Gifts Of The Spirit

It is an amazing scene that Saint Luke describes for us in today’s first reading.

On that first Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit descends in dramatic fashion upon the place where the disciples were gathered. Imagine what it must have been like to witness it. Like a driving wind, the Spirit of God shook the house. Then, the air burst into fire. Everyone there was then touched by that fire. With the Holy Spirit moving within them, they began to praise God loudly in languages they didn’t even know. Their prayers were so loud, in fact, that it got the attention of the people passing by on the street.

What was going on? As Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles to empower them to bring the good news of salvation into the world. As God, the Holy Spirit cannot be seen. However, as we read throughout the Acts of the Apostles, He is made manifest in works of power. As they preach the gospel, the apostles heal the sick and raise the dead as Jesus did. Most importantly, the Holy Spirit manifests Himself by giving them words of truth which change the hearts of those who hear their message.

The Holy Spirit that the apostles received on that first Pentecost Sunday is the same Holy Spirit we received in baptism and confirmation. That same Holy Spirit continues to be at work in the Church so that the world can come to believe in Jesus Christ. Sometimes the Holy Spirit works in dramatic ways giving people the power to heal or to speak in tongues. Most of the time, however, the Spirit of God works silently in our souls, calling us to a change of heart and inspiring us to perform works of mercy for our neighbor.

While, as Saint Paul tells us in today’s second reading, there are special kinds of spiritual gifts given to believers, there are also gifts that all of us receive through baptism and confirmation. These gifts transform us interiorly so that we can live the gospel with sincerity and conviction. These gifts are - wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. Let’s take a look at all these gifts to understand how they work in the lives of believers.

The first gift of the Spirit is wisdom. Through this gift, the Holy Spirit leads us into a love for the truths of our faith. Those who receive wisdom do not see the truths of faith as mere doctrines to accept but as revelations of the nature of God Himself. It leads us to not only acknowledge those truths but to contemplate them and take joy in them. If you have ever found yourself thinking about our faith and are led to marvel at God’s power and goodness, then you may have experienced the gift of wisdom.

The second gift is understanding. As the name suggests, through this gift we are lead into a deeper understanding of our faith. It helps us to recognize the truth of what we believe even when we cannot fully understand it.  It also gives us a firm conviction about our faith. If you have ever found yourself thinking about a mystery of the faith and, all of a sudden, you achieve some clarity about it, you may have experienced the gift of understanding.

The third gift, counsel, helps us to put faith into practice. For instance, we know that we must  love our neighbor, but how must we show that love? The gift of counsel helps us to figure out how we should put our love into action in the circumstances of daily life. If you have ever wondered how you should act in a certain situation and the answer became clear to you, you may have experienced the Spirit’s gift of counsel.

The fourth gift is fortitude which is also known as courage. It helps us to live our faith even when it is difficult. It strengthens us to speak and act with conviction in the face of opposition and persecution. If you have ever spoken up to defend your beliefs even when you were afraid you might be ridiculed or criticized, you may have experienced the gift of fortitude.

The fifth gift is knowledge. It is closely related to the gifts of wisdom, counsel and understanding. It helps us to see things as God sees them. Through this gift, the mind of God forms our mind so that it more like His. God’s will and purpose for our life become clearer to us. If you have ever found yourself asking yourself, “What would Jesus do?”, then you may have experienced the Spirit’s gift of knowledge.

The sixth gift of piety gives us a profound desire to worship and serve God. It moves us from within to seek a union of our heart with our Heavenly Father. Through this gift, prayers go from being a rote recitation of words to an expression of our desire to know, love and serve God. When this gift is operative in our lives, we no longer go to Mass out of a sense of obligation but because we truly want to hear God’s word and receive communion. If you have ever felt the need to sit quietly in God’s presence, then you may have experienced the gift of piety.

The seventh gift is fear of the Lord. Through this gift, the Holy Spirit gives us the respect for God that a child would have for his father. In many ways, it is the opposite of fear. Through this gift we learn to live the faith not out of fear of punishment but out of a desire to please God, just as a child wants to please his father. This gift also gives us the conviction that God will always provide for us. If you have ever stopped yourself from doing or saying something because you knew God wouldn’t approve, then you may have experienced the gift of the fear of the Lord.

We have only taken a short look at each of these gifts. We should all spend some time this week reading more about them and praying to receive them.  We should also ask the Holy Spirit to help us put them to use in our lives. Then we will see the hand of God at work in us and be more open to the ways He is leading us to speak and act. No gift is of any use unless we unwrap it and use it. The Holy Spirit wants us to make use of all these amazing ways that He manifests Himself in us so that God may be glorified, we may be transformed in His image and the power of that first Pentecost Sunday may continue to be a reality in our world.

Following The Spirit's Lead

In 1992, when the civil war was raging in the former Yugoslavia between the Serbs and Croatians, two brothers , Magnus and Fergus MacFarlane-Barrow, watched the news reports with horror at the loss of human life. Knowing they couldn’t just sit at home in Scotland and do nothing about it, they began a drive to collect food and blankets to deliver to the victims of that conflict. When they had collected enough to fill up their jeep, they drove it all the way to Bosnia, left the supplies with an aid agency there and drove back to Scotland.

In their minds, they had done all they could and would return home to continue their work as fish farmers. However, they found that, while they were gone, people had continued to donate supplies, enough to fill their jeep again. So they collected it all and drove back to Bosnia with it. This continued to the point that Magnus decided to leave his job and begin a charity, which he called Scottish International Relief, dedicated to providing relief to the people of Bosnia.

Magnus continued in that work up until 2002 when he took a trip to Malawi. While there, he visited a mother of six who was dying of AIDS. As they sat around her on the floor of the hut, Magnus turned to her older child and asked him what he hoped for out of life. The child responded, “To have enough to eat and to go to school one day.”

