After Jesus returned home to heaven, his disciples went into hiding. A few days later, at Pentecost, they were still hiding when a great noise like a mighty wind suddenly rushed through their house. A tongue of fire rested above each disciple, and they were all filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Their lives changed instantly.
They walked boldly into the streets of Jerusalem and started telling everyone about Jesus. They must have been convincing, because that day 3,000 people became Christians and the Church was born.
That was years ago, but the Holy Spirit is still working today, transforming the lives of people all over the world (1Cor.12:4-11).
For each of us, our own personal Pentecost started with the Sacrament of Baptism, and this gift was strengthened through the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Through these two sacraments, the Holy Spirit gives us the same special graces he gave the Apostles all those years ago. At Baptism we receive the gifts of faith, hope and charity. At Confirmation these graces are strengthened by the further gifts of wisdom, understanding, right judgment, courage, knowledge, reverence and fear of the Lord (or wonder and awe).
These graces, these spiritual strengths, are exactly what the Apostles needed to get going. They’re also exactly what we need to live our lives to the full.
These spiritual gifts are like the sails of a boat, St Thomas Aquinas said. Just as sails catch the wind and move the boat forward, so these gifts catch the impulses of the Holy Spirit, driving us onward, helping us to love God and to live good lives.
But these gifts of the Spirit are only effective if we play our part. If we have packed up those sails and put them away, our boat isn’t going anywhere, no matter how hard the Spirit’s wind blows.
The Holy Spirit is the power of God’s love. It’s only when we open ourselves up to God’s Spirit that we will truly reap the fruits that St Paul talks about in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, generosity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Deacon Peter McCulloch