A Father's Pentecost

A Father’s Pentecost
On Pentecost Sunday the Holy Spirit descends upon the disciples in the upper room with the roar of a divine wind and in the form of tongues of fire. Each disciple is filled with the fire of the Spirit and ready to proclaim the good news of the risen Christ (Acts 2:2-4).

This past Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon me, my father and family. Our “upper room” was a hospital room at Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton. In the weeks prior to Pentecost my dad was gravely ill. We did not know whether he would live or not and was on total life support. My family and I huddled in our “upper room” in the hospital and prayed together for healing and peace. Like the disciples, we were lost and saddened at the prospect of losing a loved one forever.

On Pentecost Sunday (also my parents 51st wedding anniversary), my mom and I attended the 11 o’clock Mass, sang in the choir, prayed with our church family and went off to Good Samaritan to be with dad. In our upper room at Good Sam we experienced the descent of the Holy Spirit upon our family. When mom and I arrived we discovered that dad had been taken off the ventilator the day before and we found him sitting up in bed grinning from ear-to-ear wishing my mom a happy anniversary in his own voice. We knew the Holy Spirit was present! We knew dad would be okay. (Come Holy Spirit!) A long road of rehab awaits, but the gift of that day will always remain with us. At the end of the day, God gave us the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen, full of hot pinks and reds… the sky was afire with the Spirit! God was telling us, too, that all is well and He is with us always.

This Father’s Day I am so grateful to God for my dad, his wisdom, joyous nature and love for his family. So often we let our busy schedules get in the way of our loved ones. This Father’s Day let us take time out for our fathers to show them love and companionship. Let us pray for all fathers on this day and remember those fathers who are deceased. Let us greet the fathers we see at Mass today with love and encouragement. Happy Father’s Day and… …God Bless, Holly Clark