May 11, 2008
Pentecost
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”
Today we celebrate Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church and the sending forth of the empowered Church in mission to proclaim the Gospel. This is also the conclusion of the Easter season, where Jesus has now ascended to the right hand of the Father and sends His Spirit to renew the face of the Earth.
As we hear in Acts, the Spirit is given to build us up into unity in mission. One of the signs of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church is unity; unity in every aspect of her communal life. One of the sings of the absence of the Spirit is disunity. As happened to the Church of the Apostles, the Spirit makes us one in Christ, empowering us to do Christ’s work: forgiving, reconciling, uniting, and bringing the Father’s loving care to others. The Holy Spirit makes us a “new person” and gives us a “heavenly nature” through baptism and confirmation. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes, ears, and heart to the language of unity in God, also known as the Catholic Faith.
The Holy Spirit is renewed at Pentecost. This renewal also highlights the gifts that He gives us. These gifts are called “charisms.” A charism is a spiritual gift given to each baptized and confirmed person. They are given for the up-building of the Church and equipping for mission. “To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” The charism doesn’t act on its own. The disciple needs to activate it through a regular sacramental life, through deep humble prayer, and by being in union with every aspect of our faith.
It is here that one can discover one’s vocation. The ongoing repentance, conversion, and detachment that is part-and-parcel to the life in the Spirit awakens in us – every disciple has the fire to spread Christ and His Gospel. This fire propels and enflames us… but to what? One spiritual writer says that we need to follow our “Holy Discontent.” We all know there are great needs in our world; many injustices and too many evils. But not all the wrongs and needs touch our hearts with the same intensity. For each of us, something resonates; enflames us. It is where our fire, our passion, meets or is enflamed by the world’s needs or wrongs that we discover (or re-discover, or recover) our vocation in Christ.
“Come Holy Spirit,” we pray. “Enflame the hearts of the faithful” with the “Holy Discontent” that moves us to be the Apostles in today’s world. We are not called to be complainers, but conquerors in Christ Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
-Rev. Todd Molinari
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