Solemnity of Pentecost – 2022
“A little boy walks into the Gathering Space of a large church and sees a bronze plaque on the wall with names on it. He asks an Usher, ‘What are all those names up there?’ The Usher says: those are the names of people who died in the service.’ Curious, the boy asked the Usher, which service, the 9:00 service or the 11:00 service?’”
But today, we are not talking about death but life, Life in the Holy Spirit. It is Pentecost and the Birthday of the Church.
So, what is the Holy Spirit? The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in paragraph
731 On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.”
So, we know that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, the third person of the Holy Trinity, given to us through the power of Christ.
The significance of the Holy Spirit descending on them was that their lives were transformed so that they could become powerful and courageous witnesses for Christ. Consequently, everything changed for the apostles. They were blessed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Any one of them could have rejected the Spirit because the Spirit never forces himself or gifts on anyone. But they freely chose to accept the Spirit and his gifts in their lives. The gifts included wisdom, understanding, right judgement, courage, knowledge, reverence, and the wonder and awe in God’s presence.
Applying this truth to ourselves, the Sacrament of Confirmation is our personal Pentecost event. It is the great sacrament of transformation. In confirmation we are “filled with the Holy Spirit and we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Our lives are transformed so that, like the apostles, we can be courageous witnesses for Christ. But also like the apostles, we must choose daily to welcome and accept the Holy Spirit through prayer. We must daily pray for the Holy Spirit to give us that which we need to be those courageous witnesses for Christ.
When we are responsive to the Holy Spirit in our lives, we joyfully proclaim the truth of God’s word in every situation, whatever the consequences. We remain committed to the Church as the guardian and teach of our faith. We truly strive to turn away from sin. By doing so, we begin to transform the world so that God’s presence is always glorified, and the many fruits of the Holy Spirit become evident in our lives and those around us.
Pentecost emphasizes the continuous outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church and the church’s worldwide mission. Pentecost every year should always remind us of our own Confirmation and the personal transformation that is possible in our lives if we pray to the Holy Spirit and open ourselves up to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit daily in our lives.
In conclusion, a parishioner sent me this analogy of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. “Grace is like making chocolate milk with syrup. When you add the syrup, it sinks to the bottom and just lays there. The Holy Spirit is like the spoon that stirs the grace up and transforms a person just as the syrup changes the plain milk into chocolate.
We have a great deal of work to do in transforming our lives, our families, our parishes, our workplaces, and this world. Let us start by daily praying to the Holy Spirit to transform first, our hearts.
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.
O GOD, WHO BY THE LIFHT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, DID INSTRUCT THE HEARTS OF THE FAITHFUL, GRANT THAT BY THE SAME HOLY SPIRIT WE MAY BE TRULY WISE AND EVER ENJOY HIS CONSOLATION. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD, AMEN.