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COME HOLY
GHOST The Feast of the
Pentecost has been called the birthday of the Church because it was not
until the coming of the Spirit that the Apostles began their mission to
proclaim the gospel to the world. When Jesus was with the Apostles he
taught them by word and example the truths of the faith. But it was not
until the coming of the Spirit that all truth was explained to the
Apostles. The Lord established the Church, but it was the Spirit who
breathed life into it.
In our own experience of the faith, we can know all the truths and what
we must do in order to live a Christian life, but we need the Spirit in
order to live out our faith in the real world. The Spirit gives us peace
in the midst of the tensions of this life. The Spirit helps us overcome
our fear of using our spiritual gifts. The Spirit helps us discern what
is from the Lord and what is from the world. The Spirit helps us grow as
individuals while we live united in community within the Church.
“Holy Spirit, I see You coming down into the soul like the sun which,
finding no obstacle, no impediment, illumines everything; I see You
descending like a fiery thunderbolt which, in falling, goes to the
lowest place it finds and there it reposes, never stopping on the way
nor resting on the mountainous or high places but rather in the center
of the earth. Thus You, O Holy Spirit, when You come down from heaven
with the fiery dart of Your divine love, You do not repose in proud
hearts or in arrogant spirits, but You make Your abode in souls that are
humble and contemptible in their own eyes” (St. Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi). |
