Reflection

On Sunday the Church celebrates the great Feast of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit.  This will signal the end of the Easter season and the return to ordinary time in our liturgical year. 

When Jesus was with the disciples He talked about the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate.  When we read the Acts of the Apostles we are reading the history of the early Church and we can see very clearly the Holy Spirit at work.  The workings of the Spirit is tangible as we see healings, miracles, conversions and changes of heart and life. 

In a sense, as Christians in the modern times, we are living out the latest chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.  The continuing story of the Church and the workings of the Holy Spirit in the world is lived out through the Body of Christ, the Church and the People of God. Is not the mission of the Church to bring the love and mercy of Jesus into the world – to bring Jesus to people, especially those most in need?  To do this, we need the Holy Spirit, we cannot do it alone and it is the Holy Spirit that sanctifies or makes holy the Church.

Currently it seems we are in a time that needs the Holy Spirit like never before.  Some of the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit - peace, wisdom, joy, understanding, courage, love, gentleness, patience etc - seem to be things that the world needs right now.  In fact, the Holy Spirit always leads people to Jesus and is this not what the world needs at this unique time?

Let us take time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts, to transform them and set them on fire with love for God and love for our neighbour.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to make our hearts burn so that in all we do, in every encounter, the peace, love and joy of the Holy Spirit will flow from us and the Holy Spirit will fill the gap between us and the person we are with at the time.

As we welcome back students and have some changes in the restrictions in our wider community, there is, as with every change, some anxiety.  The world needs peace, it needs love, it needs some joy.  The peace, love and joy of the Holy Spirit are like nothing we can produce on our own.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to come close to us so we can continue this mission of the Church and bring the love, peace and joy of Jesus to people, through His Holy Spirit.

Holy Family of Nazareth - Be our inspiration and our guide.

Jesus of Nazareth - Help us to grow in faith, wisdom and knowledge.