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May 20, 2024Today we celebrate the birthday of the Church, for it is with the arrival of the Holy Spirit that the Church is born. Happy Birthday!! The Holy Spirit makes all the difference; if it wasn't for the Holy Spirit the Church would not be here today. The sacraments would have no meaning nor power. All the sacraments take place by the power of the Holy Spirit including the sacrament of confession, whose biblical foundation is beautifully shown in the Gospel reading. The Holy Spirit keeps the church going with its driving force and
guidance. The prophetic call of the church, the preaching, is also inspired by the Holy Spirit. Every single act of charity in the church is possible by the action of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also gives gifts and charisms to strength the church. But it must be clear the Holy Spirit is not a force or a power, it's the third person of the Holy Trinity, who has force and power to effectuate everything the Spirit chooses to do in his Church. We also owe everything good in our person to the Holy Spirit, including coming out of fear and being impelled for the mission of evangelization. We can stop living depressed to receive the strong wind of new life. Now press forward to bring others to Christ because His Spirit is given to us. The Holy Spirit gives the peace of Christ who comforts and dispels all fear. No longer do we need to live in fear but we can feel the comforting and healing presence of the Holy Spirit. Again we owe everything good and necessary in our very lives to the action of the great Advocate. In Pentecost the promise of Jesus to send the Advocate is fulfilled. Jesus keeps his promise so we may have newness of life in the Spirit. It is then a glorious day when we acknowledge the Holy Spirit continues to work in the Church to sustain its existence and continues to work in our lives to make all the difference. Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the Earth. Come Holy Spirit and continue making new Pentecosts in our lives. Come, renew your Church and renew our lives. Come!
