When we think of the times the church is most full, we think of
Christmas and Easter (or Guadalupe for the Hispanics!). But today’s
celebration of Pentecost should be up there among the most
well-attended Masses during the liturgical year. Why? Because in
the hierarchy of the Church’s feasts, Pentecost is second only to Easter.
(Most people think Christmas is second to Easter, but interestingly Epiphany
and Pentecost are considered more important feasts than Christmas.) So,
why is the church not as full today as at Christmas and Easter? Maybe
because we have forgotten the importance of the Holy Spirit — that He is not
just some vague force — but that He is the Third Person of the Most Blessed
Trinity. Just as at Christmas we celebrate the eternal Son of God
becoming flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so Pentecost is a
celebration of the Holy Spirit taking flesh in the Body of Christ — the Church
— in us as His members at work in the world.
In the Nicene Creed on Sundays, we say: “I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.” What does it mean that the Holy
Spirit “gives life”? Yes, of course we owe our biological life to God,
and the Holy Spirit is intimately connected with creation (see Genesis 1).
However, we know that the Holy Spirit gives us supernatural life.
He is, in Himself, grace! So, what does this have to do with
real life? The answer is: Everything. God’s commandments to love,
to grow in virtue, to be holy are not just nice directives for us to remember,
but He gives us Himself through the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, words
and actions in real life. Yes, we still have temptations. And yes,
we still sin. But it does not mean the Holy Spirit is not present in
our lives; and it does not mean the Holy Spirit is not there to assist us in
our daily struggles with the world, the flesh, and the devil. (Remember:
Our choices to commit evil are just that — our choices!).
Hopefully, you prayed for a special grace or favor during the
past nine days — a gift of the Holy Spirit. If not, why not ask Him today
to “set you on fire” with your Catholic faith? If you are bored or
lukewarm in your faith, it is only because you want to be! We
do not have to stay there, though. Our Lord wants us to be saints – holy
ones – and the ultimate tragedy in this world is to not to have been a
saint. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you holy today: holy in our little
Catholic community; holy in your family; holy in your marriage; a holy one who
will bring the Light of Christ to a world that desperately needs
it. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and
kindle in them the fire of your love. Amen.
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