Saturday in the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time, May 30, 2026

Mark 11, 27-33

Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”– they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

“The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him.”  This procession of notables crossing the Temple courtyard, must have aroused the attention of everyone around, as it was meant to do.  Furthermore, a gathering of this kind did not come together spontaneously.  It had been previously discussed and planned.  The Jewish authorities meant to confront Jesus publicly in order to make him answer their questions and to challenge him.  If they had managed to discredit him here, Good Friday would not have happened.  “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?”  They are demanding an explanation for the Lord’s throwing out the animal sellers and the money changers on the previous day, following his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  To them, Jesus is merely the carpenter from Nazareth in Galilee, a second-class Jew, with no training from the rabbis and the Pharisees.  Indeed, he has contradicted these and asserted his own teachings. In their eyes, he has no standing whatsoever to run out the animal seller and money changers — so necessary for the sanctioning of the Temple.

“I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.”  We should note the patience and humility of the Lord.  He seizes the initiative from the Jewish leaders but he does so in a natural way, as anyone might do.  He does not call down thunder and lightning to sow them, as he might have done.  He does not humiliate them.  The Jewish leaders, curious as to his question and certain of their ability to answer it, silently agree to his terms.  They think themselves able to completely discredit him simply by answering his question.  “Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”  There was probably a long pause between the Lord’s question and his demand for them to reply to him, as he waited for them to finish debating among themselves.  His question certainly caught them off guard.  They may have anticipated a question regarding the source of their own authority, to which they would have responded with the Scriptures.  Interestingly, the Lord does not ask them where they thought the authority for his miracles came from.  At other times when the Jewish leaders challenge him, he points to them emphatically.

“They feared the crowd.”  Their debate centers on their safety.  Their handing over Jesus to Pilate also reflected their concern for their personal safety for they feared Jesus would start a riot or uprising which would bring the Romans down hard on them: “The Romans will come, and take away our place and nation” (John 11, 48).  “We do not know.”  We can speculate on how the Lord would have responded if they had answered according to their true opinion: “of human origin”.  They did not dare, though, for the crowd that they had schemed to gather with their procession would have turned violently on them, possibly with Jesus egging them on.  But their “We do not know” affectively ended this attempt to discredit Jesus: they themselves, the leaders of Israel, appeared discredited for not knowing — as they should have, given their position and supposed wisdom — whether John’s origin was human or divine (and by “origin”, Jesus meant the origin of his vocation).  

“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”  Their collective display of ignorance reveals the Jewish leaders to be incapable of understanding the Lord’s answer — even unworthy of it.  They slunk away, defeated but further embittered.  Still, the Lord does not punish them at this time for their impertinence and pride.  He gives them more time to think and perhaps to repent, for his desire is for their salvation.  

Friday in the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time, May 29, 2026

Mark 11, 11-26

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve. The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry. Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” And his disciples heard it. They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples? But you have made it a den of thieves.” The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. When evening came, they went out of the city. Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”

The events recorded in this Gospel Reading follow the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.  St. Mark and the other Evangelists see Jesus as the true Messiah who has come to save his people from an enemy far more dangerous than the Romans — their sins.  Mark, especially, presents the Lord Jesus as one who possesses complete authority, entering Jerusalem to acclaim and taking a tour of the city, looking around at everything as though to ensure that it was as he would have it.  But rather than stay in Jerusalem overnight, he returns to Bethany, more than likely to the house of his friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.  He acts as a prince before his coronation in this way.

“When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs.”  The fig tree represents Israel in the same way that a cedar tree represents Lebanon and the eagle represents the U.S.  The Lord looks at the fig tree and from his actions and words we can know what he thought of Israel at that time.  “He found nothing but leaves.”  That is, at first glance the tree might be thought to have figs.  It seemed fruitful from the outside.  But a close look revealed that it was not.  This was Israel: despite God bringing the people out of Egypt with great signs and miracles, after giving them the Law and their land, after protecting them with the judges and correcting them with the prophets, after bringing them back from Babylon where they had been exiled for their faithlessness, the nation is without fruit.  That is, it is a nation which simulated worship to God in its Temple, but the priesthood and its leaders were thoroughly corrupt and the people led astray.  “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!”  The Lord does not cause Israel to remain fruitless — faithless — but will do nothing further to make it fruitful.  It has run out of time.  The Lord will make a new people for himself who will bear fruit.  “It was not the time for figs.”  Mark ties the miracle of the cursed fig tree to the Lord’s teaching on the power of prayer and leaves us to see what we can make of this miracle and what meaning it has for us.  Now, the Lord cursed the fig tree when it was not the time for figs: how much more will he curse a fig tree which has no figs when it is time for them!  The Jews should have received the Lord with joy.  The Prophets all spoke of him and John the Baptist pointed him out.  His miracles and his teaching were authoritative and powerful.  But for the most part, they — particularly their leaders and teachers — were not ready.  Now, we are even more prepared for the Lord’s second coming than the Jews were nor his first.  We have the Holy Church which he established, the Gospels, a long line of holy men and women who gave their lives to God.  But will we be ready — fruitful with faith — when he comes?  Or will we receive the terrible curse recorded in Matthew 25, 41: “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels.”  We must apply for his grace in the Sacrament of Penance to drive out the beasts that inhabit us: lust, pride, envy, and the like.  And we must pray for what we need for salvation.  This is the true meaning of his words “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’  . . . it shall be done for him.”  It is a greater miracle for a person to convert and become a saint than for a mountain to he thrown into the sea.

