As recorded in Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, the Apostles proclaimed the Gospel for the first time on Pentecost. When all was said and done, 3,000 people had been added to the Church. That must have been some proclamation!

What accounts for its power? The crowds who gathered to hear the Apostles weren’t “wowed” by healings or miracles or impressed by soaring rhetoric. Rather, what captured their imagination was the total lack of inhibition displayed by the Apostles; so much so that the crowds commented that perhaps these followers of Jesus had been drinking too much wine. And in truth, the Apostles were preaching while intoxicated—not with “spirits,” but with the Holy Spirit. The crowds saw a group of men who should have been terrified to set foot in public taking to the streets filled with uninhibited joy and enthusiasm for Jesus Christ. It was this dramatic and observable transformation in the behavior of a small group of former fishermen and tax collectors that caught the attention of thousands and led them to “sign on” that very day.

—Excerpted from Under the Influence of Jesus by Joe Paprocki

Easter Action

►  Read Pentecost Astonishment by Pope Francis.

►  Reflect on the Gospel for Pentecost with the Sunday Connection.

© Copyright 2017 Loyola Press. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission – https://www.loyolapress.com. https://www.ignatianspirituality.com