Veni Sancte Spiritus! Come, Holy Spirit!
Pentecost, traditionally 50 days after Easter (10 days after Ascension, which is 40 days after Easter), marks the birth of the Church, as Fr. Ed Broom, OMV (www.youtube.com/fredbroomomv) noted in his homily on the Thursday after Ascension. The account of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, upon the Apostles, in the presence of Mary, notes in several places that "[the apostles] were praying in one accord" and "they were all gathered together" - representing the community of the early church. Further, when the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, leave the upper room, Luke notes in the Acts of the Apostles that "there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem" (2:5). The Spirit most certainly works in mysterious ways - how else would have so many devout Jews have come to that place at that time in order to witness the Spirit's power?
Fr. Ed also encouraged us to be "Romans 8" people - people of prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit: "the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings." (Romans 8:26) He noted that, in this way, the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray, and also gives us the courage to be faithful witnesses of the Gospel message of God's incredible love for us.
Let us then come together in prayer, inspired by the Spirit, and then go out, bearing witness to God's love and His incredible offer of salvation to all we meet through the example of our lives and the words we may be inspired to share. And let us recall that "Mary, the mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14) was with the Apostles when they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, her spouse, and continues to intercede for us in this way.
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
