Just a couple of weeks ago, Pope Benedict spoke about the Holy Spirit as a real presence in our lives in his weekly address in St Peter’s Square. The pope said that all “Christians should avail themselves to the Holy Spirit in prayer, particularly when they cannot find the words or inspiration to pray.” The pope talked about how “Paul teaches us that in our prayer we must open ourselves to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, who prays in us with inexpressible groanings, to bring us to adhere to God with our whole heart and with all our being,” According to the pope, the Holy Spirit is the strength in our weak prayers, the light of our dimmed prayers, the focus of our dry prayers. The Spirit gives us inner freedom and teaches us how to face our trials, assuring us that we’re never alone, that Christ’s Spirit is always with us.
In our Gospel today for Pentecost at the end of the Easter season, we hear how Christ appeared to his disciples in the locked room after his death, where they still did not understand the full ramifications of his resurrection, where they were huddled up in fear of what might happen to them. Christ brought them a message of his peace, then he breathed the Holy Spirit upon them, to be with them and to empower them. That is the Spirit that gave birth to our Church, that accompanies us today as we call upon that Spirit to lead us and guide us on our journey of faith.
Since many believers don’t know how they should be interacting with the Holy Spirit in their lives of faith, many misconceptions exist regarding the Holy Spirit. 61% of US residents recently surveyed agreed with the statement that the Holy Spirit is "a symbol of God's presence or power, but is not a living entity". If we profess a belief in the Trinity as Christians, a belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, how can so many of us believe that the Spirit is just a symbol and not the living God who is with us today?
In our psalm this morning, we cry out to our Lord – “Come, Lord Jesus, send us your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” The Spirit is a reality in our world – it has its own existence and own function in the inner life of God and in the process of salvation for humanity. The task of the Spirit is to bring about the unity of the human race in the Body of Christ. But, the Spirit also imparts in the midst of this unity a personal and diversified character to believers in Christ. Thus, we hear St Paul in his letter to the Church at Corinth talk about the different spiritual gifts of the Spirit, the different forms of service, and the different workings of the Spirit that are all a part of the same God.
Following the Holy Spirit is not always easy and it does not always keep us going with the flow of what is going on in society. I truly believe that the Spirit has led our diocese to join 42 other Catholic entities in our county that has filed suit against the Health and Human Services contraception mandate that would violate our freedom of practicing our faith and following the laws of God that are a part of the Gospel of Life that we profess and believe and live out. We as Catholics need to be aware of what is going on; we need to be behind our Church and Bishop Latino as we have the courage to stand up for what is right; we need to be united as the Body of Christ. The president of the University of Notre Dame, Father John Jenkins, states that “We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others,” but rather “we simply ask that the Government not impose its values on (us) when those values conflict with our religious teachings.”
Yes, come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth. Help us to live out our faith with courage and conviction, with compassion and love. As we celebrate Pentecost today, we joyfully celebrate the Spirit that is with us. But, in doing so, we also accept the responsibility that comes with it.
PENTECOST - As depicted in the Book of the Gospels
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