PENTECOST SUNDAY

John 7:37-39, John 20:19-23, John 15: 26-27; 16:12-15

 

          This weekend you will hear one of the three above referenced gospels.  They all have one thing in common:  The Holy Spirit.

           It is one thing to engage in good Catholic practices:  daily prayer; weekly Mass; reception of Communion and the other sacraments; charitable and joyous good works.  Yet, without the constant connection with The Holy Spirit these practices might become mere rote, or joyless obligations, or may lead to burnout.

The constant need of The Holy Spirit is what Jesus refers to in each of these passages.

          In John 20 we hear that Jesus appears to his disciples in the locked room, offers them peace, and “… breathed on them and said to them ‘Receive the Holy Spirit …’”   To me this always evokes the image of someone receiving artificial resuscitation.  Life literally being breathed into someone on the brink of death.  Artificial resuscitation, however, is an emergency procedure – a one time deal (hopefully).  But Jesus is there to breath upon us always.  When we get caught up in the activities of daily living – including our religious practices – it is important to stop, be at peace, and let Jesus give us the Holy Spirit to revive us.  It is not a one time, emergency procedure.  It is a way of life.

          Similarly, in John 7 Jesus exclaimed “Let anyone who thirsts come to drink,” and the passage reminds us that he is referring to the Spirit.  When we are thirsty    we refresh ourselves with water.  Yet, again, it is not a one-shot deal.  We will thirst again, for sure.  In our faith lives it is important to constantly be refreshed by the Spirit.

           In John 15 Jesus refers to the Spirit as the Advocate, the one who will guide us to the truth.  Again, this is not a “one and done.”  Throughout our lives we must always seek the truth, in all of life’s situations, and turn to the Advocate for guidance.  Not once, but each time.  Discernment.

          I conclude by inviting all who read this to seriously consider Spiritual Direction.  Don’t be mislead by the terminology.  Spiritual direction is not being told what to do.  It is more spiritual companionship.  It is giving yourself the gift of constantly staying in touch with the Holy Spirit within you.  A brief amount of time every several weeks to be resuscitated, to be refreshed with living water, and to allow the Advocate to guide you.

Peace  - “Call Me Ishmael”