Introduction
The word “vigil” comes from the Latin word vigilia, which means “a watching” or “keeping watch.” In the Church, this term designates the day before a prominent feast or solemnity, a day set apart by the Church as a preparation for the greater day that follows it.
The word “Pentecost” has its origins in Greek and it means “fiftieth.” Fifty days after Easter Sunday, we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early disciples.
Because the arrival of the Holy Spirit enabled the apostles to launch their earthly ministry to make disciples of all nations, Pentecost is also celebrated as the birth of the Church. From that point on, the apostles carried the message of Christ to the whole world.
1st Reading – Genesis 11:1-9
The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.
While the people were migrating in the east,
they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
They said to one another,
“Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.”
They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city
and a tower with its top in the sky,
and so make a name for ourselves;
otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.”
The LORD came down to see the city and the tower
that the people had built.
Then the LORD said: “If now, while they are one people,
all speaking the same language,
they have started to do this,
nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.
Let us then go down there and confuse their language,
so that one will not understand what another says.”
Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth,
and they stopped building the city.
That is why it was called Babel,
because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world.
It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.
The well-known story of the Tower of Babel illustrates man’s increasing wickedness, shown in his presumptuous effort to create an urban culture apart from God.
This reading takes place hundreds of years after Noah and the great flood. In Genesis 9:1, after Noah and his family left the ark, God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.”
Tradition holds that Noah’s three sons did just that, and repopulated the earth. Each of them are regarded as the ancestors of different peoples:
- Shem is considered the ancestor of the Semitic peoples, including the Hebrews and Arabs.
- Ham is associated with various African and Near Eastern peoples.
- Japheth is associated with European and some Asian peoples.
The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words. While men were migrating in the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
The people referenced here are Hamites — Genesis 10:10 tells us that the sons of Ham settled in the region of Shinar, in southern Mesopotamia.
Shinar appears later in scripture as Chaldea, or the land of the Chaldeans.
They said to one another, “Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.” They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Due to the lack of naturally occurring stone or mortar in the area, they make bricks and use bitumen, a sticky, black pitch, to hold them together.
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky,
Babylonian ziggurats were the earliest skyscrapers. Temple designations in Mesopotamia contain phrases like “reaching the heavens.”
The tremendous effort of building a tower with homemade bricks shows how determined they were to rebel.
and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.”
The people of Shinar seek to build a tower with its top in the heavens to “make a name for themselves,” repeating the pattern begun in the Garden of Eden: man’s attempt to achieve divine power and status on his own — to “be like God but without God” (CCC 398).
The LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men had built.
This is likely intended as irony. The people were attempting to construct a tower that would reach the heavens, but it was so puny by God’s standards that he can barely make it out. They didn’t even come close to reaching him, he must “come down” to see it.
Then the LORD said: “If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.
God has given humankind the gift of free will. If they aren’t made to understand the result of their disobedience now, they will never learn.
Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says.” Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city.
God halts their sinful ambition by destroying their unity, the source of their power.
Humanity’s divisiveness endures today as an ongoing consequence of our pride and sinfulness.
That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world.
Babel is the Hebrew form of “Babylon” and stems from balal, which means “to confuse” or “to mix.”
This may have been meant by the Hebrew author as sharp humor; a mockery of Babylon and its claims to be so mighty over other peoples.
It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.
God’s response to this rebellion is yet another example of his profound mercy. Rather than punishing the people in proportion to the severity of their rebellion, he confuses their language and disperses them throughout the earth. This resonates with God’s original instruction to Adam and Eve, commanding them to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Essentially, God redirects them onto his intended path, offering them another chance to align themselves with his divine plan.
As we will see in the first reading of tomorrow’s celebration, the scattering of people and confusing of languages was reversed at Pentecost, when people from all over the world, through the power of the Holy Spirit, were each able to understand the apostles in their own language (Acts 2:1-11).
2nd Reading – Romans 8:22-27
Brothers and sisters:
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
For in hope we were saved.
Now hope that sees is not hope.
For who hopes for what one sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.
In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.
Our second reading discusses the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Brothers and sisters: We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
The passage begins by stating that all of creation, including the natural world, is subject to frustration and eagerly awaits its liberation from the effects of sin.
and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
Brokenness and a longing for restoration extend to Christians as well. We too groan inwardly as we eagerly await our full adoption as children of God. There is tension and yearning within us for complete redemption and the consummation of our relationship with God.
When Paul refers to the “firstfruits of the Spirit,” he is highlighting the initial or early manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of believers. The term “firstfruits” carries agricultural imagery, referring to the first portion of the harvest that is offered to God as a consecrated offering of the entire harvest (Leviticus 23:15-21).
In this context, the “firstfruits of the Spirit” signifies the beginning of the Spirit’s transformative work in the lives of believers, the first evidence of their new identity as children of God. These initial experiences of the Spirit’s presence and work serve as a foretaste and guarantee of the fullness of God’s promises that will be realized in the future.
