Let us make it happen. The Holy Spirit is with us.

Last but not least, dear friends, my humble request to each one of you today is in the pursuit of sharing hope to others, let us not forget this fundamental truth which is:-

Without God, you and I can do nothing.

 

So in this Holy Mass, let us pray for the grace to be Pilgrims of Hope, renewed by the Holy Spirit.

And I leave you with this beautiful phrase to go back and ponder.

Brothers and sisters, a ship (kapal laut), not sheep, a ship is not built to stay safely in the harbour. A ship was not built to stay very safely in the harbour. Likewise, as baptised Catholics, we do not stay safely in the parish, just attending Mass daily, Feast after Feast. No.

As Christians, we do not stay safely in the church but you and I must go out with the Holy Spirit to make a difference.

We pray for this grace during this Holy Mass.

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