As we celebrate Pentecost and conclude the Easter season, we recall the Apostles waiting in fear and uncertainty for the promised Paraclete. Though anxious and unsure of what would come next, they remained together in prayer until the Holy Spirit transformed their fear into courage and mission.

That faithful endurance reminds me of the witness of American POWs during the Vietnam War, including many Catholic prisoners who survived years of isolation and suffering. Several later spoke about how the greatest battle was not physical hardship, but resisting despair. Some communicated by tapping messages through prison walls. Others quietly prayed the Rosary from memory or recited Scripture they had learned long before captivity. One Catholic POW recalled hearing another prisoner whisper the Our Father through a wall at night. In that moment, he said, he realized he was not abandoned, neither by his fellow prisoners nor by God.

What sustained these men was not knowing when freedom would come but remaining faithful while waiting. They learned to live one day at a time, rooted in prayer, discipline, fraternity, and hope. In many ways, this reflects the experience of the Apostles before Pentecost. The Spirit did not erase suffering or danger; the Spirit gave them the strength to persevere through it, and yes, even moment of peace.

I love the Hebrew word Shalom, which expresses this deeply. For the people of Israel, Shalom meant more than the absence of conflict. It meant wholeness, communion with God, and an interior peace that could endure even amid trials.

Our ministry demands much of us, but Pentecost reminds us that our strength comes not simply from activity, but from remaining rooted in Christ through continual prayer and examen. When ministry flows from that communion, the Holy Spirit sustains us with the gift we most need: the enduring peace of Christ. Shalom brothers.

J. Mike McGrath (Former POW - Hanoi Hilton - Vietnam)

In Christ the Servant + Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Receive + Believe + Teach + Practice