24. PRAYING THE LIFE OF JESUS: THE THIRD GLORIOUS MYSTERY - THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON PENTECOST

APPETIZER:  Fifty days after the Resurrection at Pentecost the glorified Jesus Christ poured out the Spirit in abundance and revealed him as a divine Person so that the Holy Trinity was fully manifest. The mission of Christ and of the Spirit became the mission of the Church. (Compendium CCC 144)  The Spirit builds us up, gives us a share in divine life to and makes us holy. As the Spirit of Love, he restores in us through Baptism the life of grace that was lost through sin and enables us to share, through Christ, in the very life of the Holy Trinity. He sends us forth to bear witness to the Truth of Christ and he bestows gifts upon each of us so that all might bear the fruits of the Spirit. (cf. Compendium CCC 145) 

MAIN COURSE: It's quite easy for us to misunderstand the Holy Spirit because, unlike the other Persons of the Trinity we cannot easily grasp or at least imagine who he is. We understand by analogy to our own experiences what it means when we call the First Person "Father". And of course we most easily relate to the Son because he became a human and lived as we do. But the Holy Spirit?  In the past it was quite common to hear him referred to as the "Forgotten Person of the Trinity".  But fortunately for us, the Catholic pentecostal movement which began in the 1970's has helped to clear up this confusion! All of the modern popes have declared that a deeper understanding of and devotion to the Holy Spirit is a gift of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal to the worldwide Church.

It’s important that we avoid the common mistake of thinking of the Holy Spirit as an impersonal powerful force rom God.  The word that misleads us in this regard is "spirit" but we are not talking here of such a thing as the "spirit" of a school or of a sports team, or of the driving force of an ideal or an energy. The Third Person of the Trinity is not “what” but “Who.”   Equal in dignity and majesty with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is very bit as much divine and desirous of entering into a relationship with us as are the other Divine Persons.  We can know and love the Holy Spirit just as we know and love the Father and the Son.  From Scripture and Tradition we have come to call him by various names: Paraclete, Advocate, Counselor, Spirit of Truth, Promise of the Father, Gift of God, and Divine Companion to list just a few.

When it comes to imagining the Persons of the Blessed Trinity, we also run into some issues and problems. We humans need to wrap our minds around some image when we speak of God - we cannot simply think of empty space! And so even though the Father and the Spirit never took on human nature like the Son, and are 100% spiritual beings, we tend to imagine them in physical forms according to what we know about them.  It has become common to picture the Father as an elderly wise man, with a powerful almost stern look about him. We get some symbols of the Spirit from the Bible and so we picture him under the symbols of a dove (peace of heart), fire (purifying us), and wind (mighty invisible force). 

The Holy Spirit did not suddenly come upon the scene at Pentecost. He has been present and active as part of the Trinity from all eternity. We first hear of him in the opening lines of the first book of the Bible (Genesis) where we are told he hovered over the waters at the creation of the world. Throughout Old Testament history he has been present active in the development of God's People and as made God's Word known to them as we proclaim every time we recite the Creed at Mass "he has spoken through the prophets." The opening stories of the New Testament show us that God's plan for our salvation was made possible through the power of the Spirit coming down upon Mary of Nazareth and bringing about within her the miraculous virginal conception of Christ in her womb. And of course is is active and present throughout the life of Jesus as noted in the Gospels and the Church as recorded in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles.

We get our fullest Biblical teaching on the Holy Spirit from the letters of St. Paul. He does not give us an academic theology of the Holy Spirit but reveals who the Spirit is by showing us what he does for us and in us. The Spirit of God dwells within us (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16) and is the proof that we are God's children because the Father has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who is the bond of the love of God (Galatians 4:6). He teaches us that we are only able to pray because of the Spirit who is within us praying in us and for us (Rom 8:26-27) and he proclaims that we are the living breathing temples of God the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). 

From the writing of St. Paul and the teaching of the Church we learn that the Spirit is the actual soul or life-force of the Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ on earth. This is why we call Pentecost the "birthday of the Catholic Church."  This life-force is ignited and kept aflame by the active presence of the Spirit in every Christian as individuals and in all Christians together as the Church of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives to each baptized member of the Church charisms (spiritual gifts such as preaching, teachings, serving the poor, counseling  healing, singing, praying, etc.)  by which each one of us are able to participate in and carry on the mission of Jesus to the people of our time and place in history. 

It is the Spirit who makes the sacraments more that religious rituals which would be no more than simple prayer-services. His divine power and presence in our worship is what makes the sacraments powerful channels of God's grace that actually bring out supernatural effects and blessings into our hearts and lives.  Without the Holy Spirit, Baptism would not wash away sin and bring us a share in God's life; Confirmation would not bestow up on us the strength to faithfully follow Jesus as his witnesses; the Eucharist would remains imply blessed bread and wine and not be transformed into the actual Body and Blood of Christ; Reconciliation would be ineffective in forgiving serious sin and restoring us to a right relationship with God; Anointing would not relieve people of their pain and suffering of mind, body and spirit;  Matrimony would remain simply a legal marriage contract and Orders would be nothing more than a special ceremony of commissioning leaders and teachers in the Church.

So you see, though once called the "forgotten Person of the Trinity" the Spirit is now as well known and invoked in Christian life as are both the Father and the Son.  How does the happen in YOUR life? Do you pray (speak) with the Holy Spirit from the heart in our own words? Is there a favorite prayer or devotion in his honor that has special meaning to you? Do you ask for his enlightenment when you read Scripture or listen to he readings and homily at Mass? These are a few ways in which we can help to make the Divine Spirit an integral and active part of our lives. Don;t miss the opportunity to do so!

DOGGIE-BAG: Something to take away with you for spiritually snacking...

Prayer for the Guidance of the Indwelling of the Spirit
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen. (Saint Augustine of Hippo, d. 430AD)

Chaplet of the Holy Spirit

The Chaplet of the Holy Spirit is a rosary-type prayer that can be very helpful  in opening us up to the Spirit's presence and power! Unlike the usual rosary, there are no mystery meditations to ponder during each decade but many people find it very helpful to imagine the Day of Pentecost or some other Scriptural event associated with the Spirit's presence and power  This Chaplet is prayed using regular rosary beads as follows:

1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross. 

2. Skip the first 4 beads after the cross and go directly to the beginning of the 5 decades of your rosary.

3. On each "Our Father" beads of the rosary pray this invocation:  "Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth."

4. On each of the 10 "Hail Mary" beads of your rosary pray the following short invocation, taken from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles:  "Heavenly Father, through your Servant Jesus, send me the Holy Spirit!"

5. At the end of each decade (that is, after the 10th short invocation of each decade) pray the Glory Be: "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen."

6. End with the sign of the Cross.

Scripture Verse to Memorize:  "Because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6)