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It's intriguing
to see how the Holy Spirit is at work in the world today.
Usually
in moments of pain and despair, our Creator is revealed through the Holy Spirit
and provides a beautiful revelation.
Christ
comes in amazing gift form to heal us from our broken human condition. And
it all happens through the power of the Holy Spirit that is breathed on us all
at Baptism and again at Pentecost.
If we listen closely, the events of the past week for black America have the Holy
Spirit written all over them. It's time for new life born of the spirit.
If we
listen closely, the events of the past few months for all of us touched by the COVID-19 pandemic have the Holy Spirit written
all over them. It's time for new life born of the spirit. More on that in a moment.
As my
favorite rock band U2 writes, “The Spirit… She moves in mysterious ways.”
Why “She?” From
the Old Testament, Wisdom is known as Sophia (Proverbs 8). We refer to Wisdom now as
the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit has guided the Mother Church
throughout the centuries.
During
our formation, the Archdiocese’s lead theologian and Seattle University
professor Fr. Mike Raschko said the following to the deacon candidates: “The
Holy Spirit is a difficult topic to discuss because 'she' is very elusive. The
Spirit is the one person of the Trinity that doesn't have 'form' around
her. When we think about the Father, we primarily think about the
creator. We can relate to the Father as the
maker of the universe. When we
think about the Son, we think about the person of the Trinity that entered
history to redeem us (Jesus). There is a human being with a human story to look
at. When we think about the Holy Spirit, there is nothing to quickly grab
onto.”
The Spirit
is elusive and usually only revealed through signs of the times. What are the
signs of our times?
The
Apostles are experiencing their first Holy Spirit moment in today’s Gospel and
it transforms their lives forever.
They’re
angry, worrying, hiding, freaked out. Then Jesus walks through locked doors and
says, “Peace be with you,” breaths the Holy Spirit upon
them, and everything changes.
Fear and darkness are banished. Courage and enthusiasm for the Gospel take their place. In that moment, Christ’s Church is born.
Fear and darkness are banished. Courage and enthusiasm for the Gospel take their place. In that moment, Christ’s Church is born.
“The
Spirit moves in mysterious ways.”
Pope
Francis shared his thoughts about the Holy Spirit at work in the events of the
past few months of the Coronavirus pandemic. The message was directed to the
priests of the Diocese of Rome, but I believe there’s wisdom here for us all.
“In his letter, Pope Francis looks to this
first apostolic community, gathered in the Upper Room after the first Easter.
Although the doors were locked because the Apostles were afraid for their own
lives, the Risen Christ appeared to them, offering them peace, new life and sent
them forth with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The Vatican news site wrote this about the
letter:
’Jesus ‘did not choose or seek an ideal situation to break into
the lives of His disciples’, the Pope writes. But when He appeared to the
disciples in the locked room, Jesus ‘was able to transform all logic and give
new meaning to history and events’.
Pope Francis writes that Jesus’ presence announces ‘a new day’.
The Pope encourages… (us) to not be afraid of the complex
scenarios that will come about as we move beyond the first stage of the
pandemic response, reminding them that ‘Christian joy comes from the certainty
that Jesus is in our midst’. Those who, like Jesus, can welcome and embrace
life as it really is, who allow themselves to ‘weep with those who are weeping’
are capable ‘of reaching the depths of life and being truly happy’.
It is the duty of... (us all) ‘to announce and
prophesy the future’, writes Pope Francis. The Resurrection ‘is not only an
historical event of the past’, but rather, ‘the announcement of the salvation
of a new time that resounds and is ready to break out today’.
It is faith that allows us to establish ‘a
new time’ with evangelical creativity.”
How can we turn the events of the past week and past few months into a moment of evangelical creativity?
The Pope goes on to say, “If an intangible
presence has been able to disrupt and overturn the priorities and seemingly
unbreakable global agendas, let us not fear that it is the presence of the
Risen One that traces our path, opens horizons and gives us the courage to live
this historic and singular moment.
He calls on… (us all) to ‘once again be
surprised by the Risen One’. The Resurrection of Jesus, the Pope says, ‘is the
proclamation that things can change’.”
What changes do we need to make as a society to bring about peace and justice for our African American sisters and brothers?
The bishops asked U.S. Catholics “to pray to the Holy Spirit
for the Spirit of Truth to touch the hearts of all in the United States and to come
down upon our criminal justice and law enforcement systems.” They urged “each
and every Catholic, regardless of their ethnicity, beg God to heal our deeply
broken view of each other, as well as our deeply broken society.”
What changes will we be asked to make as we come back to public
Masses in the coming weeks? The list covers 18-pages! (Click here to see the guidelines)
Many changes we will agree with. Some we won’t. Let's allow
the Holy Spirit to help us all find peace in this new moment, in this temporary
new way of doing Church.
Jesus
reminds his disciples this weekend his peace is with them always. Let us
trust in Christ’s peace in our lives now as we wrestle with these important questions.
As we
experience Pentecost, I encourage us to let the Holy Spirit soak us with Christ’s
goodness. Let it permeate our very being. Let it
transform us in NEW ways that will heal our souls.
Allow
the Spirit to move in mysterious ways in our lives.
May the peace of
Pentecost be with you always.
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