Dear Friends,

As we celebrate this Solemnity commemorating the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon our Lady and the Apostles and recall the seven-fold outpouring of grace that each of us received at Holy Baptism and Confirmation, may we never forget that the Holy Spirit which is Christ’s, conjoined to His Body and Blood, is the second (distinct yet inseparable) part of Jesus’ Self-Gift to us. He gives to us graciously the intimate relationship that He shares with the Father; and imparts His Spirit into our hearts as the fulfillment of the promise of His abiding presence. Too frequently, we have forgotten the wisdom of the great Fathers of the Church, whose faith and testimony to the Gospel is bathed in the blood of the martyrs who gave their lives so that we might believe; so let’s reflect upon what St. Cyril of Alexandria (Bishop and Doctor of the Church) wrote in the first half of the fifth Century to the faithful of his diocese.

After Christ had completed His mission on earth, it still remained necessary for us to become sharers in the divine nature of the Word. We had to give up our own life and be so transformed that we would begin to live an entirely new kind of life that would be pleasing to God. This was something we could do only by sharing in the Holy Spirit. It was most fitting that the sending of the Spirit and His descent upon us should take place after the departure of Christ our Savior. As long as Christ was with them in the flesh, it must have seemed to believers that they possessed every blessing in Him; but when the time came for Him to ascend to His heavenly Father, it was necessary for Him to be united through His Spirit to those who worshipped Him, and to dwell in our hearts through faith. Only by His own presence within us in this way could He give us confidence to cry out, “Abba,” Father, make it easy for us to grow in holiness and, through our possession of the all-powerful Spirit, fortify us invincibly against the wiles of the devil and the assaults of men. … Does this not show that the Spirit changes those in whom He comes to dwell and alters the whole pattern of their lives? With the Spirit within them it is quite natural for people who had been absorbed by the things of this world to become entirely other-worldly in outlook, and for cowards to become men of great courage. There can be no doubt that this is what happened to the disciples. The strength they received from the Spirit enabled them to hold firmly to the love of Christ, facing the violence of their persecutors unafraid. Very true, then, was our Savior’s saying that it was to their advantage for him to return to heaven: his return was the time appointed for the descent of the Holy Spirit. …

[Jesus said,] “The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of living water, welling up into eternal life.” This is a new kind of water, a living, leaping water, welling up for those who are worthy. But why did Christ call the grace of the Spirit water? Because all things are dependent on water; plants and animals have their origin in water. Water comes down from heaven as rain, and although it is always the same in itself, it produces many different effects, one in the palm tree, another in the vine, and so on throughout the whole of creation. It does not come down, now as one thing, now as another, but while remaining essentially the same, it adapts itself to the needs of every creature that receives it.

In the same way the Holy Spirit, whose nature is always the same, simple and indivisible, apportions grace to each man as He wills. Like a dry tree which puts forth shoots when watered, the soul bears the fruit of holiness when repentance has made it worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit. Although the Spirit never changes, the effects of this action, by the will of God and in the name of Christ, are both many and marvelous. The Spirit makes one man a teacher of divine truth, inspires another to prophesy, gives another the power of casting out devils, enables another to interpret holy Scripture. The Spirit strengthens one man’s self-control, shows another how to help the poor, teaches another to fast and lead a life of asceticism, makes another oblivious to the needs of the body, trains another for martyrdom. His action is different in different people, but the Spirit Himself is always the same. In each person, Scripture says, the Spirit reveals His presence in a particular way for the common good. The Spirit comes gently and makes Himself known by His fragrance. He is not felt as a burden, for He is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before Him as He approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console. The Spirit comes to enlighten the mind first of the one who receives him, and then, through him, the minds of others as well. As light strikes the eyes of a man who comes out of darkness into the sunshine and enables him to see clearly things he could not discern before, so light floods the soul of the man counted worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit and enables him to see things beyond the range of human vision, things hitherto undreamed of.

At the end of every Easter season, we experience a new beginning of our spiritual lives. The process by which faith seeks understanding engages the whole human being in coming to an explicit awareness of what it means to be encountered personally by the person of Jesus. Moving through the three-fold process of experience, understanding and judgment; human beings realize that in our awareness of God, of others and even ourselves, we approach the Holy Mystery. This Christ-Light, our faith, illumines all earthly reality and at the same time shrouds them in the mystery of the Infinite.

Be of good cheer and have a blessed week and Memorial Day!

Msgr. Grous