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Come, Holy Spirit
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Dear parishioners,
Hope you are doing well, and enjoying the warm weather? Congratulations to all our college graduates and their families. You have worked hard and deserve all the good wishes. We pray for your success, and look forward to the great things the Lord would accomplish through you. Thank you for your prayers for me and our troops. You are in my heart and prayers. I am also praying for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all the men of our parish who are participating in the upcoming Men's Retreat (June 3 - 4).
Christians commemorate the solemnity of Pentecost on the fiftieth day after Easter. Originally, Pentecost, Greek "Pentekoste," was one of the three major Jewish agricultural festivals marked by a pilgrimage of adult Jews to Jerusalem. It was celebrated fifty days after Passover. It was on this auspicious occasion, when Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims, that the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, who were locked in the Upper Room, for fear of the Jews. They spoke of the marvels of God in different languages, and the people could understand them. This event was the turning point in the lives of a once timid and cowardly band of disciples, making them fearless and courageous preachers, ready to risk even death in defense of their faith in the risen Christ. These were the same disciples who fled on the night Jesus was captured, who denied knowing him, and watched from afar as he was tortured and led to his death. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon them confirmed their faith that Jesus was truly the Christ. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth, whom Jesus promised would teach his disciples everything. He does not speak of himself, but reveals God and makes Christ known to us. As the Catechism affirms, “no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (CCC 687).
Pentecost is a reversal of the Babel experience. Whereas God confused the language of the people, who in an act of disregard for divine transcendence, planned to build the Tower, God brought about the unity of understanding of the many tribes of people by making them understand the preaching of the disciples. The Holy Spirit who came down on Pentecost is the principle of unity in the Church. He brings people from different nations, tribes and tongues to confess the one faith. They are no longer Jews or Gentiles, slaves or freeborn, but the one people of God. The Holy Spirit is essential to the life and mission of the church because he animates the church to bear witness to Christ in the world. Without the Holy Spirit, the church would not be any different from a social club or association of like-minded people who come together for mutual, albeit temporary benefits. It is the Holy Spirit that helps us live true to our baptism and keeps our focus always on Jesus and on the life of heaven. Without the Holy Spirit we would lose our purpose and the reason for being church. This is why where the spirit of God is absent there is no direction. The Spirit of God makes us cry out Abba Father! It is the Spirit of adoption, which makes us children of God through the waters of baptism. It is the Spirit of anointing, who claims us for Christ by the seal we receive in the sacraments of Christian initiation. The Spirit of the Lord makes us free-born sons and daughters of God, for where the Spirit of God is there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17). The Holy Spirit is the spirit of our confession. It is because we have the Holy Spirit that we can confess Jesus as Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3).
As we celebrate this great feast, we are reminded of our continued need for the Holy Spirit. We must ask for this gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us on our pilgrim journey on earth. We must pray fervently for this Spirit to reveal who Jesus is to us, and help us to love him and follow him faithfully. We must pray for the Holy Spirit to guide our church and to direct her shepherds as they lead the flock of Christ. We must ask the Holy Spirit to help us be bold and courageous witnesses to Jesus wherever we find ourselves. Let us pray together this prayer of St. Augustine:
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit,
That I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit,
To defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
That I always may be holy. Amen.