The child’s answer struck Magnus to the core of his being. Like that day 10 years earlier, he knew he couldn’t sit back and do nothing in the face of the hunger and poverty plaguing the children of Africa. So, he developed a simple, low-cost program to provide daily meals for poor, undernourished children which he named, Mary’s Meals, after the mother of Jesus. It began by feeding 200 children daily in Malawi. In the sixteen years since, it has spread to twelve countries servicing over one million children every day.

Saint Paul tells us in today’s second reading from the Letter to the Romans that “all creation is groaning.” It is groaning with the cries of undernourished children who go to bed hungry. It is groaning with the grieving of boys and girls who lose their parents to war and disease. It is groaning with the tears of migrants who are fleeing corruption and violence to seek a better life for their families. Many times, we choose not to listen to their groaning and look away. Many times we choose the attitude that there’s nothing we can do or that it’s someone else’s problem.

Magnus and his brother heard the groaning of those who were suffering. It would have been easy for them to sit back and decide that there was nothing that could be done. However, they couldn’t turn a deaf ear to the groaning of their sisters and brothers in pain. At the time they might have wondered what difference a jeep-full of supplies could make to a conflict as extensive as the Bosnian war. As it turns out, it made all the difference in the world to that child who would have been cold if not for the blanket they brought or who would have gone hungry if not for the food they delivered. And today, that small act of service has led to a mission that feeds over one million children a day.

What would happen in our lives and in our world if we were to really listen to the groaning of the people around us and respond to their needs? How many people might  we be able to help? And where might it possibly all lead?

Saint Paul goes on to say that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we ought.” In the face of so much suffering in our world, we might think that we have too little to give. However, if we turn to God in prayer, great things are possible. When we rely only on ourselves and our meager resources, our efforts are largely ineffective. However, when we rely on God, when we turn to Him with humility and confess that we want to do something but we don’t know how, He provides the opportunity and the means for us to make a difference. If we are willing to take that first step in faith, God will do the rest.

It all begins with prayer. The more in tune we are to God through prayer the more attentive we will be to the needs of the people around us. Our Heavenly Father hears the cry of the poor. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us. In turn, Jesus and the Father send us the Holy Spirit, who meets our deepest need for loving unity with God. Now God sends us to relieve the groaning of the people He puts in our path every day.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles to empower them to spread the Good News. We received that same Spirit at our baptism and confirmation. The Spirit dwelling within us opens our ears to the groaning of all creation and empowers us to make a difference. If we but listen and respond, nothing will be impossible because it is the very Spirit of God at work in us who believe.

Making Bold Proclamation

What holds us back from being fully the person God created us to be? What keeps us from fulfilling all the dreams He has for us? Why do we resist the inspirations He gives us daily to be more generous and loving to those we meet?

The simple answer fear. Fear holds us back from achieving all the great things God has planned for us. We are afraid of what others think. We do not want to be judged, criticized or ridiculed. We fear failure. We worry about what it will cost us to follow Jesus with all our heart and strength. How will it affect our relationships and jobs? Will others reject us because of our faith? Will we be called “fanatics” or “bigots” because we take God’s word seriously and make it the center of our lives. We also fear being wrong. What if we go all out in following Jesus and it does not end up being worth it? Finally, we can also be afraid that we are not good enough.

Those who followed Jesus during His earthly life knew very well the fears that we experience today. Even though they found the courage to leave everything behind to follow Him, they still experienced doubts, reservations and fears. We know that Judas began to fear that Jesus was not really the Messiah which led to his betrayal. When Jesus was arrested and crucified, the disciples fled in fear that they would be next. Even after Jesus rose from the dead, they remained holed up in the upper room, hiding from the authorities. They were imprisoned and isolated by their fears, unable to proclaim the great wonders they had experienced.

However, all that changed on Pentecost Sunday. The Holy Spirit came rushing down upon the place where they had been staying. A mighty wind shook the building and fire from the sky descended upon them. They were so overcome with God’s presence within them, that they praised Him in full voice. Not able to contain their joy, they spill out into the street below proclaiming the wonders of God to all those who were passing by. They were no longer afraid what people would say about them. They were no longer afraid that they would be arrested and put to death. They were no longer concerned about their lack of talents or education. In fact, they were not thinking about themselves or their fears any more. Rather, they were caught up in the great wonders God had done for them and in His power. Their joy was so great that they could not keep it to themselves.

The Holy Spirit we received at our baptism and who lives in our hearts through faith is the great antidote to our fears. He inspires us to take the focus off ourselves and our limitations and to put it on God and the infinite possibilities He offers us. The Holy Spirit gives us confidence that no matter what situation we may find ourselves in, God will provide us with what we need to not only get through it but to thrive. He fills our innermost being with such a complete and overflowing joy that we do not care what others think anymore. We no longer measure ourselves by what others expect of us but by what God expects of us. Though we may still experience some nagging fears and self-doubts, they will begin to dissipate as we experience God’s power working through our human weakness. We learn to rely more on His inspiration and power and less on ourselves.

It all begins with prayer. The disciples were gathered in prayer with Mary in the upper room when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. In fact, prayer is nothing else than allowing the Holy Spirit to raise our hearts and minds to God. By spending some quiet time in prayer every day, we learn to become attentive to God’s voice speaking to our hearts. As we experience His loving presence, we grow in our ability to trust Him. We let go of the doubts that hold us back and begin to make choices based on what our Heavenly Father has planned for us rather than on what we have planned for ourselves or what others expect of us. Our fears melt away as we experience God’s power taking root in our lives. Our prayer time every day should begin with the words, “Come, Holy Spirit!” Then we will experience our lives being transformed as we learn to follow the Spirit’s lead.

The next important step is rooting out sin in our lives. The Holy Spirit cannot work within us and through us if our heart is enslaved to selfishness, greed or lust. If we have too strong a desire for the comforts and pleasures of this world, then our  hearts cannot be attuned to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We cannot be free to follow the Spirit if we are enslaved to sin. Saint Paul makes this very clear in today’s second reading. After listing sins which he describes as “the works of the flesh”, he tells us, “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The good news is that we do not have to allow our weakness and shame to hold us back. In Jesus, we have the forgiveness of our sins and the power to overcome them. As we allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us we will also find the strength to conquer our temptations and put our strength into doing good for others rather than indulging our passions.

