Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 24, 2026
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
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.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
In the Christian tradition, Pentecost marks the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the start of the church’s mission to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. “As the Father has sent me,” Jesus says in the gospel today, “Even so I send you.” Baptize, forgive sins, heal the sick, call for repentance, serve, love your enemies, partake of my Body and Blood.
As I reflect on the dynamic force of the Holy Spirit, however, and the emboldened, evangelistic lives of the apostles that follow in Its wake, I am struck by the gentleness with which Jesus communicates this monumental gift: “Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” And a little later, John relates that Christ “breathed on them.” In that subtle, silent, almost imperceptible gesture, Jesus extends the Holy Spirit, the very same Spirit powerful enough to create and now renew the face of the earth.
Perhaps resonant with another entrance into a small room in Nazareth where the soft approach of the Spirit allowed the Virgin to conceive the Son of God in her womb, when Christ enters the enclosed upper room and bestows the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, he does so quietly, in peace, with an action that requires one to be still and silent in order to perceive.
There is a paradox presented here: even while knowing the great power of the Holy Spirit Pentecost calls to mind, I am prompted to simply sit with Jesus in the upper room of my heart. I want to invite him into any fears that may serve as closed doors to his presence, to trust that he is already there, promising the peace that surpasses all understanding. In stillness, in silence, I hear an invitation to wait in hope for the gentle breath of God to renew my spirit. For, like Mary and the apostles, I, too, am meant to be sent forth to be a vessel of Christ’s transformative, yet strikingly gentle, love in the world.
Prayer
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructed the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy your consolations, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Joanna was a laywoman from the first century who was married to the head servant to King Herod.
She followed Jesus and is mentioned in Luke’s Gospel when she provides for Jesus and the apostles out of her own resources (Lk 8:3). Tradition holds that when John the Baptist was killed, she obtained his head and buried it honorably.
Luke’s Gospel also tells us that Joanna was among the women who went to anoint Jesus’ body after his passion, death, and burial. She was among the first who were greeted with the news of the resurrection (Lk 24:10).
The chapel in Geddes Hall, which houses the Institute for Church Life and the Institute for Social Concerns, contains stained glass windows that depict the works of mercy. Joanna is one of the “myrrh-bearing women” who are shown in the window dedicated to “burying the dead." The relics of St. Joanna also rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus.
Joanna, disciple of Christ, whose care for Christ's dead body revealed to you his risen one—pray for us!