Pentecost Sunday
May 22-23, 2010
Cycle C

O, that we might be awash in the Holy Spirit!  Touched with the Fire of God!
Today is Pentecost Sunday.  The day the Church was born.  The day the Trinity was revealed.

Let us put ourselves in the room with the Apostles that day.  Imagine it.... huddled together..... Mary and the Apostles.  Then the room shaking with noise, like the wind, filling the house.  All of a sudden fire... a big ball of it... dividing itself and land on them all, burning within them. 

Think of the fear; think of the wonder!

I have a memory of a night when I was a very young child. My mother scurrying us down to the basement of that little green house around the lake north of Waseca. A storm was brewing and the radio said, " Tornado warning. Take cover."

We were all huddled together,  Mom and us kids, (must have been that way at Pentecost too, huddled together...... the Virgin Mother with her children the Apostles.

We were huddled in fear. And suddenly there was a strong wind that filled our little house. A loud wind for the tornado was over us.  

We saw no ball of fire, but we did see lightening flashing over and over again, sparks of electricity flashing and flickering. 

We were afraid.

But the storm passed and it was quiet.  And we, like the Apostles burst forth, running out onto the grass and realized that God had been with us for no one was hurt, no damage had been done. I dare say even the cow in the barn and the chickens in the coop knew full well what we were saying with our giggles and shrieks; they understood our rejoicing.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit acted with great power. The Spirit took fear and transformed it into courage. The Spirit loosened the tongues of the Apostles and they boldly proclaimed, "Jesus is Lord!"  The Spirit revealed to all the nations that Jesus had been raised from the dead.  The Church was born! The Trinity was revealed! The Father sending his Spirit into the Apostles who proclaimed Jesus.

Do you realize that if you have been baptized, if you have been confirmed, what happened that day to the Apostles and the Blessed Mother has happened to you? You too have been given a full measure of the Holy Spirit -- as much as you are capable of possessing.  
When the Father sends forth the Spirit, he does so with power, each and every time.  He does not hold back. He is not stingy with his gifts.

The real question is, "Are we properly disposed to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit?  Are we properly disposed to allow to blossom fully the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

What are those gifts?  Wisdom. Understanding. Counsel. Fortitude. Knowledge. Piety. Fear of the Lord.

What are those fruits?  Charity. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Generosity. Gentleness. Faithfulness. Modesty. Self-Control. Chastity.

I challenge you to pick one of those gifts, one of those fruits and each week work on it.  Pick another the week following, and work on that one. You will experience the Holy Spirit work within you. You will see.

Some have said, "Deacon Bob.  How can I "get" the Holy Spirit?  I need him." I say, "You cannot 'get' the Holy Spirit.  You can only let him get you!  He is God and only God can give himself -- the Father gives the Holy Spirit through his Son Jesus, and the Father gives him to whomever  asks him for the Spirit."

We "get" the Spirit by asking for him.  We do most of our asking, and God does his best work through the sacraments.

Be careful for what you ask for!  If you ask God for the Holy Spirit,  he will give him to you, but you will never know where the Spirit will lead you. For the Holy Spirit is real intimacy with God. After Pentecost, the Apostles were more intimate with God than they  were when Jesus was with them in bodily form.

The Spirit enters deeply into our lives!