On Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles and to the large crowd of people who became Christian that day because of their witness; about 3,000 people were baptized and accepted the message of the apostles. The apostles went from the shelter of the Upper Room to the streets, emboldened to preach the message of the Risen Lord. Prepare for Mass by reading the whole story in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2.
At the time of Jesus, Pentecost was a Jewish harvest festival called Shavuot. It was celebrated 50 days after Passover. The firstfruits of the harvest were presented to God with thanksgiving. The feast also remembers the giving of the law to Moses on Mt Sinai.
The United States has been called the great Melting Pot of the world because it has been a place that welcomed immigrants from every land. This diversity has been a blessing and a challenge. Each new wave of immigrants from another land had to fight prejudice, learn a new language, and was gradually assimilated into the country. The United States became richer as ethnic customs, foods, and cultures became part of the landscape. Native Americans have faced challenges in being extended similar respect, but slowly we are recognizing their place as the indigenous people.
If I were writing this blog a few years ago, I would have said that we are looking at more of a mosaic instead of a melting pot. The goal is not assimilation but tolerance for and accommodation of multiculturalism. But the topic of immigration is even more controversial today, mixed with worries about crime and terrorism, fear of another culture, and general apprehension about the future. What role does the Church play in “welcoming the stranger” and immigration on this feast of people speaking in multiple languages?
