Pentecost Reflection
"Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?" 1 Cor. 3:16
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
The Feast of Pentecost: Fire from Heaven
It has been fifty days since Easter Sunday and the Acts of the Apostles describes for us how the gift of the Holy Spirit appears to Our Lord’s earliest followers as Fire from Heaven (Acts 2:1-4).
The disciples are empowered by the Spirit to continue Jesus’ own ministry of teaching, healing and service to the poor and the outcasts, as they bring the brightness of God’s purifying, transforming light into a darkened world.
As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, §747:
The Holy Spirit, whom Christ the head pours out on His members, builds, animates, and sanctifies the Church.
And this gift of New Fire from Heaven marks a new stage in humanity’s relationship with God as the Spirit strengthens, comforts, consoles, guides, purifies, illumines and transforms our hearts.
We should take note how the Apostles are completely transformed by this Fire from Heaven. Afraid, in hiding, unsure of what to do, they become courageous public witnesses to the faith. They are empowered by God to announce boldly the truth of the Gospel and to work miracles in Jesus’ Name.
As they give witness to the Gospel, they do so with a power and authority which is not human, but is divinely inspired.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
We too have been empowered at Baptism and Confirmation to share God’s love and God’s light with others. Here, the Church speaks of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Piety
Fortitude
Knowledge
Fear of the Lord
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit:
In addition to the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, our faith speaks of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1832:
The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.”
The Holy Spirit’s power transforms us personally, and provides us with the gifts we need to go forth into the world to be living signs of God’s presence. At the same time, God’s Spirit within our hearts is not a passive gift but is rather a call to an active life: a call to a life lived in response to the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit that have been given to us.
Are we doing all that we can to receive God’s gift of “New Fire from Heaven”?
The means of sanctification have been given to us:
The Sacrament of Confession;
Frequent reception of the Eucharist;
A time of daily prayer;
A daily act of will by which we choose to stand with God, with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and with St. Michael the Archangel against the powers of evil.
What does it mean to live one’s life in a manner that is filled with the Holy Spirit?
As St. Paul reminds us, true freedom is a freedom from the power of sin, while at the same time is the freedom for life in the Spirit:
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 1 Corinthians 3:17
Here are some of my reflections recorded in preparation for the Feast of the Pentecost.
I invite you to share it with family and friends.
Pax Christi,
Monsignor Robert Nusca