With the firstfruits of the Spirit, the Christian looks forward to the full harvest of glory, the redemption of the body.
For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.
Paul explains that our hope is not in what we can currently see or possess, but in what is yet to come. We wait for our redemption with patient endurance, knowing that our ultimate salvation lies in the future fulfillment of God’s promises.
In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness;
“Our weakness” is more than physical infirmity, it’s the totality of the human condition. Humans are inherently feeble, prone to ignorance and making mistakes.
for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groaning.
Even when we don’t know how to pray or express our deepest needs, the Spirit understands and intercedes on our behalf, aligning our prayers to God’s will with groanings too deep for words.
And the one who searches hearts
An Old Testament phrase for God (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; Psalm 7:11; 17:3; 139:1).
God possesses complete knowledge and understanding of the human heart, surpassing external appearances, and has the ability to judge individuals with righteousness and truth.
knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.
Paul assures us that God understands the intentions and desires of the Spirit’s intercession. The Spirit intercedes for us according to God’s purposes and with perfect understanding.
Note that Paul refers to these prayerful weak human beings as holy ones, or saints. Such a reference itself reveals something about his understanding of holiness; specifically, that weakness is not an obstacle to it.
“It is clear that the prayer of every spirit is known to God, from whom nothing is secret or hidden (see Job 37:16; Acts 15:18; 1 John 3:20) How much more then should [the Father] know what the Holy Spirit, who is the same essence as Himself, is saying?” [The Ambrosiaster (ca. 366-384 AD), Commentaries on Thirteen Pauline Epistles]
Gospel – John 7:37-39
On the last and greatest day of the feast,
Jesus stood up and exclaimed,
“Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.
As Scripture says:
Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.“
He said this in reference to the Spirit
that those who came to believe in him were to receive.
There was, of course, no Spirit yet,
because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Our gospel reading takes place in Jerusalem about six months before Jesus’ death. He has traveled to the holy city to partake in the feast of Tabernacles, which lasted eight days.
On each of the feast days, the high priest would sprinkle water from the pool of Siloam upon the altar in the temple, commemorating the miraculous water that once flowed from a rock in the desert (Exodus 17:1-7). This temple ritual served as a plea to God for abundant rainfall and bountiful harvests.
Meanwhile, a verse from the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 12:3) was recited, heralding the coming of the Savior and the outpouring of heavenly gifts that would accompany him. Ezekiel 47 was also read, which spoke of torrents of water pouring out of the temple, representing the life-giving power of God’s presence and the abundant blessings that he bestows on his people.
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed,
Jesus makes a proclamation when there is a large number of people to hear it, and as the last point they’ll hear before leaving to go home.
The fact that John describes him as exclaiming this message indicates urgency and earnestness.
“Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.
His message is open to all: anyone who thirsts.
Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’” He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive.
Jesus is probably referring to Ezekiel 36:25-38, which foretells a spiritual cleansing of the people through the sprinkling of clean water. Their hearts of stone will be replaced with hearts of flesh, receptive to God’s will.
Jesus, once he has ascended to heaven and is exalted at the right hand of God the Father, will send the Holy Spirit, who will change the hearts of those who believe in him.
There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Codex Vaticanus and early Latin, Syriac, and Coptic versions of the gospel state “no Spirit yet given.”
This doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit has been dormant until now. When the Old Testament prophets spoke, they were inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21) and there are many New Testament passages that describe the action of the Spirit, for example:
- The Holy Spirit overshadows the Blessed Virgin at the Annunciation,
- The Spirit moves Zechariah to prophesy the wonders of the Lord,
- The Holy Spirit prompts Simeon to proclaim that the savior of the world has come.
The sending of the Spirit after Jesus’ ascension, at Pentecost, is an outpouring of such a kind that had never occurred before.
Tonight, at the vigil of the Pentecost, we are on the verge of this glorious event. We wait with anticipation.
Connections and Themes
Pentecost. Tonight, we eagerly await the powerful fulfillment of Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit, and the readings amplify our anticipation. At Pentecost, the Spirit’s gift will be bestowed, and the living water promised by Jesus will flow. Our confusion of languages will be reversed, and all will understand the apostles in their own language. We will be united as the body of Christ.
But for now, we wait, remaining vigilant and filled with expectant prayer for the gifts God will bestow, empowering us to spread the Gospel. Tonight, we “hope for what we do not see,” and “we wait with endurance.”
Rivers of living water. The Holy Spirit is not merely bestowed upon us; in the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit emanates from within us. It is as if each of us, through baptism, transforms into the very water by which we were baptized. Not only do our hearts experience purification, but we also become instruments for purifying our world from sin. We become carriers of the Holy Spirit, radiating its transformative power. Just as our responsorial psalm proclaims, these rivers of the Spirit will rejuvenate and revive the entire face of the earth!
Sunday Readings 