Today is the feast day, nay, the Solemnity of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, the Holy Spirit is probably the most neglected of the Holy Trinity, yet it is this silent partner that was given to us as a gift and helper by Another.
For when Christ had ascended unto Heaven, He told His disciples that a helper would come, the paraclete. And on Pentecost almost two millenia ago it came in a drastic display of power with fiery tongues leaping about the air in the Upper Room and a rushing wind. As the tongues of flame settled upon the disciples, they began to speak in new languages that they did not previously know, astounding the men around them. Romans were hearing Latin, the men of Crete were hearing Greek, the men of the Arab nations were hearing the precursor to modern Arabic.
The Holy Spirit is not the God-man dying upon the Cross to rise again. The Holy Spirit is not a Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit. It is with the help of this member of the Trinity that we transform our lives into something more akin what God wants than what we want. With the Holy Spirit within our hearts, we are able to put down the pains of the past and move forward. We are able to forgive, even if we cannot forget. We are able to be made into new creations.
Come Holy Spirit. Renew us in faith and in love. Come Holy Spirit, make us the men and women we are all called to be.
O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams. - Saint Augustine of Hippo
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