Homilies

PENTECOST SUNDAY: THE SPIRIT IS A GIFT, THAT GIVES LIFE TO THE CHURCH

AFTER WE HAVE celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension of Christ, there follows the Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit or the Solemnity of Pentecost. We see a connection between these two important feasts. The ascent of one leads also to the descent of the other.

It has been taught to us that the Descent of the Holy Spirit marked the beginning of the Church. But there are other roles of the Holy Spirit in the life of the apostles who were left by Christ. The Spirit was seen as the force which led the apostles to proclaim the gospel of salvation. But for Paul, the Spirit appears as the continuing presence of God and Christ in the world. In fact, he calls the Spirit both as the Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ.

Let us reflect once again on the Holy Spirit and his importance to our life.

Firstly, the gospel shows us that the Spirit is a gift of Christ to the apostles. He says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” What this text clearly says is that “the Spirit is gift”. The first of the Fathers of the Church who reflected the Spirit as gift was St Hilary of Poitiers, but it was more developed by St Augustine. St Augustine explained further that the Spirit is a gift of love. Most of us don’t think too much about the Holy Spirit, but He’s no stranger in our lives. When we say, “God is love,” we’re talking about the Holy Spirit in a very particular way. The Third Person of the Trinity is a God of Love. That is the Holy Spirit.

We received the Holy Spirit when we were baptized, and He sealed us in the sacrament of Confirmation. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us to share the Body and Blood of Christ at this Eucharist. It is the Holy Spirit who, in the course of our lifetimes, transforms us from sinners to saints. Thus, the Holy Spirit is with us. We have already received him.

Secondly, while we say that the Spirit is an irrevocable gift of Christ to the Church, St Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, spoke of the Holy Spirit as “giver of gifts”. In a community, Paul sees a diversity of gifts under one Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who gives the diversity of gifts that are so needed. But it is not diversity in itself that St. Paul celebrates, but rather taking those diverse gifts to serve the unity of the one body, the Body of Christ. We have come to this Eucharistic celebration in order to encounter the risen Christ in this Eucharist, so that He himself can nourish us with Himself and make us one body in him.

In the Church, we experience this diversity of gifts in the various ministries and organizations. These ministries contribute and should contribute to the unity of the parish community. Division is not a mark of the Spirit; unity is.

Thirdly, in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, we profess that the Spirit is “Lord and giver of life”. Let us also reflect on this. The Spirit is Lord. A “Lord” is someone who has control over somebody. The masters of the house are called “lords.” In other countries, like Italy and Greece, people call their masters by that name. Even taxi drivers are called “Signore” and “Kyrie” which both mean Lord. Indeed, because they have the control over the lives of the passengers, they are lords. If the Holy Spirit is Lord, have we allowed Him to take control over our lives? He is the driving force and thus he should control us, not the other way.

The Spirit is giver of life. This has something to do with the name of the Spirit himself. In ordinary usage of the term, we say that an activity is full of spirit if it is full of life or lively. If not, we can say that it is “spiritless” or “walang ka-espiritu” or “walang kabuhay-buhay.” This can also be applied to a person. If a speaker is boring, we would say that he is “spiritless.” Hence, spirit in ordinary usage means life.

The Holy Spirit as life is also the giver of life. In fact, it is the Spirit who makes the present Church alive and it is the Spirit who gives her life. The active participation of the laity in the Church is a mark of the Spirit’s presence. The flourishing of Church organizations, like the charismatic communities, is also an index of the presence of the Spirit. These are examples which show that the Spirit gives life to the Church.

As individuals, we should be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We should allow him to take control over our lives so that we can be guided and enlightened in every endeavor we do. Moreover, we should also allow him to dwell in us so that our lives may be full of spirit and life.

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