Solemnity of Pentecost
Who is the Holy Spirit? I will admit, growing up He was the Person of the Blessed Trinity with whom I was least familiar (luckily, He was much more familiar with me!). But we grow up hearing about God the Father, and of course, as Christians, we spend much of our time focusing on the work of Jesus, the Son. We talk about the Holy Spirit, but usually in relationship to Jesus. So as we celebrate Pentecost, it can all seem a bit out there.
The Holy Spirit demonstrates power. In the Book of Exodus, as the people go to worship God on the mountain, there are peals of thunder and lightning, a cloud over the mountain, and very loud trumpet blasts. Smokes rises from Mt. Sinai, as the Lord came down in fire. The Holy Spirit was demonstrating power. The same happened in the upper room: the Holy Spirit shook the room, and tongues as of fire appeared over the apostles’ and disciples’ heads. In the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, the Holy Spirit gives life to the dry bones, and in the Book of the Prophet Joel, the Holy Spirit is promised to help the people prophesy and work wonders. Throughout the history of the Church, the Holy Spirit has demonstrated power, not only in the magnificent ways, but even in smaller, yet equally powerful ways. Each time Mass is celebrated, the Holy Spirit transforms bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. I have spoken to you of priests I know whom the Holy Spirit utilizes to heal others (the work is the Holy Spirit, the vessel is the priest). Lay men and women are given incredible courage and strength to talk about Jesus, not only in the old days to Roman governors and foreign kings, but even in our own days. One of our own young parishioners shared an account with me of how the Holy Spirit answered his prayer through a phrase from Scripture that a friend spoke to him after He asked God for a sign. The Holy Spirit continues to exercise His power in the world.
The Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus. In John’s Gospel, Jesus breathes on the apostles and says, “‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.’” Jesus came to reveal God the Father, to share the truth about what truly makes us happy as human persons created in the image and likeness of God, and to share the mercy of God. The Holy Spirit continues to do that. Through the proclamation of the Word of God, especially at Mass, we come to know the Father better. Through the teachings of the Church, we learn the truth about how we can experience the joy and peace that God desires for all His children. Through the Sacrament of Penance especially, we receive the mercy of God. In this way, the ministry of Jesus spreads throughout the whole world, and is not limited to Palestine.
So what? Who cares? All of those things are nice, but to what end? We need unity, and not simply around the lowest common denominator of belief, but unity in the truth. We need a unified goal towards which we can apply the diversity of our gifts. And this is certainly true as a parish. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us proclaim the Gospel, not only in what we do, but also by what we say. Without this sharing of the truth, by showing the power of the Holy Spirit to make even the meekest person share Jesus as Lord, our parish will continue to shrink. We need to continue the mercy of Jesus, because that is what we are about as a Church: not a social club, not a weekly meeting of people who live in the same area, but those who are committed to continue, by the power of the Holy Spirit, what Jesus Himself did and taught.
We may not be as familiar with the Holy Spirit, but we need Him, now as much as at any time. We need the unifying power of the Holy Spirit continuing the work of Jesus in us. The growth of our parish depends on it! Come, Holy Spirit!