When Jesus appears to His disciples on the day of His resurrection, He greets them with the words, “Peace”. At the Last Supper, He reassured them that peace would be His lasting gift to them. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, which Jesus would have used is much richer than our English word. It can also be translated as “health”, “prosperity” and “wholeness.” In essence, peace is what we experience once our fears have been conquered. It is a result of our confidence in God. It is the lingering joy of knowing that we are forgiven and no longer have to be held back by shame or fear. It is the gift God offers us on this Pentecost Sunday as we gather here in prayer.

Come, Holy Spirit! Lead us, your people, to overcome our fears so that we may proclaim the joy of Christ’s resurrection to a world that longs for the hope that only you can give!

In God's Image And Likeness

It is the first of all the sins – the desire to make ourselves God.

Instead of submitting to God, we want to take his place and put ourselves at the center of the universe. Instead of obeying God's law, we want to make up our own rules. Instead of allowing God to use us, we want to use others to serve our needs.

This sin of pride is at the core of all sinful behavior. It was the sin of Adam and Eve who disobeyed God so they could have His knowledge of good and evil. As a result, our first parents lost paradise and unleashed violence and death upon God's creation. It is the sin of the people in today's first reading who think their knowledge and skill can rival God’s. As a result, their speech became confused. They were no longer able to work together and the tower which was to be a monument to their greatness fell into ruin.

This desire to put ourselves in God's place continues to harm this planet and its history. It burns in the heart of those who exploit workers to increase their already inflated profits. It drives warlords to kill and maim innocent people so as to intimidate and dominate them. It motivates corporations to pollute the environment so that they can produce more and more products that will only end up in dumps. The allure of godlike power drives some scientists even to manipulate and experiment on other human beings, denying their dignity. There is no doubt that this insane urge we have to overthrow God and put ourselves in His place has caused only misery and destruction all over our world.

Nonetheless, this desire to be God is rooted in one basic fact of our nature. We are created in His image and likeness. Among all the beautiful and amazing creatures on this earth, we are the most like God. It is within our nature to want to know Him, to want to love Him and to strive to serve Him. It is also within our nature to want to be like Him.

In our confused society and culture, we think that to be like God we have to get rid of Him. We think that the only way to be like Him is to have His power and knowledge for ourselves so that we can make our own rules and twist reality to suit our desires. In so doing, we fail to see God as a merciful father or loving Creator. Rather we see Him as a rival.

Of course, God is all-powerful and all-knowing. But that is not all there is to God. He is also merciful and loving. He gives himself totally to His creatures, providing for all their needs. He never grows tired of reaching out to sinners and forgiving them. He strengthens all those who believe in Him and empowers them to achieve great things. He is not a distant God ruling over us from afar but a loving Father who is ever near to all those call upon Him.

If we desire to be like God then, we must imitate his qualities of love, faithfulness, forgiveness and self-sacrifice.

This is precisely the meaning of today's celebration. On Pentecost, God sent his Holy Spirit down upon believers to meet our need to be like Him. The Holy Spirit is God's love poured into our hearts empowering us to love and forgive as He does. The Holy Spirit is the very power of God filling us with strength to do good even when it seems impossible. The Holy Spirit is God himself living within us and making us like himself, renewing us daily as Jesus assures us in today's gospel, "Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me. "

Pentecost brings to fulfillment all that Jesus did to save us. By dying on the cross for us on Good Friday, He won for us the forgiveness for our sins. By rising from the dead on Easter Sunday, he gained for us the hope of everlasting life. Now, on Pentecost Sunday, by sending the Holy Spirit, He made us capable of reaching heights of holiness and goodness that we would never be capable of by our own power. The Holy Spirit we receive through baptism and faith makes us truly like God not so much in his power and knowledge, but in his love and faithfulness.

When we look at all that Jesus did to save us we can sometimes be tempted to put it in negative terms. For instance, we talk about the forgiveness of sins or even the ability to avoid sin. While that is true, there is so much more to what God wants for us. He wants us not only to not be bad but to truly be good. He wants us not only to not harm one another, but to serve one another and to meet one another's needs. He wants not only to protect us from evil but to empower us to do good. Through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, he wants us to restore the world to the beauty and harmony He first created it to have.

All of us who believe in Jesus and are baptized have this power of God living within us. St. Paul reassures us in today's second reading that the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. If we feel weak and afraid, we need only call on this Holy Spirit living within us to reassure and strengthen us. If we feel confused and unsure, we  need only call on this Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds. If we feel ourselves resisting God and becoming allured by the empty promises of this world, we need only to call upon the Holy Spirit to remind us of all that we have as children of God.

God created us in his image and likeness so that we can reflect his beauty and goodness to the world. The Holy Spirit we celebrate this day makes this a reality in our lives. This power is available to all believers so that we can serve one another in love. Enlivened by this hope we can leave this celebration today and really live the power God has poured out upon us so that all of us can be like Him who loves us and gave us his Son so that we could live as His children.

Written In Our Hearts

 Fifty days ago, we began this Easter season by lighting a fire at the entrance of the church and proclaiming that Jesus is risen from the dead. Now, on this Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate another fire - not a fire that we light, but the fire of God come down from heaven. That fire is the Holy Spirit who came upon the apostles and Mary as tongues of fire and who lives in each of us who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We call Pentecost the “birthday of the Church” because on that day the apostles are transformed from men who were too afraid to leave the upper room to bold proclaimers of the resurrection of Jesus. They went from men still confused about the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection to preachers of His divinity and Lordship. Rather than being paralyzed by fear and doubt, they are driven by conviction and faith to proclaim the good news to all the world. There is no other explanation for this than the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through them.

