By Father Jacob Dankasa
Special to The Texas Catholic
As we journey through the Easter season, the Church leads us from the Ascension of the Lord to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and finally to the solemn celebration of the Most Holy Trinity. These feasts are not isolated moments on the calendar. They form a single movement of God’s love, a movement that invites us to stay close to the Lord and to live as the Apostles lived. This is also why, during the Easter season, the Church places such emphasis on the Acts of the Apostles. Acts is not just a historical book; it is the living picture of what happens when ordinary people take Jesus seriously, allow the Holy Spirit to breathe life into them, and live in the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Acts is Easter in action.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he left his disciples with words that carried the weight of a final instruction: “You are witnesses.”
Last words matter. Families treasure them, repeat them, and live by them. The disciples did the same, and because they took those words to heart, the Gospel reached the ends of the earth. To witness means to stand on behalf of another and testify to the truth. In a courtroom, a witness can strengthen or destroy a case. A poor witness damages credibility; a faithful witness brings clarity. The same is true of our Christian life. Our words, our actions, our character either testify for Christ or against him.
Pope Paul VI once said that modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers (“Evangelii Nuntiandi,” 40). We cannot teach what we do not live. A priest who preaches compassion but does not visit the sick, a parent who teaches kindness but practices resentment, and a Christian who defends the faith with insults are examples of teaching without witnessing, and teaching without witnessing is hollow. The Ascension reminds us that Jesus’ final command is not to argue for him but to witness to him.
Pentecost shows us how that witness becomes possible. When Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he was giving them the breath of new life. In Scripture, breath is always a sign of life — God breathed into Adam and he became a living being; God breathed over dry bones and they rose. When Jesus died, it was as though the disciples’ spiritual life support had been unplugged. They were afraid, confused, and powerless; but when the Holy Spirit came, everything changed. Fear became courage. Silence became proclamation. Weakness became strength. The Holy Spirit became their new life support, and he is ours as well.
Yet, many Christians today live spiritually breathless lives. Prayer fades. Joy disappears. Faith becomes something to hide rather than profess. The Spirit is present but dormant. A family without prayer becomes spiritually lifeless. A believer ashamed of the faith becomes spiritually breathless. A community that stops listening to the Spirit becomes spiritually stagnant. Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit is the breath that keeps our faith alive, but like any life support, it only works if we stay connected to it.
The celebration of the Most Holy Trinity crowns the Easter season with a profound truth: God is relationship. One God, three Persons, united in love, distinct in relation. We cannot fully explain this mystery, but we can live its meaning. The Trinity is a model of unity, a unity without jealousy, suspicion, or broken communication. It is the kind of unity families long for, friendships depend on, and communities desperately need. Many homes today suffer, not from lack of faith, but from lack of trinitarian unity: communication broken, affection lost, transparency absent. Couples live like roommates; children grow confused and wounded by division.
The Trinity teaches us that distinct persons can coexist beautifully when love is the binding force. It teaches us that our relationship with God is incomplete unless it flows into our relationship with our neighbor. Our spiritual life is a triangle: God at the top and each of us at the base corners. We reach God by loving one another. People behave like whatever god they worship. If we worship a God of love, we must become people of love.
This is why the Church gives us the Acts of the Apostles during Easter. Acts shows us what happens when Christians take Jesus’ final words seriously, breathe deeply of the Spirit, and live in the unity of the Trinity. The early Christians did not merely remember the Resurrection; they embodied it. They did not simply profess faith; they practiced it. They did not just receive the Spirit; they followed the Spirit.
Our post-Easter reflections should lead us to the same transformation. The world still needs witnesses. The Church still needs Spirit-filled disciples. Our families still need trinitarian love. And the Book of Acts is still being written — through us.
Father Jacob Dankasa is the pastor of Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Parish.
Cutline for featured image: The Holy Spirit and a lantern flame symbolizing the sacrament of confirmation are depicted in a stained-glass window at Sts. Cyril & Methodius Church in Deer Park, New York. (GREGORY A. SHEMITZ/Catholic News Service)
