Come Holy Spirit

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”     (Jn 14:26)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the “last days,” the time of the Church, the Kingdom, already inherited, though not yet consummated.” (CCC 732) (Emphasis added)

We are no different than the Apostles. We are all called by Jesus, by God. In baptism our souls received an indelible mark which, despite our sins, never goes away. By baptism the Holy Spirit entered into our being. If confirmed, we have again received the gifts of the Spirit. Yet, like the Apostles and the disciples after Jesus’s Resurrection and Ascension, we still don’t understand all that we should.

The Apostles spent three years with Jesus, listening to his teachings, observing, and even participating in his miracles. They then spent forty days with the resurrected Lord. Jesus breathed on them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22) And yet, they still needed the Holy Spirit to again descend upon them at Pentecost for them to begin fulfilling Jesus’s commandment to “make disciples of all nations.” (Matt. 28:19) He told them to “stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) Perhaps their hearts and minds had not yet been fully opened to his gifts.

Like the Apostles and disciples, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to move us to action; to meet our neighbors with Christian charity and love and direct their hearts and minds to the love of Jesus Christ, to be his witnesses, and to tell them, “Jesus loves you!” (Acts 1:8)

As with most of us, the Apostles still didn’t understand. Witness the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35). They were discussing the events, including the empty tomb that had been discovered that morning, but no Jesus, not even his body. Suddenly a third person joined them and, asking what they were talking about, joined the discussion. Soon this stranger was explaining to them all they had not yet understood about the Christ, the need for him to suffer, the prophecies that all pointed to him; a comprehensive scripture lesson. Their hearts burned as he spoke. After asking him to stay with them, he joined them at supper and at the breaking of the bread they recognize Jesus. We can also assume that at this point they also had a better understanding of Jesus and His mission (but not yet a better understanding of their mission which is also our mission).

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we are awaiting the Spirit of truth who will not only bring us understanding and guidance but also brings us strength as He does to the Apostles on Pentecost. Look at the change in St. Peter after the Holy Spirit descends upon him and the other Apostles and disciples, no longer in hiding, but speaking boldly to the crowds. We need to accept the Holy Spirit ourselves so we can undergo a similar change and live the lives Jesus commanded us to do, remembering that He is with us always, “to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20).

So how did the Apostles and disciples prepare for receiving this power? “Together they devoted themselves to constant prayer.” (Acts 1:14) And that is how we should prepare for receiving the Spirit again. Our faith lives should not be stagnant. If they are, the devil is making gains into our spiritual lives and destroying, bit by bit, any gains we have made to bring us closer to God. Prayer is a key weapon in this spiritual warfare in which we are engaged, in particular prayers like the rosary, the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, and, most importantly, the Mass.

It takes faith to do this. We all need wisdom, and this is what we should be praying for. St. James tells us, “If any of you is without wisdom, let him ask it from the God who gives generously and ungrudgingly to all, and it will be given him. Yet he must ask in faith, never doubting ...” (James 1:5-6) Yet many are not moved by the Spirit because, as St. James tells us, “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:2-3)

So how should we prepare for another Pentecost in our lives (if we are true believers, there will be more than one)? For one thing, we should follow the example of the Apostles and disciples with prayer for wisdom as St. James told us above. These prayers should be combined with reading and meditation on Scripture, learning and strengthening our faith, and showing our love for all of our neighbors.

Consider the words of this prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray: O God, who did instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. AMEN

Note the reference to light and wisdom, just like St. James recommended. Meditating on Pentecost, like the Lenten season that preceded Easter, is a time to concentrate on our spiritual growth. And, if we open our hearts and minds to the Spirit, we    will receive power, wisdom, and strength, all important for the spiritual warfare and the darkness we face every day.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, understanding, counseling, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, help our spiritual growth (CCC 1831). Out of this we get the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit which the Church traditionally lists as charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity (CCC 1832). These fruits sustain us in the dark world and our dealings with others as followers of Christ. We need these because we are in the world, but not of the world. Jesus called us out of the world. (Jn 15:19)

Through these gifts and fruits the Holy Spirit will help us to fulfill our mission as we, like the Apostles, have also been commissioned by Jesus to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” (Matt. 28:19) St. Paul tells us God prepared a mission for each of us in advance. “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

As St. John Henry Newman said, ““I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created. ... God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission ... Somehow I am necessary for his purposes, as necessary in my place as an archangel in his …” St. John Henry Newman, Everyday Meditations