The feast of Pentecost was celebrated by the Jewish people as the commemoration of the giving of the Ten Commandments through Moses. It was because of this festival that Jews from all over the world had gathered in Jerusalem as we hear in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. We all know the story of how Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. When he brought the stone tablets written by God down the mountain, he discovered that the people had made a golden calf to worship. Filled with rage, Moses shatters the stone tablets on the ground and commands that all those who participated in the idolatry be rounded up and put to death. It turns out that three thousand people were killed on that day. Though the gift of the Law from the hand of God was a day of celebration, it was also a time to remember how often the people disobeyed the Ten Commandments and broke their covenant with God.

It is no accident that God sent His Holy Spirit upon the apostles on the feast of Pentecost. Rather than write the law on tablets of stone, He would now write them on our hearts. Rather than give us a law we could not obey, He gave us His Spirit which is the power not only to understand what Jesus teaches but to live it out.

I would encourage all of you when you get home after Mass to open your Bibles and read the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles from which today’s first reading is taken. After the account of the descent of the Holy Spirit, we read that Peter addresses the crowd that had gathered on the street below. They are struck to the depths of their soul by his message and ask what they should do. Peter tells them that they must repent of their sins and be baptized so that they also may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In verse 41 we read, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”  Whereas three thousand people were slaughtered by Moses on that first Pentecost because they rejected the law, three thousand people were saved by the apostles because of the power of the Holy Spirit. The law of the Old Covenant did not offer those who received it the power to live it out. But to those who receive the New Covenant of love, the Holy Spirit is given empowering us to accept and live out the teachings of Jesus.

It has been said that the Christian life is not just difficult, it is impossible. It is impossible to love and forgive our enemies. It is impossible to bless those who curse us and rejoice when others make fun of us for being followers of Jesus. In today’s world, many think it is impossible to live a chaste single life or a faithful married life.  For human beings with our weak wills, all these things are impossible. That is why no other religion besides Christianity proclaims such a radical, all-embracing message of love.

The reason we as baptized members of the Body of Christ do say that it not just possible but mandatory that we live and love as Jesus did is that we have the Spirit of Jesus living within us. We have received the same Spirit by which Jesus cured the sick and raised the dead. We have received the same Spirit that compelled the apostles to preach the good news of Jesus resurrection to all the world even to the point of giving their lives for Christ. We have received the same Spirit that empowered the saints to feed the hungry, care for the sick and teach the gospel message even under the threat of persecution. It is that Spirit that makes it possible for us to love our enemies, to live simpler lives so that we will have more to give to the needy and to love God more than life itself. We can now live the Christian life with joy, not as a burden, because the Spirit of God lives in us.

Very often we fail to live the gospel message because we are trying to live it by our own power or on our own terms. When we sin, we too often just tell ourselves and God that we will try harder next time. Or we pick and choose which teachings we will follow and which teachings we ignore. Both attitudes are a recipe for failure. If we are to live the Christian message in all its fullness and experience the joy and peace it brings, we must resolve to abandon our lives to the work of the Holy Spirit. We must say to Him, “I am no longer in control, Lord. You are.” We must simply tell God that we give up trying to follow Him by our own will power and give Him permission to work in and through us. It is a scary thing to do because we do not like to hand over control of our lives. But once we do, we will see wonders take place just as the apostles did and just as generation after generation of saints who have given up everything to follow Jesus.

Living Water From Within

Fire. A Dove. A mighty rushing wind.

All these are symbols that Scripture gives us of the Holy Spirit of God. They convey His power, His presence throughout the world and, at the same time, the difficulty in understanding and seeing His mighty work.

In today’s gospel, Jesus provides us with another image of His Holy Spirit. It is the image of water.

Water is essential for human life. Particularly in the harsh desert climate that Jesus lived in,  no one could survive for long without it. In our own day, the first sign of potential  life that scientist look for on other planets is the presence of water. Just so, the Spirit of God is a Spirit of life.

In the book of Genesis, we see the Spirit of God hovering over the waters on the first day of creation bringing form to the void and life out of nothing. When the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit who overshadows her to conceive our Saviour in her virgin womb. And on the day of Pentecost, it is the Holy Spirit who rushes in like a mighty wind upon the apostles and Mary gathered in prayer in the upper room to give birth to the Church. That same Holy Spirit gives life to the Church today, pulsing through all the baptized, empowering us to live the good news, to care for those in need and to show love to the abandoned. Like water refreshing a parched and weary traveler, the Holy Spirit brings comfort to all those who believe in Jesus and life to those who call upon His name.

Today’s gospel is set during the Festival of Booths when the Jews commemorate how God provided water for them from the rock while they wandered in the desert. Remember that God had liberated them from slavery in Egypt but the road to freedom ran through a desert. There was little food and no water, and the people began to fear that they would not survive. They began to wonder whether they had made a mistake in trusting God and His servant, Moses. To provide His people with water, God commanded Moses to strike a rock and immediately water began to flow from it for the people to drink. It was a reminder to the people - and to us - that God is near even when He seems far away and that He can provide for all our needs no matter how impossible or dire our circumstances may be.

It is during the greatest day of this festival that Jesus cries out: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me; Let him drink who believes in me.” He is telling those who heard Him that it is He who gives the living water, that is the Holy Spirit, to all those who believe. Just as God provided water to His people in the desert, so Jesus provides His Holy Spirit to those who live in a desert of selfishness, individualism, poverty and persecution. Unlike water which can only nourish us for a short while, the Spirit of God sustains us always so that we never experience thirst again.

Jesus goes on to say, “Scripture has it: ‘From within him rivers of living water flow.’” We who are baptized and who are the fulfillment of God’s promise, experience the Holy Spirit as a fountain of life within us. Within our heart and soul, the living power of God bubbles up giving us inspiration, encouragement, comfort and peace. Even if we were to be locked away in a dungeon with no light and no contact with the outside world, we would experience the presence of God within us leading us by faith. The refreshing, life-giving water is always flowing within us.

