What is Pentecost? After Jesus was resurrected and just before he left the presence of the Apostles he promised an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who would stay with them and give them gifts that would help them preach the Gospel. Pentecost is the celebration of the fulfillment of that promised Advocate. It is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church, celebrated and mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter (counting both Easter and Pentecost) and so is a moveable feast whose date changes every year based on the date of Easter that year.
What is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Irish Saint Patrick used a shamrock to teach the lesson of the Trinity. A shamrock has one leaf divided into three leaflets.
Jesus breathed into the Apostles his own life, the Holy Spirit and by the power of the Holy Spirit the Church was born. The Apostles were to do what the death and resurrection were all about – forgive.
In the first reading from Acts we witness the sudden and amazing ability of the Apostles to speak in various tongues, or languages. This was a gift from the Holy Spirit which gave them the ability to speak to many, many people without a language barrier. The Apostles traveled town to town and they preached the Gospel, they forgave sins and they cured people, all in Jesus’ name and with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the means through which the Apostles taught thousands of people about the great things God has done!
We might think that the Apostles were especially favored but in truth we too are recipients of the same Holy Spirit. At our baptism we were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We possess the same power as the Apostles to free people by forgiving them. This is a manifestation of Jesus’ commandment to love one another as He loves us: FORGIVENESS. We, too, have the same calling as the Apostles and it is reiterated at the end of each Mass: Go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord.
There are 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit:
- Wisdom
- Understanding
- Counsel
- Fortitude
- Knowledge
- Piety
- Fear of the Lord
These seven gifts help us to live a good and fruitful life in the way of the Gospel. On that first Pentecost Sunday 3,000 individuals were converted and baptized! This was accomplished through the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. Much can be accomplished through the Holy Spirit that cannot be performed without the Spirit because the gifts of the Holy Spirit lead to the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
The example of the Apostles shows that the gifts of the Holy Spirit lead to the fruits of the Holy Spirit--works that we can only perform through the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
The 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity (or love), joy, peace, patience, benignity (or kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long suffering), mildness, faith, modesty, continency (or self-restraint), and chastity.
At the beginning of this blog I wrote the Prayer to the Holy Spirit:
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
God’s objective is to “…renew the face of the earth…” transforming it into the Kingdom of God. We are constantly changing, growing and evolving toward what God created us to be. We are CREATED by the Holy Spirit, as something new and more than just mere humans! Embracing the power of the Holy Spirit, praying for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and allowing ourselves to be transformed by the Holy Spirit will empower us to change the face of the earth through the fruits of the Holy Spirit!
If you would like to incorporate a prayer to the Holy Spirit in to your life, explore these sites:
· Novena to the Holy Spirit
· Pentecost 101 which contains many links for further exploration
· Prayer to the Holy Spirit
The Psalm this Sunday is 104: Lord, Send Out Your Spirit
Have a blessed week!