Solemnity of Pentecost

The mission of the Holy Spirit is both, utterly familiar, and yet so difficult to comprehend. But one way to understand is to think of Jesus’ words, prior to his death: “Now I am going to the one who sent me….it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you….I will send him to you….when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth….” (John 16). It’s an interesting word, advocate, from the Latin ad vocatus, meaning one who is called to be at our side.

Again, Jesus said these words to his disciples soon before his death. In the way Jesus had been present to his disciples throughout the Gospels, it was ordained that the Holy Spirit would be present to us: to likewise guide us, comfort us, strengthen us, and challenge us. But in our inability to fully grasp the gift and mystery of the Holy Spirit, the ad vocatus—called to be at our side—we too easily lose all awareness of his presence at our side.

As we hear today, there are two occasions that the disciples experience the movement of the Holy Spirit. We hear the first in today's Gospel, the evening of the day that Jesus was raised from the dead, he suddenly appeared to his disciples, to their great surprise, saying, “Peace be with you”. He then breathed on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. In that moment they received the Holy Spirit, though I don’t believe they truly understood what they had received. It makes me think of how we received the Holy Spirit at Baptism, that inward motion of grace, the gift given to us.

But then, it would be fifty days later for the disciples, in the great cataclysmic event, when the Spirit they had received became enlivened and actualized. Charged with bursting energy, it was the epicenter of the definitive Christian movement. It makes me think of Confirmation, in which the Holy Spirit we received at baptism becomes actualized in a new way and is thus to be drawn outward from us.

As we sometimes way, the mysteries of our faith are not so much to be solved, they are to be experienced. Perhaps today’s celebration reminds us to contemplate the experience of the Holy Spirit, given to us, so that we can therefore be given to the world. We must afford this Spirit the space and time to be quietly contemplated and experienced, asking for guidance, comfort, strength and to challenge us towards growth and holiness.

But more than just something we do as individuals, perhaps today we can do it together as a gathered assembly. There’s a part of the Rite of Confirmation, in which the bishop outstretches his arms over those to be confirmed, just like the priest’s hands over the bread and wine, calling down the Holy Spirit to act and transform something/someone. The bishop prays in silence over those to be confirmed, before he calls upon the same Spirit to further actualize their baptismal graces.

Exercising my office as priest and as your pastor, I would like to do something like that with you, though modifying the prayer for our purposes. I ask you first to consider where you need strength from the Holy Spirit. (silence)

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who brought these your servants to new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, freeing them from sin: enliven today, O Lord, through Your Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the one called to their side….

·        For our marriages, especially those that are suffering or have ceased to be life-giving, in which spouses have given up on seeking help and re-discovering your plan for them in marriage.

·        For our young people quietly considering a religious vocation, that they would be supported and encouraged to discern, and not stifled by fear.

·        For our families that are broken apart and for all the hurting that remains.

·        For those of us trapped in addictions, be they chemical or psychological, that we might seek and attain help. I include those of us trapped in the compulsion of viewing pornography, and all the ways it distorts our understanding of self, of sexuality and hurts our marriages.

·        For our parents who are struggling and even hurting in the challenging task of caring for the children you’ve entrusted to them.

·        For those of us trapped in cycles of sin, fearing that leaving it behand, we will not be truly happy.

·        For those of us who have been unable to forgive ourselves for past transgressions, unable to fully receive and trust in your mercy.

·        For those of us who have given harbor within our hearts to burning and unrighteous anger and hatred.

·        For those of us suffering the effects of abuse or neglect, and have not been able to experience healing.

·        For those of us hanging on to faith by a thread.

·        For those of us who continue to grieve the loss of loved ones, especially widows and widowers, and parents who’ve lost children.

·        For those of us who feel stuck in life, fearing that You have no plan for us.

·        For those of us who give into the devil’s whisperings, telling us we’re alone and unloved, and as can lead us to despair, self-harm and thoughts of suicide.

·        For those of us who are fatigued in caring for our infirm or aged family members.

·        For those of us who struggle with life-long illness—whether it be physical or mental, weary and unable to see the meaning and dignity of living with our diminished capacities.

·        For those of us who struggle to live the radical life to which Jesus calls us, fearing we will not be accepted in society.

·        For all other ways we struggle and are lost.

Heavenly Father, give us the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety; fill us with spirit of awe. May we experience through Your Holy Spirit, guidance, comfort, strength and growth, through Christ our Lord.