In the early
hours of Pentecost, and I'd like to summarize as best as possible how
the Holy Spirit fits into our lives. For one thing, he leads us to the
truth. In John 14:26, we read, "The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the
Father will send in my name--he will teach you everything and remind you
of all that (I) told you." The Holy Spirit stays with us forever: In
John 14:16-18, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world
cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it,
because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you
orphans; I will come to you. This is Jesus speaking to the Apostles, and
when we love Jesus we are also his disciples. The Holy Spirit, will also
animate us to remember what Jesus said, and moreover, to keep us away
from sin. In Romans 8:16-17, "The Spirit itself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs
of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that
we may also be glorified with him. This concept is very difficult for us
to understand because as adults most of us have no desire to be as
children. Yet, that is the relationship Jesus expects of us. That is not
merely symbolic but very real.
The Holy Spirit speaks to us in groanings that we cannot understand. In
Romans 8:26-7, we read, "In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the
aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the
Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who
searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it
intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will. We are aided by
receiving some or all of the gifts of the holy spirit and we should be
open to this (see 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11).
He clarifies things for us. For example, during Holy Mass, at the time
of the adoration of the Doxology (at the very end of the Canon), the
celebrant says: "Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, forever and
ever," and we say or sing, Amen to indicate that we totally agree.
Unless you pray to the Holy Spirit frequently you aren't going to
understand the relationship of the one God in three persons in this
Doxology. In our hearts we understand but in our minds, that's another
matter. But we accept this by Faith and by Faith alone.
In the Gospel of Matthew (11:27) the relationship between Jesus and His
Father is explained: "All things have been delivered to me by my Father;
and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father
except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." The
Catholic Church believes, as do many other Christian denominations, that
there is one God in three persons. Many have read the story in the
writings of St. Augustine that he went to the beach ones to ponder the
Holy Trinity. There was a little boy there, trying to fill a hole he had
dug in the sand with seawater. St. Augustine stood there watching the
boy for a while as he walked back and forth from the waters edge to the
hole in the sand trying to refill the hole. Augustine remarked that it
wasnt possible to fill the hole with all the water from the sea,
whereupon the boy said that just as it wasnt possible to fill the hole
with all the water from the sea, it also wasnt possible for Augustine
to understand the Holy Trinity. Well, I dont presume to understand the
Holy Trinity but by Faith I believe.
Sometimes we think that Jesus is so far away. We hear Him talk to us but
we're not ready to listen. We are too busy, too preoccupied. It is just
at those quiet moments that we should stop what we are doing and listen
and greet Him, welcome Him in our souls. Pray to the Holy Spirit for
clarification, for wisdom to see Jesus as part of our lives.
What is Jesus trying to tell us? When you listen carefully, you will
hear Him tell you that He loves you more than anyone ever has. You will
hear Him tell you that He wishes all goodness and peace in your life and
that we should try harder to repair the damage done by our sins. You'll
feel Him urge you to pray His perfect prayer with you "Our Father, who
art in Heaven, hallowed by your Name, your kingdom come, your will be
done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive
us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and do
not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen."
Jesus will also ask you to pray to His Mother, our Mother Mary. She is
the strongest friend you could ever ask for because Jesus listens to
her. Pray the Rosary if you can. And if you can't then just pray a "Hail
Mary" or two. Jesus will remind you that if you wish to be with Him and
with Mary and all the Angels and Saints until the end of time, you need
to begin preparing now. I wish all of you a most meaningful Pentecost.
It's just one Sunday and it comes and goes, but allow the meaning of
Pentecost to be with you all year. May the Holy Spirit fill you with His
wisdom and love, for indeed, He is the love of the Father and of the
Son. Amen.
Fred Schaeffer, SFO ( 2006)
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