Of course, a river or well is no good unless we go there ourselves to get water. Unless we turn the faucet on, the water stays in the pipes. Just so, if we are to draw on the power of God’s Spirit within us, we must turn to Him in prayer. Prayer connects us with the Spirit and unleashes His life within us. Perhaps a good meditation for us during this week would be to imagine ourselves with a bucket going to a fountain of water. As we try to catch the bubbling water into our bucket, we can imagine all the blessings God wants to shower us with - peace, joy, love, happiness and whatever it is we may need at the moment. We can imagine ourselves being cleansed and refreshed at the fountain.

If we were to spend ten to fifteen minutes everyday this week in that prayer, we would notice a big difference in our lives. We would feel centered and focused throughout the day. We would be at peace no matter what difficulties we faced. Whenever we may feel confused or out of sorts, we would develop the habit of looking within ourselves for the strength of God within us. And we would develop trust in the Spirit to lead us in all circumstances. In short, through the power of daily prayer and the Holy Spirit within us, we would be transformed daily into the image and likeness of Christ.

Saint Paul assures us that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and helps us in our prayer. The Christian life is essentially coming to abandon ourselves through the grace of God to the impulses of the Holy Spirit within us. It takes our whole life to learn how to do it, but it is possible for each of us through baptism and the power of faith. We need only take the time to pray each day, read the Bible and receive Jesus in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist to make that promise a reality in our lives.

This day, the Feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the gift of God’s Holy Spirit poured out upon all believers. He is the life of God Himself breathed into the soul of all believers, the living water that refreshes us. Let us go to the well always and draw deeply from the depth of His love. Nothing else can provide us with that for which our soul thirsts - God Himself living and active in each of us through faith.

The Church Is Born In Fire

For the past fifty days we have celebrated and reflected on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We have told the stories of his appearances to the apostles and how he finally ascended to heaven to assume his glorious throne. Today, the feast of Pentecost, we bring our Easter celebration to a close by remembering the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and Mary. On this day the Spirit of God rushed down like a mighty wind upon the room in which they had gathered in prayerful expectation. Then tongues of fire alighted on them signifying that each of them had been touched by God and were now empowered to preach the good news.  We learn what a radical transformation came over them as they spill into the streets proclaiming the wonders of God. They are no longer huddled in fear, hiding from the world. Once touched by God, they are free to proclaim to all those who would hear about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And so the Church is born by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

This Holy Spirit continues to dwell within us forming us into the People of God and equipping us to bring God's love to the suffering and the needy.

We use many symbols to help us understand who the Holy Spirit is. One of the most powerful of those images is that of fire. It is the reason why we wear red on this feast of the birth of the Church. By depicting the Holy Spirit as fire, the Scriptures are instructing us about the effects that he has on the lives of believers. Like fire, the Holy Spirit transforms us, purifies us and sets us aflame with love of God.

First of all, the Holy Spirit transforms us. Fire changes whatever it touches. Once something is burned, it cannot return to what it was. Just so, once we are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit through baptism and confirmation, we are forever changed. We cannot undo baptism or confirmation. No matter how hard we may try to reject that gift of faith and grace, it is forever with us. The way we write our names on the cover of a book we love, just so each of us has been marked by God as his special possession. Both the angels and the demons recognize it. Because of it, we can go before God with confidence and bring him our needs knowing that he will recognize us and answer us. And if we look into our hearts and find that we need to change, all we need to do is ask the Holy Spirit to refresh us and there is no doubt we will be forever transformed by his fire.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit purifies us. The way we boil water to kill the bacteria in it, the Holy Spirit's presence in our hearts burns away all that is not of God. As we are consumed by the fire of God's Spirit, our sinful self melts away. The Holy Spirit does this by putting into our hearts a love for God which makes anything that offends him loathsome to us. This image of purifying fire also reminds us that there is some pain involved in the transformation that God wants to accomplish in us. We resist change and are often fond of our sinful habits. But as we surrender to the Holy Spirit's purifying power, we discover the peace, joy and love that emerge once our sin is burned away. Once we taste that freedom, we never want to go back to our former slavery to sin.

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit sets us aflame with love for God. When we have an intense love for someone, we sometimes say we are "on fire" for that person. Or if we want something badly enough, we will say we have a "burning desire" for it. Just so, the Holy Spirit sets us on fire with love for God. Like a fire, that love is intense and all consuming. It is the love that compelled the apostles to put their fears aside and witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is the love which even today inspires people to leave their comfortable lives to serve the poor and needy. It is the love which drove Jesus to hand his life over so that we might be saved. If we are feeling dead inside. If we feel that life has become a drudgery and that there is no purpose in what we are doing, we need to give our lives over to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. We will find that our hearts are so engulfed with God and his love that there will not be enough hours in the day to proclaim his wonders and sing his praises.

And so with the feast of Pentecost we wrap up our celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It reminds us that God's saving work is not finished with the cross and resurrection. Rather God invites each of us to enter into the mystery of Jesus' death and resurrection by making our lives an offering to him. Furthermore, he desires that each of us also share in the joy of bringing his saving word to others. The gift of the Holy Spirit which has forever marked us as God's sons and daughters empowers us to do just that. He is continually at work within us to transform us, purify us and set us on fire with love. It is ours for the asking. But watch out - there is no telling what wonders the Lord will work in our lives.

A Season Of Faith

In today’s gospel, Jesus reiterates words that He spoke so often to His disciples during His After every great Church celebration, a season of prayer and celebration follows. The birth of Jesus is followed by the Christmas Season. We extend the feast of Jesus’ resurrection over the following fifty days with the Easter Season. However, after Pentecost, there is nothing - no Pentecost Season, not even a Pentecost octave. We are dumped unceremoniously into Ordinary Time with a few feasts - The Blessed Trinity, The Body and Blood of Christ and the Sacred Heart of Jesus - to console us. To my mind, there should be at least a week of festivities during which we can wear the red and celebrate the marvels the Holy Spirit works in us, the Church.

