Catechesis Notes for the Week — The Gift of the Holy Spirit and the Gospel of Matthew—This week of Pentecost we meditate upon the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised the Apostles, “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” This promise guaranteed for them the miracle of the New Testament Scriptures. The Apostles witnessed everything that Jesus said and did. They witnessed His ministry as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. The Holy Spirit would bring this to their remembrance so that they could faithfully testify to Jesus in the New Testament Scriptures and deliver this message to us. Through the Apostolic Word we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and come to know and believe in all that Jesus is and has done for us and for the world. The promise of the Holy Spirit first given to the Apostles also applies to us as we hear and receive their testimony. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts and lives through the Word. The first three days this week we meditate upon the appointed readings for Pentecost, Pentecost Monday, and Pentecost Tuesday. The remainder of the summer we hear the voice of the Spirit as we walk through the eyewitness testimony of the Apostle and Evangelist, St. Matthew. Notice how often Matthew’s testimony of Jesus life and ministry is laced with quotations and allusions to the Old Testament witness of the prophets. In this way, our faith is strengthened by the two-fold witness of the Apostles and Prophets and Jesus is shown to be the savior of all nations as foretold in Old Testament and witnessed by the Apostles.CP230528