Pentecost! A wonderful solemnity for the whole Church. This Sunday closes the time of Easter – however it opens the missionary time of every Christian, of every baptised person who, with a heart full of joy and faith, can proclaim the good news of the Gospel, of the infinite love of God for all of us, excluding no one!
We can therefore define Pentecost as “the birthday of the Church”, the day when the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples so that they can pass on the Gospel through the centuries. Let us never forget, we are the disciples of 2025, Jesus trusts us, counts on us, and even if our lives are often difficult, he puts in our hands an invaluable treasure which is his gospel!
However there is a very beautiful feature of Pentecost that is very much related to Scouting. What sign was given to the disciples? In the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, it is written: « And, there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each of them. » (Acts 2:3)
Tongues of fire! Here is the fire. We, the scouts, are used to live the fire in the evening in our camps as a time of gathering, sharing and joy. This sign given by God to the disciples has the same meaning as 2000 years ago: we are called to be tongues of fire for others, to bring joy, peace and communion. Fire has two qualities: it illuminates and it warms up. These are the pillars that a scout should always have: illuminate the way of the youngest with the light of faith and warm up the hearts of the youngest with the joy of the gospel. So, happy Pentecost dear scout, good Christian missionary journey and remember: you must always be ready to light the way with faith and warm up hearts with joy, always!