Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-11, Psalm 104, 1 Cor 12, John 20:19-23

“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love”

One of the biggest temptations amongst modern day Christians is to think exclusively about the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Triune God, as if they have some secret strategies of controlling and directing her movements within and without the boundaries of their churches. Priests, pastors and good people alike tend to fall into this trap thinking that God’s Spirit only exists when certain conditions are met.

In the words of Franciscan priest Richard Rohr – “God is either everywhere or nowhere”. The belief in the presence of the breath of God in our midst arises out of the indivisible Trinity. In other words the mission of the Son, Jesus Christ, and the mission of the Holy Spirit are so intimately connected that from the very beginning until the end of time when the Father sends his Son he also sends his Spirit. It is the Spirit who helps us understand the actions of Jesus and how he is acting in the world.

The Hebrew Bible says that there was ‘a wind from God’ who was hovering over the face of the deep prior to the creation of the world (Gen 1:1). In the New Testament Luke reminds us that the Holy Spirit was speaking through the prophets of old (Acts 28:25-26). The apostle Peter wrote: "for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter 1:21). The prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak in the name of God and it was the same Holy Spirit who brought forth the birth of Jesus through Mary’s yes on Christmas Day (Luke 1:35). The same Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1) before his ministry began. In fact the entire Bible was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

In the Gospel of John this Sunday, a post-Resurrection narrative, we hear that in the midst of the disciples’ confusion and fear, Jesus “breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:19). And in the Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11, fifty days after the Resurrection the glorified Jesus finally poured out the Spirit in abundance and revealed to the disciples that the Holy Spirit was now fully manifest in the Church. It was Jesus’ last fulfilled promise that this Advocate, Consoler and Spirit of Truth would build, sanctify and help bear witness to what Jesus Christ came to inaugurate almost two thousand years ago.

The Holy Spirit from the beginning of time has never left creation. She is the uninterrupted being and dwells where she wishes and continues to be the prime mover of God’s mission today. Like the Psalmist who prays “O God, where can I go from your Spirit” (Ps.139:7). Hence the Feast of Pentecost is simply an invitation to be extra sensitive of her all-encompassing presence.

It demands asking for the grace to see, feel, hear, touch and know her movements. It calls for a more trusting relationship for what she is accomplishing without our human efforts. God's revelation through His Holy Spirit also demands an attitude of openness through His Word, of listening to one's human experiences, paying attention to your dreams and waiting patiently on her every day in prayer.

Whatever God-experiences you have – TRUST IT!