Pentecost Homily - June 5, 2022

 

Pentecost Homily

June 5, 2022

The Movement of the Spirit

 

            How do you know that you are filled with the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is described as a “mighty rushing wind” at Pentecost, which is a fitting description – we can’t see wind, but we can see some very clear effects of wind like blowing leaves or wind chimes. Likewise, we cannot always “feel” the Holy Spirit, but we can clearly see its effects in our life. So how do we know that we have the Holy Spirit?

            One sign of the Holy Spirit is that you are enthusiastic about the Faith. The word “enthusiasm” comes from two Greek words, “en theos” – meaning to be possessed by a god. If you feel enthusiasm about prayer, or for learning about the Faith, this is the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. One time I was at a party with a group of wonderful families, when their second-grade son asked me, “Can you tell me a saint story?” I said sure, but before I could begin, he went running through the house telling all the other kids, “Come hear a saint story! Come hear a saint story!” Before long, he had gathered ten kids, all of whom sat on the staircase as I stood at the bottom, telling them the stories of the saints. That hunger for the Lord – that’s a sign of the Holy Spirit within them!

            Another sign of the Holy Spirit is being inspired to do good works. Again, the word “inspired” means “breathed into” – as the Holy Spirit is often called the “breath of God” (in Hebrew the same word, “ru’ah”, means breath, spirit, and wind). If we have an inspiration to donate something to the poor, or make a sacrifice for another, or to do something for God – these inspirations are lights of the Holy Spirit active in your life.

            A third way is that we are led into deep prayer by the Holy Spirit. Have you ever gone to pray and thought, “Oh man, prayer is hard! Lord, help me to pray!” St. Paul tells us that “we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes for us” – it is the Holy Spirit that connects us to God and makes prayer fruitful. I remember walking out of Eucharistic Adoration one time in college, and my friend turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, “Don’t you just love God!” She had clearly been touched by the Holy Spirit during that time of Adoration!

            A fourth way we know we have the Spirit is that we demonstrate the “fruits of the Spirit” which St. Paul lists in the Book of Galatians. Fruits of the Spirit are such things as love, joy, peace, patient endurance, chastity, suffering patiently, kindness…these are signs of the Holy Spirit living in you. The person who can smile despite the chronic painful condition; the person who is extraordinarily kind to the rude neighbor; the person who makes sacrifices to grow in self-control…these people are led by the Spirit!

            A fifth way that the Spirit is active is in our desire to share the Faith. Have you ever gotten into a conversation with someone about Jesus? Has anyone asked you questions about your Catholic Faith? It is often the Holy Spirit working in them to ask, and the Holy Spirit working in you to answer!

            A final way we know that we have the Holy Spirit is that we use our charisms for the building up of the Kingdom of God. Charisms are more than natural talents – they are the specific gifts and passions that God has given YOU to help lead souls to Christ. Charisms can include things like teaching, music, writing, hospitality, counseling others, working with the poor, a passion for praying for others – and so many more. If you are serious about following the Lord, He will give you a charism – a gift or passion which will be used to bring souls to Him. What’s your charism and how have you used it?

            For example, I have a close friend who has the charism of hospitality – she has a true gift for helping people connect over food and kindness. She used to gather a collection of fervent disciples to her house for a meal and a time of prayer. Over the course of several months of prayer and getting to know one another, we felt the Spirit leading us to begin some powerful events that we called Nights of Unity, which were basically like old-fashioned tent revivals with preaching, prayer, and powerful music. It ended up being incredibly powerful – hundreds of people came and encountered Christ through these night retreats. But these would never have happened if my friend didn’t use her charism of hospitality to gather and connect people over food – seemingly a small thing, but it was huge in building the Kingdom of God! Your charisms will have the same impact if we yield to the Holy Spirit.

            So these are some ways in which we know we possess the Holy Spirit and see His action in our lives. But the good news is that we can always ask for an increase in the Spirit’s presence in our life. The Spirit desires to live through you – let us ask and invoke the Holy Spirit more and more. A great way to do that is the classic “Holy Spirit Prayer” – if you know it, please join me in praying it.

            Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, and enkindle in us the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and we shall be created, 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 that we may be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation, through the same Christ our Lord, Amen.