We Need the Holy Spirit!

This past Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost, and in the traditional rite the celebration continues for eight days and so the octave is still ongoing. On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the Holy Spirit descending upon the apostles empowering them to go out and preach the Gospel and we pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon us as individuals and as a society so that we may do the same. Speaking about this great feast, St. Gregory of Nazianzen compares it to the incident surrounding the Tower of Babel: “But as the old confusion of languages was laudable, when men who were of one language in wickedness and impiety, even as some now venture to be, were building the Tower; for by the confusion of their language the unity of their intention was broken up, and their undertaking destroyed; so much more worthy of praise is the present miraculous one. For being poured from one Spirit upon many men, it brings them into harmony.” The pouring out of the Holy Spirit undoes the confusion of wickedness and impiety when received with an open mind and heart. We must pray for this Holy Spirit to be poured out on our Church and our world today; it is the only way they can be saved.

The confusion we see in the Church today caused by certain things said and released by the Vatican and things carried out by some priests and bishops is causing the division that was seen in Babel: the language of more traditional members of the Church fight back against the progressive voices trying to bring the world in when the Church is meant to stand apart from the world. This disunity will cause a rupture without the interference of the Holy Spirit. And the same is seen in society. Those who hold Judeo-Christian values, which is what our society and world was based on, clash with those who have more progressive and radical views. We see this especially now with pro-Palestinian protests across our country, particularly on college campuses. Some are united with Christ and the Christian worldview and some are not, which causes a confusion of languages in the US and around the world. This will cause the common goal of living in a civilized society to fall apart. The only answer is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, leading all to Christ and His plan for our world.

The answer to the growing discord in both the Church and our world is the harmony brought on by the power of the Holy Spirit, a modern-day Pentecost upon society and the members of the Church. This will bring everyone to speak the language of Christ, building up His Kingdom in our world. And so we pray for the outpouring of this Spirit and for His gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord upon everyone in our world.

Come Holy Spirit!