However, maybe there is another way to look at it. Perhaps Ordinary Time, despite its uninspiring title, could be considered the Pentecost Season. It is during this Ordinary Time that we live as a Church, moving in the Spirit Who was poured out on us, preaching the good news and practicing works of mercy.

So let’s not fret that the feast of Pentecost lasts but a day and is gone. Let us live this Ordinary Time as a Pentecost Season bearing the fruits of the Spirit to the glory of God!

And what happened on that first Pentecost Sunday? The Holy Spirit empowered those who were living in fear to come out of hiding and spread the good news throughout the world. The Holy Spirit gives us the courage to step out of the shadows and begin living in the light. Pentecost, if anything, signifies conquering fear to witness to Jesus Christ.

earthly life: “Fear no one.” He understands that His followers will face much opposition and that the good news will not always be welcome. There will be those who try to silence His disciples with threats of violence. However, Jesus wants them to not allow fear to overcome them but to conquer fear through faith.

Fear is an emotion that all of us experience. Many times, it can be a healthy reaction to situations in which we could be harmed. When our fears are rational, they can motivate us to avoid people or places that could threaten our health or safety.

However, when our fears hold us back from experiencing the abundant life God has planned for us, then they no longer are protecting us but imprisoning us. Those irrational fears could be concerns about what other people think and the fear of being criticized, judged and ostracized. While it is natural that we want to be loved and accepted by others, we should not be making our decisions based on what we think other people expect.

And so, Jesus tells us that we should not be afraid to speak the truth. Why? Because even though the truth is so often rejected, even though people who speak the truth are so often bullied, that truth cannot be concealed for ever. No matter how many lies are told, no matter how much effort is put into covering it up, the truth always prevails. As Jesus says in today’s gospel, “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.” The confidence that we are speaking the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit and the assurance that it will ultimately prevail, inspire us to overcome our fears.

The other way that we overcome our fears is by keeping our focus on our Heavenly Father’s love for us. As Jesus tells us today, “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” All of us are known and loved by God. There is nothing we can do to lose that love. Like our earthly fathers, we can turn to our Heavenly Father whenever we are in need and rely on His unfailing help. Even when others attack us and even when we suffer physical harm, He is always by our side holding us up through it all. Knowing He is by our side and that His help is always close at hand will strengthen us whenever we find ourselves being criticized or attacked because of our faith.

Finally, Jesus teaches us to overcome fear by focusing on the inheritance that is waiting for us in heaven - the promise of everlasting life. “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.” Our time on this earth is very short compared with the everlasting life that is awaiting us in heaven. In fact, our lives are too short to allow ourselves to be imprisoned by our fears. When we consider the glory awaiting us, why would we ever give any consideration to what others think? What can those people whose opinion means so much to us actually do for us besides pat our backs and make us feel good about ourselves for a few minutes? Is having their approval more important than having God’s approval? When we look at it that way, we see how foolish it is for us to change ourselves to please others.

Fear can be a helpful and healthy emotion. However, when we allow it to imprison us and limit our potential, then it is unhelpful and unhealthy. Jesus helps us to overcome our fear by reminding us that the truth will always prevail, that we are unconditionally loved by our Heavenly Father and that we have the inheritance of eternal life waiting for us in Paradise. Even when we are focused on these truths, we will still experience fear from time to time, especially as the world becomes increasingly hostile to the gospel message. However, faith in Jesus will help us to overcome those fears and stand up to the bullies who try to silence us.

And so, we can make this Ordinary Time extraordinary by abandoning ourselves to the Spirit of Pentecost, stepping out of the shadow of fear and living the abundant life God has called us to. 

The Church As The Body Of Christ

Today, we celebrate the birthday of the Church - when the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles and Mary empowering them to spread the good news about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Growing up, when I heard the word “Church” I thought either of the building where we celebrate Mass or the Vatican.  I never heard of the idea of the Church as the People of God or the Mystical Body of Christ. And, even if I did hear those words in religious education or at Mass, I probably would not have understood them.

On the other hand, though I didn’t understand those concepts, my everyday experience of Church through most of my life was one of family and community. In fact, many of my dearest memories from childhood were connected to Church whether it be my first communion or weddings of family members.

And the same was true throughout my adult life. The parishes I’ve belonged to and served have been big families, places where I found comfort, and communities I could count on for support and encouragement. Though when I thought of church I thought of dark, smoky buildings or old men in Rome coming up with new rules for me to follow, my everyday experience of Church was that of people who cared for me and a community that nurtured me.

The idea of the Church as primarily a people of faith goes back to the first days of Christianity. We profess that the Church was born on Pentecost day when the Holy Spirit came rushing down on Mary and the apostles in tongues of fire. At that time, there were no church buildings and there was no Vatican. Yet there was a Church because the Church is, first of all people,  and not just buildings and institutions.

Saint Paul expresses this reality in his First Letter to the Corinthians, a portion of which we read today:

“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body...Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it” (1 Cor 12: 12,13 & 27).

It is amazing to think just how beautiful this idea of the Church as the Body of Christ is!

First of all, it means that all of us, no matter who we are, are important members of the Church.

Saint Paul tells us: “Now the body is not a single part, but many...The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I do not need you.’ ...But God has so constructed the body... that there may be no division in the body”

The Church as Christ’s body is not just made up of priests and nuns any more than our bodies are made of just an eye or an elbow. Every baptized person is a vital part of the whole. Each one of us is needed to make sure the Body of Christ is healthy and growing.

There is a great story about a cardinal who was walking down the street on his way to his office in the Vatican. He greeted a man who was sweeping the sidewalks.

The man said to him, “Your Excellency, are you on your way to the Vatican?”

The cardinal said, “In fact, I am.”

The street sweeper then said, “I imagine you are going to be making some very important decisions there and doing some very important work.”

The cardinal replied, “In fact, I am.”

Then, puffing out his chest with pride, the street sweeper said, “However, if I clean these streets with great love, my work will be just important as yours in the eyes of God.”

The cardinal replied, “You are exactly right, my friend.”