Thursday in the .eighth Week of Ordinary Time, My 28, 2026

Mark 10, 46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Today’s Gospel Reading is taken from the middle section of St. Mark’s Gospel, which details the Lord’s last journey to Jerusalem.  As Mark tells it, Jesus has just spoken to his Apostles James and John about who would sit at his right and left in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Just after this, Mark abruptly declares, “And they came to Jericho” (Mark 10, 46).  Mark does not tell us what they did at Jericho but, in the very same verse when Mark says they came to Jericho he says, “As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd.”  So much we would like to know about what the Lord said and did in places like Jericho, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, the first city in the Promised Land to fall to the  Israelites under Joshua after their forty years in the wilderness!  We have to treasure all the more what we do have of the records of the Lord’s life and teaching!

But for St. Mark, the main event at Jericho was what the Lord did outside the city, and to highlight it he does not tell us what he did inside of it.  He begins very directly: “Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging.”  Since Luke, who also tells the story, does not name the beggar whereas Mark does, we can conclude that Peter, from whose lips Mark drew his Gospel, must have known him.  He probably came to know him after the Resurrection as he began to preach the Gospel in Galilee and that the former beggar was now a prominent Christian.  Mark clarifies the beggar’s identity by adding “the son of Timaeus” for his Greek speaking audience who would not have known that “Bartimaeus” meant exactly that.  “On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.’ ”  The beggar addresses Jesus as the Messiah, “the son of David” who was going to restore the kingdom.  At the same time, he believes that Jesus can heal him — the Messiah promised by the Pharisees was not a healer.  We should notice that Mark uses the phrase “he began to cry out and say”.  This is a Hebrew construction not normally found in Greek literature.  Mark is thinking in Hebrew and writing in Greek.  He makes no attempt at a smooth Greek style.  That may be because he does not have the skill to accomplish that.  But his rough Greek is a sign of his ancient witness and to the freshness of his testimony to us.

“And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more.”  The crowd may have rebuked him because they deemed it unfitting for the Son of David to mix with a common beggar.  We might wonder why the crowd did not simply ignore him.  But it is customary for those who have a certain opinion of their worth to push down other who do not measure up to their standards.  As the Lord had said before entering Jericho, “You know that they who seem to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them” (Mark 10, 42).  Mark, who sees irony throughout the Lord’s life among us, probably saw it here too.  The members of the crowd who thought themselves such perfect believers are actually acting like the Gentiles.  But we see the beggar’s persistence, his perseverance, which is one of the most notable signs of the Christian: “He that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved” (Matthew 24, 13).  

“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”  We see how fickle the crowd is, a trait common to crowds everywhere.  Or, not all in the crowd told the man to be quiet and these now encourage him.  It is like the devils who tell us to be quiet and not to pray, and the angels who urge us to do so and assist us.  “He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.”  Bartimaeus shows his readiness to follow Jesus by disposing of his one possession.  This contrasts with the rich man who would not follow Jesus because “he had many possessions” (Mark 10, 22).  He “sprang up” which reminds us of how the rich man came running up to the Lord.  Of course, the rich man slunk away from him when the Lord told him to follow him, but the beggar goes with Jesus.  “What do you want me to do for you?”  The Lord knows what he wants just as he knows what we want before we ask it.  But he wants the beggar and he wants us to cooperate in our own salvation and so he admonishes us to pray.  “Master, I want to see.”  The word in the Greek text is rabbouni, a transliteration of the Hebrew, meaning, “my master”, “my teacher”.  Mark does not translate the Hebrew word which Bartimaeus said into Greek but takes it directly into the text, just using Greek letters. “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”  The Lord replied in a similar way to the woman with the hemorrhage who thought only to touch his garment to be healed.  By quoting Jesus in these instances and not abridging his account, Mark shows the necessity of faith for salvation, of which these cures were signs.

“Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.”  The beggar received his sight straightway with no time intervening between the words of the Lord and the reception of sight.  Mark does not tell us of the beggar exclaiming or of any reaction from the crowd, only that Bartimaeus  “followed him on the way”.  Just as Peter’s mother-in-law began to serve the Lord the moment he cured her from her fever, so now the beggar does not hesitate to follow the Lord.  He uses his health for the purpose for which it was given him.  When we use what we have for the purpose for which God has given it to us, then we too follow the Lord.

Wednesday in the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time, May 27, 2026

Mark 10:32-45

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.” Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, ‘What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, ‘We can.” Jesus said to them, “The chalice that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”  The question the Lord asks James and John and the answer they give amounts to a vow.  The two young Apostles have asked the Lord for a share in the rule of the kingdom of Israel, which they believe he, as Messiah, will reinstitute.  They do not seem to present any arguments to further their request.  Perhaps they make it on the basis that the Lord has included them with Peter as witnesses to some of his more powerful miracles.  The Lord, for his part, tells them that they do not know what they are asking, for they do not yet understand that his kingdom is not of this world.  The Lord’s words do not dismay them and they persist.  The Lord then asks them this question, whether they can drink of his chalice or be baptized with his own baptism.  The two brothers say right away that they can, without asking first what this means.  Now, the Greek text has the Lord asking, “Are you capable of drinking, etc.”  This is a little different from simply “can you”.  The Lord is asking them if they have the ability, the strength, with which to carry out this action, implying that the action itself will be a demanding one.  And, indeed, it is, for the Greek tells us that the “drinking” and “being baptized” is not a one-time action that is quickly done, but a continuous one that extends into the future.  This “drinking” of the Lord’s chalice and this receiving of his own “baptism” will go on for the rest of their lives.  Performing or undergoing these actions will, in fact, become their lives.

The Apostles may have understood that “to drink” the Lord’s “chalice” meant to fight at his side against the Romans.  Their fight, though, would be against the world, the flesh and the devil, as they endeavored to do the Father’s will in spreading the Gospel, even if it cost them their lives.  We know how the Lord himself suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying to his Father, “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as you will” (Matthew 26, 39).  It may be that the Lord prayed with these words, and allowed James and John, as well as Peter, to witness him praying in this way so that they might understand what this “chalice” would cost them.  

“The chalice that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.”  The Lord accepts their vow.  He will permit them to live his life.  This in itself is a great privilege, and in doing so, they shall reign with him in his kingdom.  Their particular role in this rule, however, is a matter of Divine Providence: it is “for those for whom it has been prepared.”  That is, each human person is free to choose to live the life of Christ, and the Lord will provide the graces needed for the person to do this.  At the same time, each person’s part in the work of salvation is foreseen from all eternity by Almighty God, who dispenses talents and abilities to each one accordingly, and places for them are prepared in heaven by God, who foresees how each one will fulfill his will.  The Lord Jesus is telling James and John that if they strive for sanctity they shall indeed become saints, but their places in heaven are not up to them.  He says that this is not his to give by way of emphasizing that their reward is given them by the Father.

“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  The life of unconditional service to God is the chalice which the Son drinks and which he promises to those who desire to belong to him.  

Tuesday in the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time, May 26, 2026

Mark 10, 28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus, ‘“We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

 The Lord Jesus has just told a man who has come up to him in earnest in order to ask him what he must do to be saved.  The Lord tells him to sell the property to which he is much devoted because it is a hindrance to his salvation and then to come and follow him.  So many recognize that the Lord alone is their salvation but when he gives them clear direction in answer to their prayers they bridle and refuse to go forward.  They want salvation, but they cannot or will not stop wanting something else more.  In this case it is covetousness, but for others it is fornication, worldly ambition, and pride.  We cling to these as though they were our very flesh and cannot imagine life without them.

In the verses before today’s  Gospel Reading the Lord had pronounced, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”  That is, we make it hard for ourselves to enter the Kingdom of God through our attachments.  The Lord particularly cites the rich, since the man who came to him had many possessions.  Peter, hearing this, is alarmed.  In understanding his alarm it pays us to keep in mind that at this point Peter and his fellow Apostles believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah who would restore the kingdom of Israel.  He has been taught from his youth by the Pharisees that that was the Messiah’s mission.  He was to be a latter-day Joshua, overrunning the strongholds of the Romans.  Thus, Peter and the others had their eyes on great prizes for following Jesus that they would receive when he was victorious.  These would be worth giving up the comparatively little that they had to begin with.  These words of Jesus then strike Peter as telling him and the others that no such rewards would be given them: those who are rich will not have a part in the new Israel.  We can hear the dismay and perhaps a touch of anger in Peter’s outburst: “We have given up everything and followed you.”  It is as though he feels he is being played for a sucker.

