The Fire in our hearts

Today is the solemn feast  of Pentecost when we celebrate the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.  The Holy Spirit delivered them from their fear and loosened their tongues so they could proclaim Jesus Christ and all that he did to save us.  We all received the same Holy Spirit when we were Baptized and Confirmed.  We too received a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit through those sacraments.  However, probably when we were confirmed, for example, we did not have the same powerful experience that the Apostles had. 

A number of years ago I realized that and through the Charismatic Renewal movement I prayed for a deeper release of the Holy Spirit in my life. And as an adult I soon experienced the results of that prayer.  It led to a deeper spiritual conversion in my life, a conversion that led to my being able to say “yes” to God and to my vocation to Religious Life.

In those early years of the Renewal a friend likened life without reliance on the Holy Spirit to driving a car with four flat tires.  We can drive the car but the ride will be bumpy and we probably won’t go very far.  The Holy Spirit is “the air in the tires” that enables us to maneuver the car for a smooth ride. Another analogy is the wind in the sails of a ship. Without the wind the ship would be dead in the water.

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the spirit of love between the Father and the Son.  Today read and ponder the words of Sacred Scripture that the Church has chosen for this solemnity.  The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost really happened and it can happen for each one of us.  We can begin our day with a brief prayer to the Holy Spirit asking him to pour out the love of God into our hearts and to lead and guide us according to God’s perfect will. 

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of us, your faithful, with the fire of your love, pour out your spirit upon us and renew the face of the earth.