I Send You

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, May 19th, 2024:
Pentecost Sunday

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John
20.19-23

It was evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Happy Pentecost Sunday everyone! 

What a privilege to be sent by the Resurrected Lord who conquered death and sin!

As Catholic Christians, each one of us is meant to be an apostle on whom the Holy Spirit descends in a tongue of fire. And to be an apostle, each one of us must accept the commission to be sent to preach Christ not only with our lips, but also, and more importantly, with our lives. This honour can be beautiful, but if we are totally honest, it is terrifying too. Knowing that everything we do and say could bring someone closer to Christ, or take them further away from Him, can be a crippling fact to wrap our heads around. 

However, we must remember that Jesus said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Jesus is not asking us to undertake making Him known on our own strength. He knows we need the Holy Spirit. He knows that we cannot do this on our own merit. Well come on, neither could the original Apostles do more than huddle together in fear without the Holy Spirit! Then why should you and I be any different? Why can we not rely completely on the Holy Spirit for the words to say or the inspiration to act? We can! And we must.

How do we do this you ask? We can root our actions, our lives, our relationships, and our daily life in prayer. Prayer, which is the coming together of one or more people to ask the Lord for the strength that we are not inherently capable of, is the first step of the spiritual life. Prayer is communion with Jesus and it is through this communion with Christ that all the doors to every room locked by fear can be thrown wide open. So the next time you experience a sense of dread about something that the Lord is calling you to do, get down on your knees and pray. 

Remember Jesus’s words as you pray: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”


Holy Spirit, help me to rely on Your courage and strength everytime I feel the need to make You known. Help me to trust that You will give me the words I need to bring healing and restoration to those around me. Be with me in every circumstance that I am sent into. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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​Rebecca Dmello

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