The journey from Easter to Pentecost is full of joy, wonder and anticipation. These were precious days together for Jesus and his disciples, culminating in the gift of the Holy Spirit, perhaps the most incredible legacy of all time, which continues today in the form of the Church, in other words, you and me.
A ‘legacy’ can be thought of in two ways. The material sort, when someone leaves a gift in their will to family, close friends and, sometimes, to the good causes they have supported in their lifetime. There is also what I call a ‘spiritual’ legacy, given by one person to another through the example of how they live. Both are valuable, but only the second is an inevitable part of all our lives.
No matter how we live our lives, we leave a legacy to others. How we speak and act every day towards our ‘neighbour’ sows a seed that may bear fruit in the moment, or gradually over time. Either way, it can be transformative.
Think of blind Bartimaeus, Mary Magdalene, the paralytic at Capernaum, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well and many others from the Gospels, who can all be considered beneficiaries of Jesus’ legacy, long before his death. Following Jesus’ ascension to heaven, the apostles at Pentecost and every generation since have inherited the task of continuing his legacy, ever grateful for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Columban Missionaries are beneficiaries of this legacy in no small measure thanks to YOU. Your prayers and donations plant seeds of faith, hope and love, enabling men and women to serve as Columban missionaries and to transform the lives of thousands around the world who receive the material and spiritual benefits of their presence and accompaniment over many years. So, it is with immense gratitude and humility that we call again upon your generosity and invite you to donate.
The Columbans and other Catholic charities, working together as ‘Your Catholic Legacy’, decided that Catholic Legacy Week (CLW) each year will begin on Pentecost Sunday – this year from 24-30 May 2026. For the Holy Spirit is one of the finest examples of a legacy gift.
Catholic Legacy Week celebrates how the seeds we sow daily in life grow to become blessings for people in need, including the migrant women in Peru and the indigenous Higaonon tribe in the Philippines featured in the latest Far East magazine. By making a gift in your will to the Columban Missionaries, you will plant one more seed that will bless and give life to God’s people in years to come.
I thank you and pray the Spirit of Pentecost will dwell always in your home and in your heart.
Yours in the Spirit
Fr. John Boles
Columban Director in Britain
Generous God, we thank you
For the people whose
lives have touched ours,
for the love they show,
the burdens they lift,
the hopes we share.
Compassionate God, we ask you
for a spirit of courage.
Lead us to play our part,
so that now and in
generations to come
all your children may share
in our hope for a better world.
Amen
Based on the Your Catholic Legacy prayer by Catherine Gorman/CAFOD