Saint Pope John Paul II said, “It is not the work that gives dignity to the person but the person who gives dignity to the work.” Whatever it is we do, whether we are mopping a floor, visiting a sick person, or working with the Pope, it is important and vital to the whole body, particularly when we do it with great love.

We need each other just as the parts of the body need each other. We need each other’s contributions, no matter how small they may seem. And we cannot afford to lose even one of our members. This is the lesson that we learn when we contemplate the Church as the Body of Christ.

And so this day we celebrate the reality that we are the Church. All of us are called to extend the love of Jesus into the world. As a people of faith, we branch out into our families, communities, schools and places of business, bringing the joy of the gospel message. All of us are crucial for this outreach of love just as every member of our bodies is vital to our health. Like those first apostles, then, let us go out with confidence that the Holy Spirit is guiding us until the whole world is set on fire with the love of Jesus!

God's Spirit Reveals Our True Beauty

Imagine having everything the world can offer - such as beauty and success - and leaving it all to follow God as a nun.

That is the story of Esmeralda Solis Gonzales.

In 2016, at the age of 19, she had established a career as a nutritionist and then was crowned as the beauty queen of her hometown of Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico. However, it was not enough for her. Though she had achieved more success than most young women her age, she knew that there had to be more to life. And it was clear to her that the world could not offer her the  “something more” she sought. And so, she left it all to join the Poor Clare Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament.

Looking back on the life she once lived she said, “I was very happy with everything I had, but it does not compare with the happiness that God now places in my heart.” And, “[it is true that] the reality and the supposed happiness that the world sells is very attractive [but] it is necessary to fix your eyes on what lasts.”

Sister Esmeralda’s story is similar to that of so many people down through the ages who achieved everything the world had to offer but still found themselves thirsting for more. They had wealth, comfort and pleasures in abundance but none of it turned out to be enough. Eventually they discovered what their hearts were longing for in Jesus Christ. Once they discovered the joy that a relationship with Jesus offered, all the values of this passing world seemed like nothing in comparison. As Saint Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8).

Saint Paul also talks about this longing we have within us in today’s second reading: “We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that...we also groan within ourselves…” This “groaning” is something that all of us are familiar with. It is that gnawing sense within us that despite all our success there is still something lacking. It is that fear that we are frauds because, though we may look as though we have it all together, within us we still feel inadequate and weak. Though it may seem to everyone else that we have finally arrived, we still feel lost and alone.

Sadly, many people try to overcome that groaning within them by drowning it out with more activities. They think that keeping busy will distract them from the desperation they feel. Others try to numb their sadness by turning to drugs and alcohol. Still others think that if they just land that next promotion, or if they just make that next big sale, they will finally feel complete inside. And many others think that if they can just meet the right person, that lonely feeling will finally subside. However, it never turns out that way, does it? No matter what we achieve in life, no matter how many friends we have, no matter how much we try to numb ourselves, we find ourselves exhausted, drained and even more desperate than before.

That is when we hear the words of Jesus in today’s gospel: “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.”

The refreshment we seek can only be found in Jesus. Only He is big enough to fill the hole in our hearts. Only He can silence the groaning of our souls.

All of us who are here today know this to be true. We have heard it preached about hundreds of times. Why, then, do we keep turning to the world for the answer to our desperation?

Could it be that we think that Jesus demands too much from us? Are we afraid that we will have to give up too much? However, isn’t it true that the world also demands much from us? Consider how far people go to establish themselves in a career. They study for years, take on debt, work long hours and even undergo humiliation just to earn a few dollars that are quickly spent. In the process, their health declines and their relationships suffer. What Jesus demands of us is easy in comparison. And, rather than deplete us, Jesus will leave us refreshed.

Could it be that we think our sins are so great that we do not deserve the refreshment Jesus offers? Could it be that we fear that Jesus will reject us if we turn to Him? Nothing could be further from the truth. It was to save sinners that our Lord came into the world. As the Bible tells us “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). And also, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Lk 15:7). There is no sin that cannot be forgiven. There is nothing we can do that will put us beyond the reach of our Heavenly Father. If we turn to Him with the desire to change our lives, we can be sure that He will bring us the refreshment our hearts are longing for.

Giving our lives over to Jesus will not solve all our problems. It will not make our lives easier. In fact, He commands us to take up our cross every day and follow Him. What we will discover, however, is that in being close to God, we find what our hearts desire. That is because true fulfillment comes not from indulging ourselves but in sacrificing ourselves for others. And we cannot overcome our basic selfishness without the love of God living within us through the Holy Spirit.

And so, on this day when we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and Mary, we commit ourselves to allowing Him to work through us. We give Jesus the first place in our hearts, other people second place and the things of this world third place. With the love of God alive within us, we can then reach out to all those around us who are groaning because they lack hope. And we can witness to them what we have discovered - that we have finally found refreshment in Jesus Christ. 

The Holy Spirit - The Law Within Us

When we are children, we need our parents to watch over us. We haven't learned yet that we'll get burned if we touch the stove or that it's dangerous to run into the street. As we grow older, though, we start learning how to protect ourselves and how to stay out of trouble. The discipline that our parents imposed on us, often against our will, eventually comes to be an almost automatic way of thinking and living for us. We absorb from our parents values and attitudes that will be with us for the rest of our lives. We know how true this is because so often we catch ourselves saying something to our children or grandchildren that our parents used to say to us. We internalize the messages we received from our parents and act on them as we mature.

When Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as a river of living water which flows from within the person, He is describing much the same reality. When Jesus' Holy Spirit dwells in us, then we have Jesus' values and Jesus' attitudes operating within us. We see things as Jesus sees them. We begin to recognize Jesus in the people we meet. We begin to understand that it is Jesus speaking to us when we read the Bible. Just as we absorb our parents' attitudes and values by the discipline they imposed on us, so Jesus' Word begins to penetrate our hearts and minds through the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we begin to change from within.

