We live in a world where diversity is a growing part of our every day life. The unfamiliar sounds of languages not our own remind us of the constant changes that are taking place all around us. Sometimes we may feel unsure of ourselves as the world around us experiences dramatic changes. A casual walk down by the river reminds us of the differences we experience. In the common vocabulary of the time people will say: "Well, it is what it is." These words offer a kind of surrender to changes we cannot control.

I am drawn to such reflection about the world in which we live as I think of the foundational feast of Pentecost that we celebrate on Sunday, May 11. I listen again to St. Luke's description of that first Pentecost. "Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim." These words offer but a brief flavor of what it must have been like on that first Pentecost.

The people heard the once frightened and confused St. Peter preach in so powerful a way that on that first day three thousand people were added to the followers of Jesus. They were not a crowd of disconnected individuals, but rather they became a community of believers whose strength was that they became one.

This Pentecost celebration reminds us that we are true to our union with Christ when we are united with one another. Our doors must be open to all and our hearts filled with love for all. Our strength is that we are a community.

Last Sunday Michael Rainville spoke after all the Masses about the roots of our parish among the French Canadian Catholics of the 1870's. Together they founded this parish in order to help French Canadians to have a community where they could worship in their own language. About the same time the Germans, the Polish, the Italians and still others in Northeast established local communities to serve the needs of immigrants. All were bound together in one community of the Catholic Church. Our faith bound them together even when languages and customs might have made people seem different.

The first community of Christians in Jerusalem understood the essential message of being a community where understanding, love, and welcome were at the heart of their love for Christ. It is a lesson every generation of Christians must learn.

The list of parishioners here at Our Lady of Lourdes reflects the French origins of the parish. We rejoice in that. The spirit of the parish is to welcome those who stop by, no matter their origin. The Spirit of Pentecost is alive and active here. May the Spirit of God continue to make it so.