(This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)
Later, another motive was added to this day’s celebration with the remembrance of the Law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. Thus the material harvest which the Jews celebrated with such joy pointed the way to a spiritual harvest: the harvest of all those who lived by the Law of God and shared in the gifts and fruits given by the Holy Spirit.
The coming of this same Spirit upon the Apostles (and, Tradition tells us, the Blessed Mother) in the form of tongues of fire and the sound of a strong, driving wind marked the birth of the Church. Fire appears in Sacred Scripture as love which penetrates all things and as a purifying element. Fire also produces light and signifies the brightness and illumination which the Holy Spirit sheds upon the minds of Christ’s disciples so that they can be led to a fuller understanding of the truth He taught. The Greek word for “wind” is the same word used to mean “spirit” or “breath.” The rushing wind of the day of Pentecost expresses the new force with which God’s divine love penetrates the Church and individual souls as well.
Immediately after His resurrection, as this week’s Gospel shows us, the Lord Jesus “breathed upon” His Apostles and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The conferral of the Spirit was linked with their new mission: to be sent into the world by Jesus, just as He had been sent by the Father. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were to preach the Good News of salvation, and they were given the power to forgive sins — to breathe new life into souls that were dead because of sin. Thus, in the power of the Spirit, the Apostles bore witness to Christ and bring new life to those whose sins had separated them from the grace of God.
Ever since that day when the Apostles received the Holy Spirit, the Church has continued to rely on the action of the Spirit. Pentecost was not simply an isolated event in the Church’s life. The Holy Spirit sanctifies the Church continually as He also sanctifies every soul. For our part, if we want to grow in fidelity to the constant inspirations of the Holy Spirit, we ought to be aware of the many ways in which the Spirit is active in our lives. It is the Holy Spirit who inspires our prayer, who helps us to understand the Gospel, or who deepens our insight into a truth of Faith. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us gently to the Sacrament of Penance to confess our sins, who raises our hearts to God at some unexpected moment, who aids us in fulfilling our vocation. Thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, we are often able to make sacrifices in our lives, to find the right words to console someone, to give encouragement or to stand up for our Faith and profess it clearly and firmly.
Above all, the Holy Spirit unites us to God the Father and Jesus His Son through prayer. Pope John Paul II has written: “It is a beautiful and salutary thought that, wherever people are praying in the world, there the Holy Spirit is, the living breath of prayer.” Whether it be publicly in our liturgy or privately in those quiet moments of intimacy with God, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray and binds us to the Father and the Son in a deep communion of love. Through prayer offered to God in the Spirit, we find that peace which the Risen Lord gave to His Apostles, a peace which satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts. For this reason, the Church has, since ancient times, prayed to the Holy Spirit:
“Come, O Holy Spirit, send from heaven a ray of your light. Come, O giver of graces; come, O light of hearts. You are rest in our labor, peace in difficulties and solace in our grief. O most holy Light! Fill the inmost being of the hearts of your faithful. Grant to your children who trust in you your seven holy gifts. Give them reward for virtue; give them salvation; give them everlasting joy.”