How does this all take place? When we come to believe in Jesus, when we grow in knowledge of the Scripture and receive the sacraments, the Holy Spirit begins to work on our minds and hearts so that we grow in the knowledge and love of God. And, as we grow in that knowledge and love, we come to be more like Jesus. Before we know it, we will be surprising ourselves by saying inspirational words and doing kind deeds. Just as we often catch ourselves saying something our parents used to say, we'll catch ourselves being moved by the Spirit to speak words of comfort and encouragement to those we meet.

The next thing that happens as the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us is that the rivers of living water begin to overflow in us. We can no longer keep Jesus and His Word all to ourselves. Like the apostles on Pentecost day, we can no longer contain the joy that loving God gives us, and we have to tell others about it. The Holy Spirit makes us witnesses to His power and love at work in us.

We live in a culture that tells us that religion is something private, something we should keep to ourselves. We typically don't care what our neighbors believe or what religion they belong to, as long as they don't tell us about it. But, a Christian who has really experienced the power and love of the Holy Spirit, can't keep the message to himself or to herself. We can't keep the lid on the rivers of living water bubbling up from within us. And thank goodness for that! Where would we be if the apostles had decided that Jesus' resurrection would be their little secret? Where would we be if those who witnessed Jesus' miracles and heard His words didn't pass the stories along to the next generation of believers? And, what will become of our children and grandchildren if we fail to share with them the power of God's love made manifest in the person of Jesus Christ?

Today's feast, Pentecost, is the celebration of the birthday of the Church. We are the Church because of the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit through faith now lives in the hearts of almost two billion women and men who call themselves Christians. There are women in Africa, men in Asia, children in Europe, old ladies in South America and teenagers in Australia who believe and worship just as we do. This didn't all take place over the past 2000 years because the apostles had a good business plan and marketing strategy. It happened because the Holy Spirit worked in a powerfully way giving authority to the words of those who preach and making those who hear ready to give their hearts over in faith. That same Holy Spirit is among us now strengthening me as I preach and touching your hearts as you listen.

The task now falls to us who have been given to drink of this life giving water in the Spirit of Jesus. Will we keep it to ourselves? Or, will we speak about to everyone we meet so that all creation which is groaning and in agony can be transformed by the values and the attitudes of Jesus, our Savior.

Life-Changing Fire

Have you ever had a life-changing experience? Have you ever had an event take place in your life that was so dramatic that it changed the way you looked at the world and looked at yourself? Have you ever had something happen to you that shook you to the core of your being and made it impossible to continue living the way you had before?

The apostles had just such a life-changing experience. It was not when Jesus first called them along the banks of the Sea of Galilee. It was not when Jesus was crucified. It was not even when He was raised from the dead. We see clearly in the gospels that even after the Resurrection, the apostles were full of doubt and fear. Rather, the event that utterly transformed them was the feast that we celebrate today - Pentecost.

On the day of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit rushed down upon them as they gathered in prayer with the Blessed Virgin Mary. They were so filled with the Spirit that they could not stop praising God and declaring out loud what Jesus had done for them. In fact, they were making such a racket that a crowd began to gather. It was unmistakable to anyone who witnessed it that God was acting in a mighty way.

Up until that time, the apostles had been huddled in the room behind closed doors out of fear. Now, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, they lost their fear and proclaimed the praises of God and His Son, Jesus, to all those who had gathered to hear them. With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them, they were transformed from men who were afraid, who doubted and who even deserted Jesus, to men who spoke out boldly about the love of God made manifest in His Son.

The lives of the apostles would never be the same. After Pentecost, Peter would eventually travel to Rome to found a church there and be crucified upside down by the Roman authorities. Saint John would travel to what is now modern day Turkey, start several churches and eventually be exiled to the island of Patmos where he would write the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Saint James would remain in Jerusalem guiding the efforts of the first community of Christians, and he too would be martyred for his witness to the faith. Even Thomas who at first refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, traveled all the way to India spreading the good news. He was also killed for preaching about the Risen Lord.

The coming of the Holy Spirit is a life-changing event for all those who receive Him. He draws us out of the darkness of error and ignorance into the light of truth. He leads us out of the dark night of sin into the dawn of grace. He lifts us out of the clutches of death and carries us into the hope of eternal life. Together with the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and Giver of Life. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to enter the depths of our being, to fill our heart and to transform us from the inside out.

Many of us here today came to take our faith more seriously because of a dramatic event. It could have been losing a loved one, coming down with an illness or losing a job. It taught us how much we really need God in our lives. For many others, the miracle of children awakened a sense of the power and beauty of life and the God who created us. Because we want to share the beauty of our faith with our children, we began to take our own faith more seriously. Or it could be that, one day, because of something someone said or because of the example of a good person, it dawned on us just how much God loves us, and we could not help but want to turn our lives over to Him. We had a “born again” experience that made it impossible for us to think of living in any other way than for the glory of God.

The Holy Spirit uses all those experiences to alert us to the presence and action of God in our lives. However, most of the time, He is not working in a dramatic, palpable way. Rather, most often the Spirit is at work in us in quiet, gentle ways. Like our heart that beats without our having to think about it or our lungs which draw in breath even when we are asleep, the Spirit of God is moving our emotions to have compassion for the less fortunate, inspiring our thoughts to consider what is good and holy and touching our inner self with a desire for the things of God. As Saint Paul tells us in the second reading, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness, holding us up as we pray, and gently transforming us through the gifts of faith, hope and love.

So while it is true that we can have dramatic, life-changing experiences of God’s presence,  most often the Spirit is at work in us in more subtle ways that we can barely perceive. That is why it is so important for us to come to Mass every week and spend time in prayer every day. It is through those small habits of prayer and worship that the Holy Spirit leads us into deeper knowledge of and love for our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is through those ten minutes of Scripture reading that we commit to everyday that we come to recognize our sins and find strength to overcome temptation. It is through that Rosary that we pray before going to bed that we begin to understand and imitate God’s great love for us. And it is by going to confession regularly and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist frequently that we are transformed into women and men who radiate the joy of the Spirit of God.