The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” Acts 2:4
Growing up my uncle had always called the Holy Spirit the “Holy Ghost” so my perception of the Holy Spirit as a young child was this Casper the not so friendly ghost that could creep on me at night. Fast forward ten years later that perception has thankfully changed.
The Holy Spirit has many names and symbols. Some call Him the paraclete, advocate, comforter and He is symbolized as water, fire, or a dove. In today’s first reading, we hear about the upperroom where the Holy Spirit comes down upon the apostles. Each of them were filled with the Holy Spirit speaking in different tongues. My favorite part of this moment are the words: “the Spirit enabled them to proclaim”. It is in that moment where the Christian mission was made clear. We are all called to proclaim the love of Christ to the world. Pentecost is often referred to as the birth of the Catholic Church, where the Holy Trinity is fully revealed.
The Holy Spirit is also referred to as the profound love between God the Father and God the Son. What is love if not a gift of ourselves to the other. It is in gifting ourselves to one another that we have life. We proclaim each time we say the Creed that the Holy Spirit is “Lord the giver of life”. He is the ultimate gift.
The Holy Spirit is the enabler. He allows us to proclaim the love of the Trinity through the fruits and the gifts.
He is the love that enables us to do all things. It is only through Him that we are truly alive.
Let us pray together today: Come Holy Spirit come! Enable in me the love of the Trinity. Enable me to give of myself to those I encounter today. Set my soul ablaze. Amen.