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| (my son's Pentecost "homily" while "playing Mass" w/his siblings) |
12pm Mass (#89c)
8am Mass (#89a)
10am Brookdale Senior Home (#89b)
On
Loving God the Holy Spirit (Homily #89)
by Deacon Dennis Purificacion
June 4, 2017
And so today we end the 50 days of the Easter season. For today’s Pentecost Sunday, there are 2
main points in this homily: First, who is
the Holy Spirit? Second, what are practical ways to deepen our
relationship with Him?
I
Pentecost means “50th day” in Greek. “Penta” in the word “pentagon” means “five”
for “five sides.” For Jews, Pentecost is
the 50th day after Passover.
At Pentecost, the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mama Mary) and
the Eleven Apostles were gathered in the Upper Room. Both the Institution of the Eucharist on Holy
Thursday and Pentecost interestingly took place in an Upper Room. In the First Reading from Acts of the
Apostles, it is written that “tongues as of fire…parted and came to rest on
each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Some Fathers of the Church looked at Pentecost in the
New Testament as the opposite of the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament. Whereas at the Tower of Babel God scattered rebellious humanity into different
languages where they could not understand each other, at Pentecost God’s Spirit
gathers together all the nations of
the world to speak and understand the same language (and that language is the
one love of Jesus Christ). The Holy
Spirit overcomes division and sin.
The Word of God also says that “each one heard them
speaking in his own language” and “yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues.” Here, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, the Advocate sent after Christ ascended into Heaven.
The Spirit unites the nations into Holy Mother Church, into a fraternal unity
that is stronger than any worldly international political or cultural organization.
The Holy Spirit
is God. In the Creed, we profess
that He is the Lord and Giver of Life, who with the Father and Son we adore,
worship and glorify. God’s very gift to
us…..is Himself… a Divine Person….the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. (You know, I love Star Wars, but the Holy Spirit is not some impersonal random Force
thing, but He is a real, living Person who
loves you and asks for your love.)
While God the Son was obedient unto death, God the Spirit is free to
blow where He wills.
And speaking of gifts, we see gifts in the Second
Reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, “To each individual the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” I have to actually distinguish among two
different things: gifts and charisms.
The Holy Spirit gives seven gifts.
The lowest gift of the seven is called Fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom. Fear of the Lord means
humility. Then there are piety, knowledge, fortitude, counsel,
understanding, and the highest of these 7 gifts is finally wisdom. [A fruit of the Spirit like peace and joy is
the effect or “perfection” (CCC) of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.]
[These 7 traditional gifts are permanent for everyone,
a special charism is meant for individual persons for a time. A particular charism is unique to each
person. For example, some baptized have
the gift of healing while others do not.
Some have a gift of hospitality, while someone else has a gift of discernment. Someone might have the gift of singing, while
another has a gift of administration. If
someone doesn’t cooperate with the Spirit’s invitation to give someone a
charism, the gift is given to someone else.
You can ask for a charism, but there’s a catch: The charism is to benefit
the community; in this case, to build up the parish. The Spirit’s gifts and charism are meant to
build up Christ’s Body.]
II
Now let’s go to the second main point. After having reflected on the Holy Spirit,
let’s look at more practical ways to grow closer to the Holy Spirit:
First, it is necessary to receive the Sacrament of
Confirmation. It is important to receive
this Sacrament as early as possible. The
Sacrament of Confirmation will give us the graces to be strong and
zealous. St. Catherine of Siena, the
great Doctor and Teacher of the Church (after whom our parish is named) taught,
“If you are what you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire.” The Holy Spirit will help us to be zealous to
spread the holy Catholic Faith! Confirmation is NOT graduation…it is just
the beginning! When we are baptized
and confirmed Catholics, we are more strictly obligated to defend our Faith
when it is challenged.
I invite adults who have not received the Sacrament of
Confirmation to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Think of those in your own family who have
not received Confirmation. (Let’s pack
our RCIA Program with new candidates in the fall!)* We should live a sacramental life: Confirmation,
Mass, and Confession. In today’s Gospel,
Jesus gave ordinary human beings – his priests – the power to forgive
sins. Jesus said, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are
forgiven.”
Finally, Pentecost is the 3rd Glorious
Mystery of the Rosary. The first
glorious mystery is the Resurrection, and the 2nd glorious mystery
is the Ascension. We can develop a love
for the Spirit through praying the holy rosary.
Perhaps today on Pentecost, if you are not used to praying the rosary,
start by praying just one little decade of the Rosary. One Our Father and 10 Hail Marys while
pondering the mystery of Pentecost. St.
Louis Marie de Monfort said that the surest and quickest way to become holy, to
be a saint, is through Mary, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Consider consecrating yourself, our homes, and our work to Jesus
through Mary.
In closing, we saw, first, who the Holy Spirit is, and
second we saw how we can practically grow closer to the Holy Spirit. In this way, may we be renewed. Let us live the words of today’s Responsorial
Psalm: Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
Deacon Dennis, it has been a long time since I have heard a homily that has had such clarity and substance. I have always prayed for the gift of wisdom, but now, I will pray for the other 6 gifts as well. I,also, hope to share what little charism I may have. Thank you and may the Holy Spirit be with you and your family always.
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