My Pentecost Life

"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  . . ." --[Acts 2: 1-11].


Pentecost in the Old Testament, called "The Feast of Weeks", took place 50 days after the offering of first fruits at Passover. Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible says, "In later Judaism, the festival became associated wth the giving of the law and the making of the Covenant at Sinai."

Just as Judaism celebrates a seminal moment in its founding, with the giving of the law at (the Jewish festival of ) Pentecost, so Christianity celebrates its own founding at Pentecost with the bestowing of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the hardest person in the Trinity to understand. But, arguably, we could not be Church without it. While God is seated on the throne in Heaven and sometimes seems so very far away; and while Jesus came down from Heaven in human form but is now gone from Earth-- nevertheless, the Holy Spirit is alive and present in our daily lives to guide us.

When speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of Truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." --[John 14: 15-18].

The Holy Spirit has been called "The Spirit of Truth; the Spirit of holiness; the Spirit of Life; the Spirit of glory; the Spirit of wisdom and understanding; the Spirit of Grace and supplication; the Spirit of judgment and fire."

The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and Teacher, who helps us to remember how to be children of God and children of the Promise. The Holy Spirit recalls the teachings of Jesus and helps us apply them to our daily life.

The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and understanding. He especially conveys Love. He leads us to the Love of God which is Infinite and Unconditional.

I must say that without the Holy Spirit, I don't think I would be alive today. Or, IF alive, I would be amongst the "walking dead."

I was brought to church as a young girl, baptized, confirmed and given my First Communion. Then, my parents abruptly took church away, telling me, "We don't believe in that stuff."

My parents taught me NOT to give to charity. They tried to teach me that the only thing valuable enough to worship was "The Almighty Dollar."  They taught me Hate towards anyone different than ourselves-- the immigrant, the poor, the marginalized. They taught me to think of myself FIRST. They mocked and taunted Christians, as losers and hypocrites.

Even worse, our household was marked by jealousy, bitterness, conflict, rivalry, and greed. Every family member abused me in some way-- medical neglect, abandonment, physical abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse such as blackmail and bribery, rejection and argument. No one ever hugged me or said, "I love you." I wasn't fed consistently. I went to school with black eyes.

And yet, Somehow, I did not BECOME them. Where there was hatred, I shone forth Love. Where there was injury, I bestowed mercy and pardon. Where I was not fed, I baked and cooked for them. Where there was ugliness, I tended my mother's flower garden and brought Beauty indoors. Where my family doubted the existence of God and tried to convince me of this, I brought my Faith underground, never speaking of it verbally, but living it in gentleness and Hope for the future.

The home where I grew up was dark and sad. My parents were "deathly sad",  and lifeless in emotion. There was no Joy. Their language was darkness and despair, most of the time. If they spoke emphatically, I somehow knew,  "if I do not have love,  I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." -[1 Corinthians 13:1].

HOW did I know all these things? I tell you, that that "SOMEHOW", that Someone, was the Holy Spirit; drawing me to Love, and away from Hate, bitterness, blasphemy, futility, despair and trauma, and harm to the very soul.

I recognized that voice, that call of Love. I shrank in fear from the voices of Hate and abuse.

In Luke 1: 54-55, Zachary sings: "Thus he remembers his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham that he would grant us, free from fear, to be delivered from the hands of our enemies, to serve Him in holiness and virtue in His presence, all our days."

The Holy Spirit drew me TO Love, away from my enemies who endangered me; and TO God, who became my Father and my Mother. I never knew Love, only Hate and abuse; and yet, the Spirit taught me all about Love.  And so,  I learned to walk towards Love, to crave Love, to give Love to others, despite the desert of the soul in which I lived.

I knew I was in a bad place, a soul-crushing place, at the time. But I planned for the future, a future of Love and possibility and Hope. It was a desert which I had to travel through, on my way to a place of Peace and Love. I knew this desert was not my final resting place, that better things were in store. I would pass through the desert but I would not let it crush me.

John J. Navone, SJ, in his book, "Triumph Through Failure", says, "Only the Spirit of a God who is Love can empower us to transcend the malice, hatreds, and inhumanity besetting us . . . Only the Spirit of God can enable us to . . . create the possibility of a new future, un-poisoned and
un-embittered by hate-memories. . It rejoices in the personal beauty, courage and grandeur of soul, of those who preserve their identity and integrity, and transcend the hatred of their persecutors."

Navone goes on to say, "The redeeming power of memory [of that Infinite Love upon which our very survival depends], which impels the shepherd to search, the father to run to his son. . . IS the impelling, yearning force of a Love which restores what has been lost."

From my earliest days, I had been at risk of ending up a very lost child. But in finding the Holy Spirit, I was FOUND again.

[Related Posting: " The Shepherd's Voice", 5/8/17; "Unscripted", 5/15/16; "I Live by the Spirit", 5/19/13].

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