Pentecost
Sunday (B): Read Acts 1, 1-11; 1 Cor 11-12; Jn 15
When I was sent to Washington, I remember a few of my friends telling me
I was being sent to the “center of power” in the world. At such words, one might be inclined to feel a rush of
excitement, and dilly-dally just for a moment on what it could mean for one to be at the “center of power”…
It did not take me long to awaken from such dilly-dally day-dreaming: power here means money, political dominance, a might
to expose, sometimes to propose, at other times to impose. Don’t get me wrong: it’s not all bad - that would be
unfair. Much good is done at this global center of power, although much more could be done, and done for selfless motives.
I talked of day-dreaming. We all have dreams, even God. There is a hymn
which says: “The dreams I have of you, my Lord, are only a shadow of Your dreams for me”. Dreams, in this sense,
are the desire for complete happiness and joy, being at one with all those we have known and loved, being reconciled with
those we have loved but, for some reason, with whom we have had misunderstandings, or experiences of brokenness. We dream
for another kind of “center of power”, where there is no more strife or contention, no more imposition or domination
or manipulation: it is the power of oneness in the peace of Christ. This is nothing other than being “led into the fullness
of truth” through the Holy Spirit. Truth, you see, is not just doctrine or dogma, or the mere statement of fact. In
Scripture, hence in the Hebrew mentality, truth means the everlasting, loving, faithfulness of God, loving faithfulness to
Himself, loving faithfulness to us, loving faithfulness to His promises. What He says is true because He cannot be unfaithful
to Himself, He cannot lie. That the Holy Spirit of this Truth, the Truth who is Jesus, the Truth He “hears from the
Father”, should fill the hearts and minds of all mankind: that was and remains the dream of Jesus of Nazareth. And for
that dream to come true, He had to die, rise and ascend. Pentecost is the beginning of the fulfillment of that dream;
the general Resurrection of the dead to eternal life will be its completion.
St. Paul writes: “to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.” Perhaps I could put it this way: “to each individual the Spirit gives the gifts and
desires to make the dream of Jesus come true.” The Spirit is sent to us, as it were, to “hijack” our dreams
and desires, not to empty them of their love or passion, but to redirect them through the “Gospel mentality” to
the Heart of God. What else does “love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself” mean? How can you command
someone to love you? “Hey! You there! Love me!” In the case of Jesus, it is possible because He gives us the
power and the desire to fulfill that command: the Spirit is that power, the Spirit is that desire of Jesus the Lord. St.
Ignatius of Loyola exhorted his companions to cultivate strong desires for holiness. But what is holiness if not the loving
of God above all things and one’s neighbor as oneself? The other St. Ignatius, the one of Antioch, burned with passion to be martyred for Christ.
There was the power of the Spirit driving him to Christ and drawing others to Him by the power of his witness. Think of the
tenacity and tenderness of Mother Teresa of Calcutta in our own times, capable of perceiving the features of Christ’s face in the most apparently
God-forsaken cast-offs of society. Here is the “benefit” of the Spirit of which St. Paul speaks, a benefit for
the love of all, one more step towards the fulfillment of Christ’s dream for humanity.
Whatever about Washington being the “center of power” from
the world’s viewpoint, it is certainly up to us as confirmed Catholics to make it become a real source of true power
for Christ, to lead others into the fullness of that Truth I was speaking of earlier. Of course the Spirit is always at work,
hovering over our lives in their chaos and troubles; but He needs our free cooperation to bring order and peace to those same
lives. He blows gentle breezes in our hearts, but needs us to open them confidently so that the “mighty wind”
of Pentecost may blow through us and let the splendor of the truth of the Church, which is the Truth of Christ, shine forth
in convincing witness. It is witness, not Latin, that is the universal language of the Church! The power of the Christian
lies in his or her openness not just to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, but to the driving power, to the Gospel vision,
to the ecclesial vision of the Holy Spirit. He who inspired the evangelists to write the Gospels, is the selfsame Spirit who
desires to write the Gospel in our hearts, with our lives. He who continues through the centuries to inspire the Church, especially
by the ministry of teaching of our Bishops, in order to bring us all into the fullness of truth, that same Spirit seeks to
bring each of us to the full truth about ourselves. We may fear that truth, but if we would let Him lead us there, we would
discover how beautiful is the truth of each one of us. It is a saving and freeing truth, a truth that gives life in abundance.
Recall the words of the Creed: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the
Lord and Giver of Life. … He has spoken through the prophets.” The Spirit gives us divine life to speak divine
words, to be prophets for our times, to speak the divine dream. That means to say no to all distortions of the truth about
man, woman, family, child, life, death, society, justice or anything else. It also means to say yes to all that brings and
gives true life and strengthens the bonds of human relationships according to the mind and heart of God. The Spirit gives
us the boldness to speak the right word to a son on drugs, to a daughter unaware of the dangers of experimenting with her
body, to an estranged relative, to a lapsed Catholic, to a divorced man or woman. He gives us the strength to reach out to
the socially marginalized: the down and out, the street-kid, the HIV/AIDS sufferers. He gives us the ability to be open and
understanding, yet clear and firm, in dealing with those with whom we may not agree but for whom Christ died too: people with
different visions of morality, of sexual orientation, of doctrinal persuasion. The Spirit gives us an inner spiritual sense
for what is right and wrong, but also the heart to show understanding to those who are different, compassion for the weak,
to feel humble joy and gratitude for the strong. This is power! Real power! It is the power of the faithful love of God which
condones no sin yet condemns no sinner who is prepared to turn and change according to that love’s demands.
It is a fact of life that you will only get to know someone if you spend
time with them, quality time, real time. I encourage you all today to give new impetus and resolve to your relationship with
the Holy Spirit. There are many prayers to the Holy Spirit: look for them! There are many scripture texts which beautifully
describe the presence and work of the Spirit: find them! The Spirit has made a covenant with you in confirmation: why not
make, from your side, a covenant with Him, a covenant of love, in which you express your understanding of yourself in your
relationship to Him? To encourage you, I will end by sharing with you my own Covenant of Love with the Holy Spirit. I wrote
it for myself last Pentecost when I was feeling very needy after a time in hospital: I try to pray it daily:
Life-giving God, Spirit of Holiness
You wash me and bathe my soul for Jesus.
You lead me, defend me, deliver me, renew me.
You inspire and enlighten my words of Gospel.
Cleanse me further, deeply and completely.
Empower my heart to hold the beauty of the Spouse,
That He alone in me, through me, with me
May radiate forth the glory of His tenderness.
And I will break, crucify within me all fakes –
That, sacrificed my freedom to Your Way,
I may be a new man, ready for heaven
And be familiar with Your sound, Your fragrance.
May You find an easy dwelling, full welcome
And happy comfort, resting in my heart, my Lord.
By the prayers of the Immaculate
May You gladly seek me out and abide forever
In this, my poor home, Your own. Amen.
Msgr. Peter Magee,
St. Matthew’s Cathedral, 10.00 am Mass
Washington, DC
Pentecost Sunday, June 8th, 2003
