Go! Week 4: Many Parts - One Spirit

Go! Week 4: Many Parts - One Spirit

Today we celebrate the great solemnity of Pentecost which is the third most important liturgical celebration after Easter and Christmas. Pentecost is considered the official birthday of the Catholic Church as the Holy Spirit descends upon the Apostles and Disciples in the form of fiery tongues, infusing them with his gifts to go out boldly and proclaim the Gospel.

Christ was born on Christmas day but his birth was manifested to the world on the Epiphany. The Church was born from the wound of the side of Christ on Good Friday but is now made manifest in a public manner on Pentecost with the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles and disciples as He sends them out into the world to proclaim the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit prepared these disciples for their mission by bestowing upon them the same gifts we receive at confirmation: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord. 

These gifts enabled them  to face hardships, persecution and rejection, which sometimes even came from their own families, as they proclaimed the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, True God.  He is sometimes described as the Love between the Father and the Son. This love is so great that it is another person. But this person, the Holy Spirit was not created in a moment of time but always existed  and  coexisted with the Father and the Son, Eternal God.

In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is often seen as a dove, as fiery tongues, Divine Light, as rushing wind and as the breath of God.  The Divine Fire of the Holy Spirit desires to penetrate and purify our hearts, minds, body and soul. Fire also produces light, by which the Holy Spirit illuminates our minds and souls to the things of God that we may be guided by Him to walk the narrow path of following Christ, knowing right from wrong. This light also gives brightness to the doctrines and teaching of Jesus Christ and His Church. 

Jesus said, “ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide  you into all truth. He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

The Holy Spirit enters our souls at Baptism, placing an indelible mark upon our souls that we belong to Christ, and He dwells there as a sweet guest giving us light, guidance and inspiration in following Christ, living the Gospel, to pray and do good works. He inspires us to holiness, to have awe of the sacred things of our faith, and to desire heaven.

He confirms this mark again at Confirmation, placing again his seal of an indelible mark upon our souls. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our souls calls us to be attentive to his inspiration so that he may guide us and give us his light.

When a soul is united to the Holy Spirit and attentive to his light and guidance, He, the Holy Spirit, produces fruits within the soul.

These fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.” We must constantly pray to  the Holy Spirit to produce  these fruits in our soul and to assist us to be transformed  by them, which is the fruit of our union with Him.

We often pray and seek a relationship with God the Father and with Jesus, our Lord, the Son, but are we actively striving to also keep ourselves united to the Holy Spirit by praying to Him and seeking daily to deepen our union with Him.

The Holy Spirit Gives us light to know and desire God. He guides me on how I am to serve God, by inspiring me to follow the path of my vocation God has called me to. He inspires me to seek holiness by guiding me to avoid sin and to turn away from temptation as well as to make frequent use of the Sacraments of the Church. He gives me strength to bear sufferings and to carry my cross for the love of Christ. He calls me to spend time in prayer and meditation or spiritual reading. 

 He inspires me to experience the love and mercy of God for me, even when I fall and sin, to return to God with sincere repentance and firm purpose of amendment  in the Sacrament of Confession, and that I avoid these sins in the future.

He inspires me with a longing and a desire for heaven, our true home, and to see the temporality of this world and material things and to seek that which is eternal in heaven.

The Holy Spirit gives light that I may know myself. That I am a loved and cherished child of God, who calls me to share in His divine life. He seeks to purify my love by helping me to see my sins, defects and imperfections, that I might be perfected in my love for God and neighbor. He helps me to see myself in the eyes of God as loved and cherished and not to be discouraged or downcast.  He wants to make my soul beautiful and adorned with his fruits so that I might be prepared for heaven and reflect the divine love of God.

The Holy Spirit gives me courage to live my life in following Christ and fulfilling the duties of my vocation, be it single, married or priesthood and religious life. His gifts assist me to live in the world but not of the world. To recognize my true homeland is in heaven and to use this time on earth to sanctify myself as I seek to serve God in my vocational calling each day with trust in His divine help and grace to fulfill what he has called me to.  He inspires me to Keep the commandments of God and the teachings of the Church. He assists me to be a witness to my faith and that I proclaim the Gospel by my way of living and with words when necessary.  

The Holy Spirit unites us as members of God's family as each belonging to the Mystical Body of Christ.

"Remember, then, that you received a spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear. Keep safe what you received. God the Father sealed you, Christ the Lord strengthened you and sent the Spirit into your hearts as the pledge of what is to come."

 —St. Ambrose

May brothers and sisters, let us thank God for the Gift of the Holy Spirit, let us truly open our hearts and our souls to His divine light and guidance, to be mindful of his actions and inspiration in our soul, that we may truly become what God has called us to in sharing with us His Divine Life that we may proclaim Christ and his Gospel to the world. May we, like the first Christians, be moved with love and courage to give witness to our faith by word and action. Each day we are being sent by Christ out into the world .

St. Catherine of Siena said, "Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire."   —St. Catherine of Siena

 We should be reminded each day of the Holy Spirit's presence in our soul that we may truly be a people of faith, of joy, peace and love. We need to be filled with awe and to be excited in the Holy Spirits presence in our soul.

Pray often, “Come Holy Spirit, stir up within me your love and forgiveness, filling me with your fire of divine light and love.”

May Our Lady, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, help us to be docile instruments to the Holy Spirit working in us, that we might produce abundant fruit for the kingdom and glory of God.