There are moments when the ground beneath us shakes, and we get a shocking glimpse of our failing in love.

Jesus said to His disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever” (John 14:15).

We care. Human beings care about an enormous range of things. We are swept up with love for our families, both the families that nurtured us through our younger years and the families to whom we have given life and in whom we have invested our hopes for the future. We care about our nation, a much larger clan from which we have drawn our thought patterns, our culture with its hints of the eternal.

Pentecost Sunday (Year C) June 5 (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23)

If a hundred believers were asked to explain the nature, role and workings of the Holy Spirit, there would probably be 100 or more answers. Backed into a corner, many have little understanding of the Spirit and its actions. The Holy Spirit has been invoked to bolster authority and to challenge it; to support the status quo and to overturn it; to head in new theological and spiritual directions and to retreat behind the fortified walls of tradition.

Since last Pentecost Sunday, how would you describe your gift of service to your community? It is an appropriate question for all of us this weekend (May 22-23) as we celebrate the popular feast of Pentecost Sunday, a feast we usually associate with the call to serve as people baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost Sunday, May 23 (Year B) Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

What would the Spirit find if Pentecost occurred today? It would find a divided and broken world at war with itself.

VATICAN CITY -- Just as the apostles were united once they received the Holy Spirit, the church is united by that same spirit and not by keeping company just with those who agree on a certain interpretation of Christian teaching, Pope Francis said on Pentecost.

Our spiritual journey in Easter comes to an end with the celebration of Pentecost Sunday (May 31). Just as most Canadians celebrated the Solemnity of the Resurrection in the absence of our parish communities, most of us are also going to celebrate Pentecost without gathering face-to-face as a community.

ROME -- Disciples of Jesus must reject any attitude or language that could increase intolerance or racism, especially in current social and political discussions about welcoming and integrating migrants, said the bishops of Italy's Lazio region.