The Sixth Sunday of Easter
In the first reading today, we hear about the power of the Holy Spirit coming down upon the Gentiles, the same Holy Spirit that the Apostles received at Pentecost, and how through the power of that Spirit they were able to go on and do great and miraculous things.
As a youth minister and Confirmation Coordinator, I often get to talk about the Holy
Spirit to young people as they prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation. And I often use metaphors to help make the Holy Spirit both more understandable, but also “cool”. So, I will compare the Holy Spirit to the Force from Star Wars, and liken it to an invisible force that gives us secret power to do God’s work in this world. Or, I might compare it to Jarvis, Iron Man’s artificial intelligence who is that voice in his head that gives him help and guidance when he is in critical moments of his crime fighting career. Of course, I will go on to clarify that the Holy Spirit is more than those things, the Holy Spirit is a person, and more than a person, the Holy Spirit is God.
I recently heard a homily at a friend’s wedding and the priest talked about how marriage is an image of God’s love, and then went on to explain how God the Father and God the Son, love each other so much, that their love, flowing back and forth between the two, is so powerful that it produces a third person, begotten of that love – The Holy Spirit. He then went on to explain to our about-to-be-newly-married friends that God loves them so much that He desires them to experience that life giving love in the Sacrament of marriage, and that, God-willing, the consummation of their own love would in time (about 9 months time), produce a third person as well. It was a beautiful homily and a beautiful reminder to us that God not only loves us enough to die for us, but He loves us enough to want us to share in His life-giving love. And through the power of the Holy Spirit we can actually do this.
So, as we prepare for the upcoming feast of Pentecost, let us be mindful of the active voice and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us become a conduit by which God’s love can enter into our lives, so that we, through the power and guidance of the Spirit, can become more peaceful, more joyful, more loving and more fully alive.