Touched by the Fire of the Holy Spirit



 Dove of the Holy Spirit - Gian Lorenzo Bernini

(circa 1660, alabaster, Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City)



 “When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.  And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.  Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” 

Acts 2: 1-3

“...Dear brothers and sisters, we are always in need of hearing the Lord Jesus tell us what he often repeated to his friends: "Be not afraid". Like Simon Peter and the others we must allow his presence and his grace to transform our heart, which is always subject to human weakness. We must know how to recognize that losing something indeed, losing ourselves for the true God, the God of love and of life is actually gaining ourselves, finding ourselves more fully. Whoever entrusts himself to Jesus already experiences in this life the peace and joy of heart that the world cannot give, and that it cannot even take away once God has given it to us. So it is worthwhile to let ourselves be touched by the fire of the Holy Spirit! The suffering that it causes us is necessary for our transformation. It is the reality of the Cross. It is not without reason that in the language of Jesus "fire" is above all a representation of the mystery of the Cross, without which Christianity does not exist. Thus enlightened and comforted by these words of life, let us lift up our invocation: Come, Holy Spirit! Enkindle in us the fire of your love! We know that this is a bold prayer, with which we ask to be touched by God's flame; but above all we know that this flame and it alone has the power to save us. We do not want, in defending our life, to lose eternal life that God wants to give us. We need the fire of the Holy Spirit, because only Love redeems.”

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Homily, Pentecost 2010

For the complete text please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20100523_pentecoste_en.html

What do you remember about the day of your Confirmation when you received the fullness of the Holy Spirit which completed the grace of your Baptism?  In my mind’s eye I can see my family and seventh grade classmates in our parish church, as well as a favorite priest standing nearby smiling as the Bishop anointed my forehead with Chrism.  However, I can’t say that I fully realized at that time the responsibilities or challenges which accompanied being sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It was years later that I more deeply felt “a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as a true witness of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.”  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1303)  For only by doing God’s will may we experience “the peace and joy of heart that the world cannot give.”

During my first visit to the Holy Land our five-woman study group had been traversing the maze of narrow streets through the Old City of Jerusalem, at times trying hard to keep up with our energetic, long-legged guide.  We arrived at the Cenacle, or Upper Room, and, having caught our breath, we took in the present day surroundings of the site of the Last Supper, the Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, as well as other events recorded in Sacred Scripture.  We sang, “Come, Holy Ghost,” as our priest chaplain prayed over each one of us in turn.  We were indeed “touched by God’s flame” in that holy place, reminded of our apostolic responsibilities, and transformed in Christ.

How do we, long after our Confirmation Day, “let ourselves be touched by the fire of the Holy Spirit?”  Do we sometimes overlook the gifts the Lord has given to us?  Do we ever try to escape from the challenges of the Cross? 

Let us together pray the “bold prayer”:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.

V.  Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created.
R.  And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.
O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

The Upper Room as it appears today