The Lord probably did not reply immediately.  Given Peter’s feelings, we should think that the Lord gave him a few moments so that he could hear his reply.  “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age.”  The Lord assures his Apostles that they will indeed receive an abundant reward, and he does so in concrete terms they can understand.  No one wants to work long hours for many years for some vague or abstract reward.  Then the Lord adds, “With persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”  He does not hide how much they will have to endure for their reward, and also promises them eternal life for this, a prize far greater than any number of “houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands”.  In this way the Lord contrasts the response of the rich man with their own.  Of course the path to life requires sacrifice.  It does not fall into the lap as the rich man thought it should.  Neither should the Apostles think that, but recognize, accept, and resolve to endure persecution first so that they might truly enjoy the fruits of their labors later.

The Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, May 26, 2026

Acts 1, 12-14

After Jesus had been taken up to heaven, the Apostles returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

The obligatory memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, was ordered by Pope Francis in 2018. Its purpose is to highlight the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the church.

In the First Reading we see the Apostles returning to Jerusalem after the Lord’s Ascension into heaven. The house of Mary, the mother of Mark has essentially become their headquarters — we might say, it became the first church, since Jesus had offered the first Mass there. The upper room where the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin gathered seems to have been a large room, but if 120 people were gathered in it, as Luke says in the Acts of the Apostles, conditions must have been snug.

Now, the naming of the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin proves significant. Luke named the Apostles in his Gospel. His naming them again here shows the continuity of his earliest followers, and especially of those Jesus himself had chosen. Judas Iscariot is not named, of course. But Luke is careful to name the Blessed Virgin and to mention members of the Lord’s family from Nazareth. Luke has shown the eminence of the Virgin in the life of Jesus at the beginning of his Gospel where he recounts the story of the Angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would be the Mother of God’s only-begotten Son, and of her Fiat to God’s holy will. He now places her by name in the midst of the Apostles where they “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer”. We might wonder why, given her importance, Luke does not name her first in his list. He does this in order to emphasize her presence and her role. Naming someone last in ancient times does not have the stigma it does in modern times (“last but not least”). In fact, the last person named qualifies the nature of the group. As Judas, always named last in the lists of the Apostles in the Gospels, shows the very earthly origin of the men whom Jesus chose as his heralds. Fallible, slow to understand, looking for worldly gain when the Lord restored Israel. The Apostles grew in their faith and understanding while Judas chose not to, and so he fell away and became the betrayer. The naming of Mary at the end of the list — in the place of Judas — shows how the Apostles have changed through grace, and through her example and prayers. They brim over with faith as they await the coming of the Holy Spirit, ten days after the Ascension.

The Blessed Virgin, in Luke’s telling, takes a quieter role with the Apostles after the Ascension. She has watched and helped the Apostles grow and now she watches and assists them with her prayers and words of encouragement on the eve of the beginning of their missionary work, fulfilling the Lord’s instruction to go forth to all the nations, teaching his commandments and baptizing them.

She remains with the Church as the best of mothers, continuously assisting the Church in the presence of Almighty God, and welcoming each of her children when they leave the earth behind them.

The Solemnity of Pentecost, Sunday, May 24, 2026

Acts 2, 1–11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

The Jewish feast of Pentecost, occurring fifty days after Passover, celebrates the giving of the Law, the Torah, by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.  He then brought the Law to the Hebrews, who were busy worshipping the golden calf they had made.  In his anger at seeing this, Moses smashed the tablets of the Law on the ground and destroyed the idol.  God later gave him new tablets of the Law, which were subsequently kept in the Ark of the Covenant.  It was at this feast that the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles.  They had already received the New Law from the Lord Jesus; now the Holy Spirit enlightens them so that they might fully understand and teach it.  While the Old Law was given to the unfaithful Hebrews, the New Law was given to the faithful adherents of Jesus Christ. 

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles was signified in three ways: through the hurricane-force wind that swept through the house where they were praying, the tongues of fire over their heads, and the ability to speak various languages.  We could also discern a fourth sign: the courage to preach the word of God in public, in a place where the Lord Jesus had so recently been condemned and killed.  The wind shows the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of grace, which forgives sin and makes us reborn in Christ.The fire shows the zeal imparted to the Apostles by the Holy Spirit.  It also shows their new ability to speak in other languages:  both the English word “tongue” and the original Greek word have the secondary meaning of “language”.  The gift of languages is not a haphazard one: the Apostles are speaking the languages of those Jews visiting Jerusalem for the feast, for the purpose of preaching the word of God to them.

Almighty God gives us, at our births and in our rebirth through baptism, all the gifts and abilities we have.  All come from him.  All have for their purpose the preaching of the Gospel for the salvation of souls and for his greater glory.  He gives each of us exactly what he wants us to have and to use.  It is for us to understand what these are, to cultivate them, and to use them in whatever way we can, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to do good upon the earth.  In this way, we make a great harvest for him.