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_{Solemnity of Pentecost
May 27, 2007}

Happy Pentecost!  Or should I say, "Happy Birthday!"  After all we recognize this day as the birthday of the Church.  Most people immediately think of the Holy Spirit when they hear Pentecost.  And when we think of the Holy Spirit, we usually think of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus, as described in today's readings.

When we refer to the "coming" of the Holy Spirit, this does not mean that the Holy Spirit was not deeply and directly involved in the work of salvation prior to Pentecost.

On the contrary, Sacred Scripture describes the Holy Spirit inspiring King David and speaking through the prophet Isaiah.  And the Gospels describe the Holy Spirit as being active in the life of Jesus long before Pentecost.  The Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism by John the Baptist, filled Jesus with power, and led him into the desert to confront Satan.   

But even though the Holy Spirit was active in salvation history long before Pentecost, something monumental and unique did take place on Pentecost.  Recall that after washing the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples: "I shall not be with you much longer… I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate…He is the Spirit."

Then, just before ascending to heaven, Jesus gave this instruction to his disciples: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about…John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."  And so the stage was set for one of the most important events in history: the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus.  It changed their lives forever.

Luke writes in the Acts of the Apostles:  "When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place.  Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing." 

The "noise from the sky" was so loud that it attracted a huge crowd to the place where the disciples were gathered.  The disciples went outside and Peter explained that it was what God had foretold through the prophet Joel: "I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.  Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message."

The effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples was to form them into a single body, with Christ as their head.  Just as the prophet Joel had foretold that the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all believers, so another prophet, Isaiah, referred to the seven spiritual gifts the believers would receive from this outpouring.

Commenting on the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, St. Augustine says, "Isaiah begins with wisdom and ends with fear of the Lord…He begins, therefore, by identifying the goal we are striving for and ends with the starting point where we must begin.

We were richly blessed this past Lent when Fr. Al McBride led our parish mission on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Now let us take another brief look at the seven gifts to see how they fit together and help us in our spiritual journey to the Father.

The first three gifts are Fear of the Lord, Piety, and Knowledge.  Fear of the Lord empowers us to turn our backs on a life of sin and begin the spiritual journey for which we were created.  The gift of Piety gives us our first insight into the beauty and mystery of God.  It has been called the foundation of the spiritual life.  This is because it gives us our first glimpse of a world that up to this point we never dreamed existed.  The gift of Knowledge empowers us to see how all creation has its origin in God and is intended to help us in our journey to God.

The next three gifts are Fortitude, Counsel, and Understanding.  Fortitude empowers and strengthens us to meet the challenges and obstacles along our journey to God with courage and joy.  Counsel helps us discern the right path when it is obscured with confusion and darkness.  Understanding helps us probe the meaning and truthfulness of God’s revelation as it comes down to us in Tradition and Scripture.

The final gift is Wisdom.  Wisdom enables us to perceive God's presence in all things and how it acts as a foretaste of what God has in store for us.  As we meditate on the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, we begin to appreciate the tremendous role the Holy Spirit can play in our life if we open our heart fully to these gifts.

The other point I want to make today as we celebrate Pentecost, the day when the fullness of God's Spirit was poured out on those first believers, is about a specific temptation; the temptation to presume that what happened to them is fundamentally different or better or more true or even more powerful than what can and does happen to us.  They really received the Spirit!  If only we had…If only now…If only!

The Holy Spirit which comes to us each and every day, the Holy Spirit we celebrate and give glory to this day, is the same Holy spirit who was alive in Jesus two thousand years ago, the same Holy Spirit who infused Adam and Eve with life, the same Holy Spirit who empowered Moses to deliver his people from bondage in Egypt, the same Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets, and the exact same Holy Spirit who transformed a ragtag group of misfit people into a body of believers filled with courage, wisdom, and understanding.  It’s precisely the same Holy Spirit who comes to us in the waters of Baptism and the oils of Confirmation.

Those first believers did not have anything that we don't have today!  Let's stop using that excuse.  It's time to do our part.  It's time for us to ante up.  The world need never be the same.

COME HOLY SPIRIT!  COME!