Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR C PENTECOST Acts 2,1-11; 1 Cor 12,3-7.12-13; Jn 20,19-23 The Spirit of Father & Son ‘Proceeding
from Father & Son’. In the Creed’ we pray: We believe in the Holy Spirit, Lord &
giver of life, He proceeds from Father & Son... has spoken through the
prophets’. From the earliest days, Christians have experienced God’s Spirit in
many different ways. Many titles have been used to express the stirring mystery
of the Supreme Spirit. We all long for Him in our need for inspiration,
holiness, strength etc. these are just some titles, that we use in prayer:
Spirit that fills the universe - Spirit of adoption - Spring of living water -
consuming fire - mystical union - advocate, comforter & sanctifier; - Spirit
of love & truth - of wisdom & knowledge - of discernment &
counsel - of mercy & forgiveness - of uprightness, leadership &
government - of modesty & chastity - of humility & power - of grace
& prayer - of meekness & peace... God’s Spirit is the Gift of God par
excellence, as he gives his seven gifts and seven virtues. By our very limited
nature we get only a glimpse of God’s Spirit: we experience his power, when we
contemplate the intricacies of our immense universe. And while he is beyond the
reach of our mind, Jesus has made known how God’s Spirit comes from the Father
(= the Creator) and from the Son (= the Redeemer). Proceeding from both Father
and Son, the Spirit gives himself -personally- to those who are worthy &
willing to welcome him, acting in each person according to the measure of
his/her faith. Way back in 375AD, St. Basil wrote a treatise on the Holy Spirit:
this is a quote: ‘Simple in himself the Spirit is manifold in his mighty
works. The whole of his being is present to each individual, and also present
everywhere. Though shared in by many, he remains unchanged; his self-giving is
no loss to himself...’ Intimacy
in God’s Holy Spirit. Mystics, Visionaries and ‘Victim souls’ help us to see and
experience how the Holy Spirit proceed from Father (the Creator) and Son (the
Redeemer), namely how the Spirit of both Father & Son radiates and
transpires from Christ our Lord. Mel Gibson’s movie, inspired as it is by the
Visionary Sr Anne Catherine Emmerich, shows this in the same powerful way. The
movie does not stop at feeding our imagination, by communicating dead writing;
rather it re-enacts the greatest act of love ever accomplished by God Father and
God Son, for our salvation. It allows us to “be there”, and being present,
to experience God’s unbelievable love & then respond in love. From this
perspective, God’s act of redemption allows us to participate in the pain and
love of God for us; and in this pain and love the Spirit of Father and Son
transpires, radiates and communicates himself. Fully united in this immense love
and pain, we then respond: come Holy Spirit: teach me, mould me, heal me, change
me and then we pray all the many titles that we apply to the Holy Spirit.
Beautifully St. Basil mentioned above, says: Ass the sunshine permeates through
all the atmosphere, spreading over land and sea, and yet is enjoyed by each
person as though it were for him alone, so the Spirit pours forth his grace in
full measure, sufficient for all, yet is present as though exclusively to
everyone who can receive him. The Spirit then raises our hearts to heaven,
guides the steps of the weak & brings to perfection those who are making
progress. The Spirit makes us be in communion with God. Then we become
transparent and spiritual: As transparent substances become bright when sunlight
falls on them & shine with a new radiance, so the souls in whom the Holy
Spirit dwells, and who are made bright by the Spirit, become spiritual
themselves & a source of grace for others. Come
Holy Spirit! ______________________________________ |
