For Sunday, May 23, 2010

My Brothers and Sisters,

Today is the great Solemnity of Pentecost - feast day of the Holy Spirit, the culmination of the Easter Season... a day frequently referred to as the "Birthday of the Church."

When we celebrated the Lord's Ascension last week, our liturgy reminded us that the Risen Christ had to ascend to the Father precisely so that the Father and the Son could together send forth the Holy Spirit upon the disciples - empowering them to be Christ's witnesses "in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1: 8b). Jesus also had promised the disciples that "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have told you" (John 14:26).

And so today we celebrate that outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus. What an amazing gift this is for the Church. The Third Person of the Holy Trinity is given - not just to those first disciples, but to Christ's disciples down through the ages. The power of the Holy Spirit has been unleashed in our lives... here and now. This is the wonder we share with those first disciples as we celebrate this great day of Pentecost.

It's easy to take for granted the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us - as individuals and as a Church community - because they may not be immediately obvious (or they may be underused!) in our day-to-day lives. When I have the privilege of celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation around the Deanery, I try to remind the candidates for Confirmation how the Holy Spirit can act in our lives - if we allow the Spirit to do so. That's a key... God always respects our free will. We can choose to use the gifts that the Spirit gives... or not. When we think of the gifts, though, how sad it would be (and how short-sighted we'd be) if we failed to use them! The Holy Spirit's gifts are given to us precisely so that we can live richer, more fulfilling lives as Christ's disciples - so that we can know the joy of Christ, and so that our joy may be complete.

Many of us are already aware of what the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Right Judgment, Reverence, Courage and Wonder and Awe in God's Presence. We are invited to draw on, make use of, these gifts - for instance, to remember that we have been given the gift of Right Judgment when we're facing an important decision in our lives... and then pray that strengthen us in this gift as we face the decision. The same with Courage, when we have to do something difficult in living our lives in accord with our faith. Or Wonder and Awe in God's Presence when we feel somehow disconnected from God's love for us. You get the idea!

God fills us with these gifts, and gives us the ability to choose whether to use them or not, all because God loves us... and wants us to be fulfilled in being who God has called us to be! May we be ever-aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit - and the Spirit's gifts - in our lives.

With love and prayers,

Rev. Charles G. Kieffer, V.F.
Pastor