Today we recall the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus gathered together in the upper room with the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day the Church was “born,” as the disciples were enlightened and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to the saving death and resurrection of Jesus through all the world.
The icon presented here is from the Maronite Catholic Church, which continues the traditions of the ancient Church of Antioch. The Catholics who live in today’s Lebanon are Maronite. This icon was “written” in Lebanon by Father Abdo Badawi. Lebanese Christians have suffered much over the past half century from the wars that divide the Middle East, including the present war. Numerous Christian villages in the south of Lebanon have been among those destroyed since the 2026 war began, and over a million people have become refugees.
Pope Leo reminds us today that the Holy Spirit brings peace and reconciliation by changing our hearts. The Spirit works not by the reckless schemes and indiscriminate destruction too often inflicted on the poor by worldly powers, but by “the omnipotence of love” that converts us and draws us to the Heart of Jesus.
"Dear friends, with fervent hearts, let us pray today that the Spirit of the risen One may save us from the evil of war, which is overcome not by a superpower, but by the omnipotence of love. Let us pray that he free humanity from misery, which is redeemed not by immeasurable wealth, but by an inexhaustible gift. Let us pray that he heal us from the scourge of sin through the salvation proclaimed to all peoples in the name of Jesus. This is the grace that instills courage in the Apostles; may he similarly instill it in us, today and always, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church" (Pope Leo XIV, homily for Pentecost 2026).
