Beloved in Jesus Christ, today is Pentecost. It is the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles as flames of fire above their heads, and so the color for Pentecost is red – for this ‘fire he brings.’
.
As Christ is the Head of the Church, so the Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church.[i] Today this Divine Spirit brings the Church alive, and so we say that Pentecost is the birthday of the Catholic Church.
.
Jesus said, ‘I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.’ ‘and the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things.[ii] It is the 3rd Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who vivifies the Sacraments which pour out grace, and who guards the true teaching of Mother Church. Because of the Holy Spirit, the blessings, the prayers, and the Masses bring down God’s salvific grace to mankind.
.
Our Blessed Lord prepared the Apostles, taught them, instructed them. But yet, the Church was not alive. The apostles did not understand many things; they abandoned the Lord at his Passion and forgot all he had told them. Life was not as yet in the Church. But the Holy Spirit changed everything, and the apostles became the greatest missionaries. This Good Spirit guides the Church, but let us today, see also how this Spirit acts in each person, in our own soul.
.
The Saints tell us,[iii] by Christ sending the Holy Spirit, we have become sharers in his Divine Nature. At our Baptism, and then in a new way at our Confirmation, we begin to live an entirely new kind of life in the Spirit. ‘It is no longer I who lives, says St. Paul, but Christ who lives in me.’ And this is how Christ lives in us: by the power of the Holy Spirit.
.
St. John Vianney said, ‘The Father is our Creator, the Son is our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit is our Guide. Man, by himself is nothing, but with the Holy Spirit he can be very great.’ Worldly people do not have the Holy Spirit, or if they do it is only for a moment; they are too busy with their sins. Those who are led by the Spirit have true ideas, that is the reason why so many simple peole are often wiser than the learned.
.
Jesus said: I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to dwell with you; you shall know him, because he will dwell with you, and be in you.’[iv]
The Holy Spirit is our glory.
St. Gregory of Nyssa says,[v] No one can deny that the Holy Spirit is called glory, for Christ has said, ‘the glory you gave to me Father, I have given to them.’ He gave this glory to us when he said, ‘Received the Holy Spirit.’ Christ received this glory when he put on human nature. When his human nature had been glorified by the Spirit, the glory of the Spirit was passed on to his kin. We are his ‘kin!’ This is why he said, ‘The glory you gave to me Father, I have given to them’
.
Let us see how the Holy Ghost transforms us. Here is what St. Cyril of Jerusalem said:[vi] He said, Christ associated the Holy Spirit with water. He said that he would give us Living Water. But why did the Lord call the grace of the Holy Spirit ‘water?’
.
Because all things are dependent on water; plants and animals depend on water. Water comes down from the skies as rain, and although it in itself is the same, water produces many different effects, one in the palm tree, another in the cactus, and another in the lily, and so on throughout the whole of creation.
.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit, whose nature is always the same, apportions grace to each person as he wills. Like a dry tree which puts forth shoots when watered, the soul bears the fruit of holiness when receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit makes one man a teacher of Faith, inspires another to preach, gives another the power to fight devils, enables another to interpret Scripture and empowers others to be Christian mothers or fathers.
.
The Spirit shows one man how to help the poor, and another is moved to be a martyr. Each person is special to this dear Holy Spirit. And his grace produces unique abilities, personalities, and strengths in each person. As the same water produces roses, daisies, and violets, the same Spirit produces saints of all types, each with unique fruits and gifts. The Holy Ghost comes gently, brings light and hope, and brings the tenderness of a true Friend.
.
You know, when young people first fall in love, they often say too quickly: ‘I love you.’ And sometimes they wish they would have waited to say that. As we grow older, we resist saying those words, because they risk our heart, and besides, those words, ‘I love you,’ produce a sort of commitment.
.
But we can say those words without any reluctance to the Good Holy Spirit. To tell him we love him with all our heart, involves no risk of rejection, and produces an expansion of love in our soul, which is his gift.
.
You know, it was to our Good Mother Mary that the Holy Spirit came, and brought alive Jesus in her – Let us daily ask this Good Mother to bring us this Holy Spirit – in ourselves – this life of Jesus.
.
[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Paul]
[i] Mystici Corporis
[ii] John 14:18, 14:25
[iii] Breviary II, p. 990.
[iv] John 14:15
[v] Breviary II, p. 958.
[vi] Brev II, p. 967
