04/06/2006 - PENTECOST SUNDAY - Year
B
First Reading Acts 2:1-11 Psalm 103/104
Second Reading Galatians 5:6-25 Gospel John 15:26-27; 16:12-15
"When the Advocate comes…" Jesus assures His people. They will not
be alone, at their own mercy, in their own weaknesses and ignorance. The Advocate
is coming! The One who will aide them in every difficult situation is coming.
The word which Jesus uses to present the Spirit to the disciples not only suggests
that He consoles, but He will also stay close to them in every situation: when
they're accused, when they're persecuted, when they're tired, when they're forgotten,
when they're unsure and when they have to make difficult decisions. The Advocate,
the Holy Spirit, is the safety of the Church. In fact, Jesus' promise is not,
only, directed at the disciples, but to all those who follow Him throughout
the centuries. We, too, then, live with the certainty that the Father will send
us His Spirit, a Spirit of truth which testifies to Jesus!
First of all, we ask ourselves: when will the Spirit come? How will we know
that He has come? What are the signs of His presence in us, or in the Church?
The Apostles received marvellous signs when the Spirit came to visit them for
the first time. They needed something extraordinary so that they might be awakened
and be freed from weakness and fear. They heard a strange sound; they saw tongues,
as of fire, appear and rest on each of them and, filled with the Holy Spirit,
began to speak in languages unknown. These signs convinced them that the coming
of the Holy Spirit influences everything, on the inside and on the outside of
all of us. Therefore, we can neither be surprised by our weakness and the strength
of evil, nor can we be proud of our own abilities, because God can intervene
even where man can do nothing! The same signs helped them to open up to the
realization that, through them, the love of God must reach all the peoples of
the world.
We cannot expect to receive the same signs when the Spirit comes. He has different
means of coming for each person and for each era. Possibly, for us, He may even
come without signs, but His coming is never without bearing fruit. His presence
transforms everything and begins to transform the inside of our heart.
Today, Saint Paul gives us a list of attitudes, typical of the Holy Spirit of
God in us, and Jesus tells us what his actions will be in the life of the Christian
and of the Church.
First, we must follow the Apostle's observation. As long as the satisfaction
and the will of the flesh find a place in us, be they sexual or oral; as long
as we make room for witchcraft, magical and superstitious beliefs, as long as
we look to overbear others and allow ourselves to be led by our own yearnings,
envy and quarrels; all are signs that the Spirit of God cannot enter our heart
because He has not found the door to our heart open. If we are in this place,
we must pay close attention to the Ten Commandments and submit to a difficult
and laborious obedience, with sincere repentance and humility.
We might say that the Holy Spirit has come to us when love, for all, lives in
us; when joy and peace render us friendly and generous; when patience and kindness
allow us to live serenely in difficulty and adversity; when faith and humility
bind us without boasting, even in demanding accomplishments; when we dominate
our tongue, our eyes, our thoughts and desires to be servants of Lord Jesus!
When the Spirit of God comes, I will no longer compare myself to the Commandments,
but to the love of the Father and the love of Jesus, who gives Himself for us!
From these observations, we realize how important the coming of the Holy Spirit
of God is! And how important it is that we prepare the way! Jesus makes us understand
that the Spirit has a very difficult task: He must reveal "many things"
to us, but "we cannot bear them"! He must reveal, to us, to what ends
the love of the Father will go and, so, to what ends our love must go, because
we are sons of the Father! He will do this by being witness to Jesus, by allowing
us to understand the love of His passion and death, the magnificence of His
sacrifice, the glory of His Cross. And He will not stop to make us understand,
but He will, also, make us witnesses of Jesus: in the many occasions of life,
in the daily suffering and in all that comes from the lack of understanding
of faith, by those around us, the Spirit of God will strengthen our faith and
will make us instruments of the love of the Father, so that we may draw others
to Our Lord and Pastor! The same Spirit will make us appreciate every word and
every gesture of Jesus: "He will take what is mine and declare it to you"!
He is the Spirit of truth: His main duty is to reveal that face of God that
mankind cannot see because of sin. He will reveal the light and the love of
the Father which we encounter through Jesus! Above all, He is Spirit of truth
because, upon entering in us, He will render our life an instrument of God's
revelation: those who meet us can taste the wisdom of the Father and the benevolence
with which He wants to shower each person!
Come, Holy Spirit, advocate and defender, come! Let me know the Father and Jesus,
and transform me, so that, from me, too, His love and His truth may flow!