Sacred Heart Parish

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6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (C)

  1. At every Eucharist we celebrate and proclaim the mystery of faith: often times we sing – Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. When will our risen Lord come again? Sacred Scriptures tells us – “We know neither the day nor the hour.” Three times in the last chapter of the New Testament Book of Revelation, the prophet-author quotes the words he heard in a vision from the Lord Himself – “Behold, I am coming soon”. These words prompt the prophet-author to pray – “Come, Lord Jesus” – certainly a prayer we hope to be able to say on our last day!

  2. You and I live in what we can call “the interim period” between Christ’s resurrection and his second coming in glory. In one sense he left us in his glorious Ascension. At the same time he promised – “I will be with you always”. He was our Savior when he was with us in the flesh. Now, still our Savior, he remains with us always in the Spirit. The “interim period” is the time of the Church. In a special way it is the time of the Holy Spirit. It is the time for a second significant prayer – Come, Holy Spirit! – a prayer intimately related to the prayer – Come, Lord Jesus! It is precisely the mission of the Holy Spirit to make the risen Christ present in our lives and in our worship experiences until the Lord Jesus comes again in glory. Notice how our communion antiphon will speak the words of Christ to his first disciples and to us here and now – “If you love me, keep my commandments and the Father will send you the Holy Spirit – to be with you forever.”

  3. It is St. Paul who tells us – “No one can truly affirm that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit”. Again St. Paul reminds us – God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, making it possible for us to call God our Father. To be in touch with Christ risen in glory, we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who first comes to us and kindles faith within us. In and through holy baptism, the first of the sacraments, the Holy Spirit, at work in the Church, communicates to us, personally, the life that has its origin in God the Father and is offered to us in Jesus, God’s Son, the Church as precisely the holy communion of persons who live the faith of the Apostles. Thus, the Church is the precise place where we can best come to know the mysterious Holy Spirit. This means that the Spirit is best found in the Sacred Scriptures which the Spirit has inspired; in the Church’s living tradition which bears witness to the Gospel of Christ; in the Church’s teaching authority whom the Spirit assists in their teaching mission; in the sacraments and in the liturgy whereby the Spirit puts us in communion with the risen Christ; in prayer wherein the Spirit ever intercedes for us; in the various ministries of the Church whereby the Spirit builds up the Body of Christ; in the missionary and evangelizing tasks of the Church whereby the Spirit spreads abroad in time and in place the Good News of Christ; and in the witness of the saints down the centuries through whom the Spirit manifests God’s holiness and continues the work of salvation.

  4. Why is it difficult to speak about the Holy Spirit? The Spirit who first spoke through the prophets speaks God’s word in the Church but does not speak of the Holy Spirit directly. Thus, the Lord Jesus says to his first disciples and now to us – “I have much more to tell you but you cannot bear it now. But when He comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. The Spirit will not speak on his own but will speak what he hears and will declare the things that are yet to come.”

  5. We can learn a good bit about the Holy Spirit if we attend carefully to what our liturgical prayers and our classical liturgical hymns have to say about the Holy Spirit. We say of the Spirit – “Heavenly gift of God most high”. We say of the Spirit – “Fount of life and fire of love!” We call the Spirit “Comforter” in the sense of strengthening our faith in times of great difficulty. We call the Holy Spirit “Advocate and Paraclete”, that is, friend and helper at our side. We name the Spirit “another Paraclete”. The Lord Jesus is our first advocate by reason of his paschal mystery. He gives us the Holy Spirit as another advocate as we journey in pilgrimage to our eternal home.

  6. The Liturgy often calls the Holy Spirit “the forgiveness of sin”. This means that the Holy Spirit is Reconciler, Unifier, Peacemaker. This truth, that the Holy Spirit is the forgiveness of our sins is often expressed at the Liturgy when we say in prayer to God our Father – “May the coming of the Holy Spirit prepare us to receive your holy sacraments. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is the forgiveness of sins.” We can also note a reference to the Holy Spirit in the formula of absolution in the Rite of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: “God the Father of mercies, by the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and has sent the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins”. As we reflect on personal sin and social sin and the gigantic need in our world today for the grace of reconciliation, we can understand how important Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit, is for the well being of the Church and of the world. Listen carefully to words of the Preface Prayer which introduces one of our Eucharistic canons: We say to God our Father, in the midst of conflict and division – “We know that it is you who turn our minds to thoughts of peace. Your Holy Spirit changes our hearts; enemies begin to speak to one another; those who were estranged join hands in friendship, and even nations can seek the way of peace together. Your Spirit is at work when understanding puts an end to strife, when hatred is quenched by mercy, and vengeance gives way to forgiveness.”

  7. As we prepare over the next two weeks for the feast of Pentecost, it can be most helpful for us to repeat to ourselves frequently the spiritual maxim which tells us – “Where the Holy Spirit is found, there is holiness of life”.