Pentecost: It’s as big as Christmas
Have you ever contemplated about what the Feast of Pentecost is really about? If you’re like me, it hasn’t been until this time of being away from the church that you’re really looking at the fine and rich details, significance, and symbolisms of the celebrations of our faith. And it hit me; if in Christmas we celebrate the coming of the second Person of the Trinity, and in Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the third Person of the Trinity, we really should be celebrating Pentecost at a scale as grand as Christmas, shouldn’t we?
Unfortunately, the reality is that we don’t, and I think this is because many of us are not quite sure what to make of the Holy Spirit. We relate better to Jesus. Like us he is flesh and blood. He looks like us, sounds like us, feels like us, and therefore it is easy for us to develop a relationship with him. The Father and Holy Spirit, however, are pure spirit and therein lies our struggle to connect with them. I believe this is especially true with the Holy Spirit as unlike the role of father, Holy Spirit is a harder concept for us to grasp.
What does the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world and our lives look like? At baptism we have all been freely given the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are fortitude, piety, fear of God, counsel, understanding, wisdom, and knowledge. (For those of you who never paid attention during Catechism classes, you’re welcome) When we receive the sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the fullness of these gifts and they remain with us at all times, as long as we are in a state of grace.
These are really our superpowers, given by a supernatural source. They are heroic character traits that Jesus Christ alone possesses in abundance but that he freely shares with the members of his Church. These gifts help us to be docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and when we are, we manifest the fruits of the Holy Spirit through our behaviour and actions (kindness, generosity, joy, charity, self-control, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, chastity, peace, patients, and modesty). This was what Jesus was referring to when he said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” (Matthew 7:16)
So, Pentecost is a big deal! It is a celebration of God coming into the world and remaining with us. At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation of God as man, and at Easter, we are shown the extent of God’s love for us by his willingness to die on the cross to redeem us from sin. Then, at Ascension the resurrected Christ returns to the Father in heaven. If the story ends here, it would be quite sad. It would mean that once again we are left on our own in this world to fumble our way through life.
But the truth is, we are not! The third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, is always very much with us. He is known as the Helper or Advocate because he is here to help and guide our thoughts and actions. We must, however, permit him to enter our souls and be submissive to his promptings. If we do, the Holy Spirit can do mighty works through us. We see this in the transformation the Apostles experienced at that first Pentecost. They were fired up to begin the Church that remains today, more than 2,000 years later.
This Pentecost Sunday, let us remember that God is with us. Let us rejoice and throw a welcome party fit for our God the Holy Spirit! KA