This Sunday is the feast of Pentecost. Jesus has ascended into heaven. The disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit and talk in the different languages of the people listening (Acts 2:1-21). Pentecost is the foundation of the Christian church; it is also an early example of the medium being the message. Marshall Mcluhan (1964) coined the phrase the 'medium is the message' to refer to how the mass-media of communications (radio, television, the press, the Internet) has changed our lives. He suggests that the personal and social significance of the Internet or mobile phone goes beyond any information we might read or conversations we might have. The medium becomes an extension of how we live: blackberries, television, facebook, cinemas and soap operas all become a part of how we relate to the world. The logic is true also of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost the crowd are amazed not so much at what the disciples are saying as at their ability to do so. The disciples speak with the tongues of angels and everyone understands what they mean. The significance for us is that we can do the same. Don't simply think before you say something; try praying before you speak.

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