Fr Piero Lazzarini sx
50 days after Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, we celebrate Pentecost, THAT special FIFTIETH day. 50th Day: that is what Pentecost means in Greek. This spectacular event is narrated by St Luke in the first reading of the liturgical feast, from the Acts of the Apostles.
We do not forget that the evangelist John tells us about a previous Pentecost, a coming of the Spirit, that took place quietly, almost privately, in the upper room on the day of Jesus’ resurrection: “Receive the Holy Spirit - said Jesus to the apostles – If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven..” (John 20,22-23).
Pentecost Sunday marks the end of Easter time, but it is not simply the end of the alleluias time: it is the beginning, the crowning, the completion, the fulfilment of Easter, the Paschal Mystery. Pentecost Sunday makes Easter ongoing, permanent, endless. Isn’t the Eucharist an endless celebration of the Paschal Mystery?
Maybe sometimes we wonder: But why bring in the Holy Spirit? What was missing to Jesus’ work? Did Jesus not fulfil all that needed to be accomplished, man’s redemption and the forgiveness of sins? He proclaimed the good news, he suffered, he died on the cross, he rose from the dead... What more was needed? Was he not capable to complete “his job”? Why the Holy Spirit, then?
The redemption of mankind and the beginning of a new world is not Jesus’ private enterprise (forgive me this inappropriate expression). God is ONE and THREE: everything he does, is done in perfect communion and harmony with the other divine persons, not separately, but as team (forgive me again such human language).
The Father is the creator, the almighty ruler of the universe, the one who conceives the plan of redemption, who “sends” the Son on a mission...;
The Son gladly obeys the Father, becomes human “through the power of the Spirit”, dies on the cross, rises, “sends the Spirit”...
The Spirit brings the Father’s plan to completion especially through the power of the sacraments: forgiveness, reconciliation, bread of life, boldness, living word, truth, mercy, unity, freedom...new life (communion with the Trinity).
Is there a way to define or at least to describe the Holy Spirit? We can surely quote the many references of Jesus to the Spirit in the gospels: he is the Father’s gift, the power from on high, the spirit of truth, the revealer, the defender and protector, the witness, the glorifier...
Theology helps us to better understand the meaning of the above attributes with several statements: the Spirit is the love of God the Father and God the Son, he is the living bond between Father and Son, he is the giver of life, he is the fullness of life, he is the giver of that love which instils into the believer irresistible strength...
There are two particular moments when we are enveloped and overwhelmed by the power of the Holy Spirit and are enriched with graces and charisms, and in particular with the 7 gifts of the Spirit: that is when we receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. We may say that we become spiritually structured. But these are not the only times when we are touched by the Spirit. At any time, again and again, we may experience a new Pentecost through the celebration of the liturgy, through constant prayer and constant invocation of the Holy Spirit. This is what leads us to the maturity of Christian life and to eagerness to fulfil the universal call to evangelise, which – according to Pope Francis - is the task of every baptised person.
50 days after Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, we celebrate Pentecost, THAT special FIFTIETH day. 50th Day: that is what Pentecost means in Greek. This spectacular event is narrated by St Luke in the first reading of the liturgical feast, from the Acts of the Apostles.
We do not forget that the evangelist John tells us about a previous Pentecost, a coming of the Spirit, that took place quietly, almost privately, in the upper room on the day of Jesus’ resurrection: “Receive the Holy Spirit - said Jesus to the apostles – If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven..” (John 20,22-23).
Pentecost Sunday marks the end of Easter time, but it is not simply the end of the alleluias time: it is the beginning, the crowning, the completion, the fulfilment of Easter, the Paschal Mystery. Pentecost Sunday makes Easter ongoing, permanent, endless. Isn’t the Eucharist an endless celebration of the Paschal Mystery?
Maybe sometimes we wonder: But why bring in the Holy Spirit? What was missing to Jesus’ work? Did Jesus not fulfil all that needed to be accomplished, man’s redemption and the forgiveness of sins? He proclaimed the good news, he suffered, he died on the cross, he rose from the dead... What more was needed? Was he not capable to complete “his job”? Why the Holy Spirit, then?
The redemption of mankind and the beginning of a new world is not Jesus’ private enterprise (forgive me this inappropriate expression). God is ONE and THREE: everything he does, is done in perfect communion and harmony with the other divine persons, not separately, but as team (forgive me again such human language).
The Father is the creator, the almighty ruler of the universe, the one who conceives the plan of redemption, who “sends” the Son on a mission...;
The Son gladly obeys the Father, becomes human “through the power of the Spirit”, dies on the cross, rises, “sends the Spirit”...
The Spirit brings the Father’s plan to completion especially through the power of the sacraments: forgiveness, reconciliation, bread of life, boldness, living word, truth, mercy, unity, freedom...new life (communion with the Trinity).
Is there a way to define or at least to describe the Holy Spirit? We can surely quote the many references of Jesus to the Spirit in the gospels: he is the Father’s gift, the power from on high, the spirit of truth, the revealer, the defender and protector, the witness, the glorifier...
Theology helps us to better understand the meaning of the above attributes with several statements: the Spirit is the love of God the Father and God the Son, he is the living bond between Father and Son, he is the giver of life, he is the fullness of life, he is the giver of that love which instils into the believer irresistible strength...
There are two particular moments when we are enveloped and overwhelmed by the power of the Holy Spirit and are enriched with graces and charisms, and in particular with the 7 gifts of the Spirit: that is when we receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. We may say that we become spiritually structured. But these are not the only times when we are touched by the Spirit. At any time, again and again, we may experience a new Pentecost through the celebration of the liturgy, through constant prayer and constant invocation of the Holy Spirit. This is what leads us to the maturity of Christian life and to eagerness to fulfil the universal call to evangelise, which – according to Pope Francis - is the task of every baptised person.