Pentecost - Fr. Leo 

The Holy Spirit is the life giving presence of God given to us in every moment.  We have the Church, her teachings, the Gospels conveying the word of God the Father and Son, but it is the Holy Spirit that makes our faith real in the here and now.  What confirms our faith is personal experience of the Holy Spirit.  

In the Scriptures today, the experience of the Holy Spirit is as profound as it is dramatic.  Acts tells us of flames of fire and the speaking in tongues.  Real events eliciting profound reactions from people of every nation touched by the Holy Spirit.

In a less dramatic way, the Gospel describes the Spirit as out teacher in the ways and God’s truth.  This is the sense of “the good,” that lives in each of us made in the image of God.  So living in God, is living in the moment experiencing God on many levels.  Some times it is our talents that are used to bring the experience of God into the world.

I think of great artists who paint or who perform music not only with incredible technical skills, but also in a way that moves us to a place we would never go to alone.  There is a beauty and grace in their creations that lifts us up and refreshes our souls.

One way we might celebrate the Gifts of the Holy Spirit on this Pentecost, is to seek the beautiful.  We can do this in all things because God is reflected in all of His creation.  The Spirit is like the blood in our bodies, it keeps our souls alive and attuned to all that is good, Holy and True. A few moments of letting ourselves be moved by the beauty of creation is a way for us to experience the Holy Spirit. We may begin by praying: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful and enkindle in us the fire of your love.”