By Sister Patty Harvat, OP

Pentecost is a Jewish feast that comes 50 days after the celebration of Passover, the holiday season in which Jesus was crucified. On the feast of Pentecost, the disciples of Jesus were gathered together in a room sometimes known as the “upper room.”

Doors were locked for fear of the Jews, and hearts were locked in grief.

“There are some griefs so loud 
They could bring down the sky 
And there are griefs so still 
None knows how deep they lie...” - May Sarton

What are the emotions filling this room?

• Fear is named (Jesus was crucified, what will happen to us?)
• Bewilderment (What is this resurrection all about?)
• Confusion (What kind of group is this – what did I get myself into?)
• Amazement and excitement (What lies ahead?)

In the midst of this Jesus appears and says, “Peace be with you.”

What is this upper room? Your upper room?

• Is it that uncertain feeling of having no idea what God is asking of you? 
• Is it bewilderment of what is truth in a given situation?
• Is it disappointment in yourself?
• Is it coping with broken and hurt relationships among family and friends and not understanding how this happened?

Is our upper room being in solidarity with people who lost everything through fire, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, who say, “This is all we have known our whole life. What do we do now?” Or sitting quietly in front of the TV, watching the slow death of our Earth as climate change stills the heartbeat of Mother Earth’s life?

Think about your upper room, whatever is going on … it impacts me … because we are community … we are together in that locked room. 

And it’s in that locked room that Jesus appears and says, “Peace,” breathes on us, and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit comes to us in a small flame. Whatever gift we receive is what we need to take with us as we leave our upper room. What gift of the Spirit, what Pentecost Fire, did you pray for?