May 24, 2018

Solemnity of Pentecost

“We Need the Spirit’s Wind and Fire”

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

At a parish, in order to highlight the festive spirit of Pentecost, the ushers handed each person a bright red carnation. The people listened attentively to the readings—how at Pentecost the Holy Spirit was manifest through a powerful wind and tongues of fire. Then came the homily. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us,” the pastor began. “Like a powerful wind from heaven!” responded a woman sitting in the first pew and she threw one of the red carnations toward the altar. The pastor began again: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us.” The woman responded again: “Like the tongues of fire!” throwing another carnation toward the altar. The pastor, a good pastor, then said, “Now throw your wallet.” And she replied, “Father, you just calmed the wind and put out the fire.”
 
Pentecost is a Greek term that means “fifty.” It was first celebrated in Judaism as a harvest festival fifty days after Passover and later became a commemoration of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. Today, fifty days after our Passover, Easter, the Church celebrates the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit to his Church.
 
The Acts of the Apostles relates that the disciples experienced the Spirit’s coming through a driving wind and fire—what do these elements teach us about the Holy Spirit?
 
WIND
In his conversation with Nicodemus, Our Lord compared the Holy Spirit to wind: “The wind blows wherever it wishes. We do not know where it comes from or where it is going.” Wind, like the Holy Spirit comes from God, it is not seen or controlled by man. Today, the media often carries the news of China’s problems with air pollution. The people have to walk around wearing masks and are happy when a strong wind carries off harmful pollutants.
 
But there are also harmful pollutants of the heart and soul. When we are receptive to grace and determined to take the path of virtue, the Holy Spirit blows away all that is toxic to a good and holy life. The Holy Spirit, like a powerful wind moves us from complacency to action, to change, to renewal. A strong wind is capable of even lifting a house and moving it to another place. The Holy Spirit can move us from where we are to where God wants us to be.
 
FIRE
If we delve into Greek mythology, we would come across Prometheus. He is the god who stole fire from Mt. Olympus and gave it to mortals so that they might use it as they liked, independent of the gods. Doesn’t this reflect our culture? Aren’t we intent to live as if God did not exist? We value autonomy—living by our own rules, apart from any divine plan. Our culture has dismissed the idea of absolute truths, truths that are constant and unchangeable. We think of everyone having their own “personal truth.” Our Lord has told us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all the truth.
 
Fire dispels the darkness; it provides light so that we might see the path before us. This is what the Holy Spirit does—he brings light to the dark moments of life…suffering, crises, the death of a loved one.
 
Our spiritual life requires the wind and fire of the Holy Spirit. My mom cared for my father during his illness before he died. She was by his side, day and night. I observed in amazement and once asked her, “How do you do it?” She looked at me rather puzzled or perhaps annoyed, and replied, “You’re a priest. Don’t you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you believe in the grace of the Sacrament of Matrimony?”
 
On this Pentecost Sunday, I ask, “Do we really believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? Do we really believe in what the Holy Spirit can accomplish in us? Come, Holy Spirit! Come with your wind and fire! We need it!