During these days before Pentecost, we are waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit to be given anew. We are also waiting every day for the coming of the Lord. Today’s liturgy suggests that whatever the circumstances, we can await both events in peace and calm. The prayers and readings provide us the basis for having such an attitude.

Jesus said, “I pray for them.” His disciples were his chief concern, and that includes us as well. Do we ever really appreciate the powerful support this brief assurance offers? Faith enables us to recognise the Son of God made man in the one who has spoken. The Gospel reading gives us an idea of the intensity of the prayer of Jesus for us. How then can we yield to despondency or be discouraged by hardships, sufferings and even persecution?

Faith helps us to see our peacefulness and calmness in the midst of adversities as an indication of the presence of the Spirit in our lives. God may use us as instruments to make his presence visible to others. Reflection on Jesus’ words that he prays for us give us the assurance that we shall not be overcome.

Waiting and hoping go hand in hand. Unlike the waiting airline passenger, the Christian who awaits the coming of the Lord now or at the end of time, need not be anxious or apprehensive. God’s Spirit of hope is in his heart. Therefore whatever happens, can wait in joy.

After the Ascension of Jesus to his Father, the apostles felt lonely and insecure despite Jesus’ promise that they would receive the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless they were not without hope. Their hope was firmly anchored on God’s faithfulness gloriously manifested in the resurrection of the Lord. They could not allow themselves to be distracted my doubts and fears. They settled down calmly together in prayer to await with faith and hope for the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus. Like them, we should be filled with a similar hope rooted in God’s faithfulness to his word.

In the encyclical on the Holy Spirit, the pope remarks that in a certain sense, the Church has never left the upper room where the apostles awaited the coming of the Spirit. Like the apostles, we persevere in our prayer with Mary, for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday.

Yet, the world today is sunk in a morass of hopelessness and crying out for hope. What the modern world with its increasing secularism and consumerism needs is to experience the joyful reality of the Holy Spirit. And he will come with all his strength and power to lift us in hope. As those who believe and wait in patience and faith, we need to make visible this sense of hope to the world around us in the manner we relate with and serve others.