Today, we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, bringing the gifts necessary to continue Jesus’ mission through his Church. After his resurrection, even though the doors were locked, Jesus stood before them and bade his peace. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’”
Jesus’ promise to his followers that he would not leave them alone or orphaned was fulfilled by the sending of His Spirit to dwell within them. St. Luke also recorded the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Acts of the Apostles. There, he describes the event as a strong, driving wind with tongues of fire descending from the sky. All those who received the Holy Spirit began to speak in diverse tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
From a myopic point of view, our experience with the gift of the Holy Spirit is far different from that of the early disciples. Chances are, we did not experience a driving wind, nor are we capable of speaking a different language without study and practice. Thinking that our experience should exactly mimic what St. Luke wrote actually makes the gift of the Holy Spirit banal.
Language can only do so much, and when we ponder eternal and divine subjects, it reveals the limitations of communication. It can only prompt us to begin our reflections on the Holy Spirit, but it can never define or exhaust the gift. The primary reason is that what we are contemplating is supernatural and eternal and cannot be fully comprehended by a mere human mind.
Having mentioned the caveat, we can, ironically, have an idea of God’s interaction with his people only through the gift of the Holy Spirit. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, our relatively limited intelligence is enhanced, enabling us to contemplate supernatural realities. We do so by reflecting on those moments when we have received the Spirit, just as the early disciples did.
When we begin to realize that the Holy Spirit is the animating force of the Church, we are more open to his workings in our lives. The Spirit given to the Church and subsequently to each of us through the sacraments is the way in which each member of the Body of Christ receives his Spirit.
Upon our baptism, our mortal bodies became the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This implies that the Holy Spirit resides in us and that we have become adopted sons and daughters of God. The miraculous gift of transforming the inevitability of death into the potential for eternal life is a supernatural reality far surpassing the mere driving of a strong wind.
When we need reconciliation, the Spirit urges us to examine our conscience and beg for God’s mercy and forgiveness. The Spirit also encourages us to reconcile with one another, no matter how difficult the task may be. Much more miraculous than tongues of fire.
Every Sunday, when we receive the Eucharist, it is the Spirit, working through the priest, who changes ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Savior. A miracle far greater than speaking a different language.
When we are confirmed in the Holy Spirit, we are given gifts enabling us to mature our faith and defend it. They are: wisdom; understanding; counsel; fortitude; knowledge, piety, and fear of God. All of these gifts enable us to have some knowledge of the supernatural realities of God and eternity.
When Jesus promised his people that he would not leave them orphans, the gift of his Spirit united them more closely to himself and, importantly, is the reason the Church is united as members of his Body.
One thing we rarely do as Christians is to pray directly to the Holy Spirit. On this Pentecost Sunday, let us pay special attention in our prayer today.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.