Lord, send down your Spirit

Jesus appears to the apostles, who are fearfully huddled in the upper room, and breathes on them.  He commands that they might receive the Holy Spirit.  This action is reminiscent of the creation story in which God breathes life into the nostrils of the clay made man.  The Spirit of God is about new life, peace, and unending joy.  At Pentecost the apostles launch out into the world proclaiming the Paschal Mystery with tenacity, and in various languages.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit enables the Church to continue on the mission and ministry of the Church.  So we receive these gifts with love and thanksgiving, nurture them, share them in love and charity, and return them with increase, to the Lord.  The Spirit does not leave room for complacency or doing the status quo in the Church today.  The renewal brought to us through the Holy Spirit moves the Church along the journey towards our Christ.  What we receive through the Holy Spirit continues to unfold the reality of the Kingdom before us.

Certainly the challenge for our Church, and for the faithful within, is to understand that the Holy Spirit leads us into the uncomfortable.  The Spirit stretches us and opens us up.  Yet this same Spirit provides us with the strength and courage so that we might be able to make bold proclamations according to truth.  Both the prophets and the apostles discover this to be true.  They protest that they are too young, or they grow weary of being chased by evil people, yet discover an inner strength which enables them to stand firm on conviction and the values they have come to know.

When we allow the Spirit to work in our Church, and in our lives, we discover how powerful the grace of God really is.  We discover words and wisdom that we never knew that we had.  The Spirit allows the Church to be light, life, and holiness for the world.  More over it continues to be an obstacle and stumbling block for the impious and self-absorbed.

Lord Send Out Your Spirit and Renew the Face of the Earth.