June 9, 2019

Say “Yes” to the Holy Spirit
What did Mary do? She said “yes” to the Holy Spirit. And in that
“yes,” the Holy Spirit filled her with new life. The Early Church
called Mary Theotokos, which is Greek for “God-bearer.” She
allowed her Creator to act in her and accomplish great things
through her. In giving birth to God’s son, Mary gave new life to
the whole world. We’re called to follow her example, each of us in
his or her own way. Hearing the Gospel isn’t enough. Talking
about our faith isn’t enough. We have to do something about it.
Each of us, in a personal way, needs to be a kind of Theotokos, a
God-bearer. The seed of faith has to bear fruit in a life of Christian
action.
This is why this Pentecost celebration is so important. Pentecost
is the birthday of the Church. Pentecost is our birthday as a believing
people. The Church, like Mary, is about new life. The Holy
Spirit filled Mary with new life at the Annunciation, and Mary
gave birth to Jesus. The Holy Spirit filled the Apostles with new
life at Pentecost, and they immediately gave birth to a new era
through their preaching and example.
God relentlessly creates new life through each of us - if we allow
Him to. We’re meant to be fertile. We’re meant to bring others to
new life in Jesus Christ. The “Acts of the Apostles” should continue
today in the witness of our own lives.
Pope John Paul II explained Pentecost in the following way in his
1986 encyclical Lord and Giver of Life: The “new `coming’ of
Christ, this continuous coming of [the Lord] in order to be with
His Apostles [and] with the Church, this `I am with you to the
close of the age’ . . . occurs by the power of the Holy Spirit, who
makes it possible for Christ, who has gone away, to come now
and forever in a new way . . . In [the Eucharist and the other sacraments],
Christ, who has gone away in His visible humanity,
comes, is present and acts in the Church in such an intimate way
as to make it His own body. As such, the Church lives, works and
grows `to the close of the age.’ All this happens through the power
of the Holy Spirit” (61).
Pentecost is not just the birthday of the Church. It’s also the feast
day of the Holy Spirit, who set the Apostles on fire with zeal in
the Upper Room and who opened the minds in the crowd which
first heard them preach . . . and who has guided and renewed the
life of the Church for 2,000 years. We can only celebrate this
Great Jubilee because the Holy Spirit first conceived Jesus in the
womb of Mary. We can only celebrate the Great Jubilee because
the Holy Spirit has never stopped sustaining the mission of the
Church. Furthermore, just as He strengthened and encouraged
the first Apostles, so too He will strengthen and encourage each
of us - if we let Him.
Fr. Dan