Writers often work a year out, so the last blog published about Pentecost was written before I attended a celebration of the feast so lively it has stayed with me for weeks, continuing to resonate.
Imagine St. Therese Parish in Seattle, WA at 9 am June 8. The altar cloth suggests flames of crimson and gold. Above the altar, fabric in the same colors blows in the breeze. Vestments are a bold scarlet, and most participants wear red or orange. The choir is spirited, their music vibrant and pulsing. But what really strikes me is the homily by Father Phil Boroughs, SJ.
He recalls saying Mass for a group in the crypt of St. Peter’s. They arrived at 6 am, before the basilica opens, and were escorted to their spot by the Swiss guard. As they walked the circle around Peter’s tomb, they saw other groups from around the world, celebrating in many languages. That scene in Rome echoed one in Jerusalem centuries before when visitors from many lands voiced their astonishment:
“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,…
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God” (Acts 2:7-12).
It struck then: the universality of the Catholic church is the antidote to the ridiculous effort of the US administration to quash diversity. In some misguided, racist attempt to create a whites-only world, they have ordered international students to go home. At Harvard, for example, 6,700 students from around the world bring a rich blend of different cultures and experiences that benefit all the students. Who knows: might one of those students from abroad return home and eventually become a Prime Minister with friendly ties to the US? Might one, exposed to cutting edge science, come closer to researching a cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s?
As some readers may remember, I haven’t always been a fan of the patriarchal hierarchy suggested by the massive, heavy architecture of the Vatican. I searched in vain for some trace there of the poor carpenter who began it all. But from another angle: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues” (Acts 2:4). Humans can evolve beyond tribalism, beyond suspicion or hatred of anyone different. The insecure and anxious fear the ”other.” But many, despite differences, unite in common cause, with the same hopes, ideals, values and leader. The languages and cultures gathered in St. Peter’s reflect the vast diversity of God’s creation: 400 kinds of mangos, 11,000 species of birds, between 5.5. and 30 million insect species, 4000 kinds of potatoes. If God so loves variety, why don’t we?
Kathy Coffey 
Thank you! A very helpful article—lovely and timely.