The Holy Spirit Comes

Pentecost, Jean Fouquet

The Holy Spirit comes at the price of Christ's “departure.” While this “departure” caused the Apostles to be sorrowful, and this sorrow was to reach its culmination in the Passion and Death on Good Friday, “this sorrow will turn into joy.” For Christ will add to this redemptive “departure” the glory of his Resurrection and Ascension to the Father. Thus the sorrow with its underlying joy is, for the Apostles in the context of their Master's “departure,” an “advantageous” departure, for thanks to it another “Counselor” will come. At the price of the Cross which brings about the Redemption, in the power of the whole Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes in order to remain from the day of Pentecost onwards with the Apostles, to remain with the Church and in the Church, and through her in the world.

-Saint John Paul II, Dominum et Vivificantem

The Mission In The Ascension

The Ascension, Giotto, 1305

At the Ascension the Risen Christ speaks to the Apostles one last time about the coming of the Holy Spirit. He says: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Act. 1, 8).

…The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost marks the beginning of the Church’s mission. The Apostles received this mission from Christ. The Holy Spirit gave them the power to fulfill it by word and deed even to the shedding of their blood. Martyrdom is the ultimate testimony to the truth about Christ crucified and risen. Following in the footsteps of the Apostles the Church has inherited the same mission, and she fulfills it in the midst of all the nations.

-Saint John Paul II, 1989

The Spirit Fills The Universe

Praying thus, the Church unceasingly professes her faith that there exists in our created world a Spirit who is an uncreated gift. He is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son: like the Father and the Son he is uncreated, without limit, eternal, omnipotent, God, Lord. This Spirit of God "fills the universe," and all that is created recognizes in him the source of its own identity, finds in him its own transcendent expression, turns to him and awaits him, invokes him with its own being. Man turns to him, as to the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth and of love, man who lives by truth and by love, and who without the source of truth and of love cannot live. To him turns the Church, which is the heart of humanity, to implore for all and dispense to all those gifts of the love which through him "has been poured into our hearts." To him turns the Church, along the intricate paths of man's pilgrimage on earth: she implores, she unceasingly implores uprightness of human acts, as the Spirit's work; she implores the joy and consolation that only he, the true Counselor, can bring by coming down into people's inmost hearts; the Church implores the grace of the virtues that merit heavenly glory, implores eternal salvation, in the full communication of the divine life, to which the Father has eternally "predestined" human beings, created through love in the image and likeness of the Most Holy Trinity. 

-Saint John Paul II, Dominum et vivificantem

Let Your Spirit Descend

On this Pentecost Sunday, we remember St. John Paul II’s famous prayer in Victory Square:

Let your Spirit descend.
Let your Spirit descend.
and renew the face of the earth,
the face of this land.

The Spirit did indeed listen to the great saint’s prayer, and we ask that He continue to descend upon the Church today, especially on her mission for the new evangelization.

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Newness, Harmony, And Mission

In his homily for the Feast of Pentecost, Pope Francis reflected on three words linked to the workings of the Holy Spirit. These are newness, harmony and mission.

This reflection is helpful for those looking to go deeper into the significance of Pentecost Sunday. Here at the Shrine, we also find it helpful for connecting the pontificates of our beloved Blessed John Paul II and our new Holy Father, Pope Francis.

First of all, the Holy Spirit plays a role in the newness of change in our lives. In a culture of planners, new direction is not always welcomed with open arms. “Yet throughout the history of salvation,” Pope Francis said, “whenever God reveals himself, he brings newness and change, and demands our complete trust.” He continues:

Noah, mocked by all, builds an ark and is saved; Abram leaves his land with only a promise in hand; Moses stands up to the might of Pharaoh and leads his people to freedom; the apostles, huddled fearfully in the Upper Room, go forth with courage to proclaim the Gospel. This is not a question of novelty for novelty’s sake, the search for something new to relieve our boredom, as is so often the case in our own day. The newness which God brings into our life is something that actually brings fulfillment, that gives true joy, true serenity, because God loves us and desires only our good.

Now Blessed John Paul II and Pope Francis do have much in common. They are both similar in their openness to others and in the genuineness of their prayers. They both have a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother, and the chaplain of the Blessed John Paul II Shrine, Rev. Gregory Gresko, also notes that Pope Francis “is continuing the call of Blessed John Paul II in telling us ‘Be not afraid’ to give yourself over completely to the loving mercy of God.”

Yet the two are certainly not the same, and Pope Francis has already made some unique choices during his pontificate that challenge the faithful to look humbly inside of ourselves so that we may better perceive what is going on around us and how we can serve those in need. 

A Strong Wind Blows

Even in our own day, as in the Upper Room at Jerusalem, a "strong wind" blows through the Church. She experiences the divine breath of the Spirit who opens her for the evangelization of the world. 

-Blessed John Paul II, Homily for Pentecost 2001

The Lifting Up

The "lifting up," that is, the ascension into heaven, signified the sharing of Christ as man in the power and authority of God himself. This sharing in the power and authority of the Triune God is manifested in the sending of the Counselor, the Spirit of truth who, "taking" (Jn 16:14) from the redemption affected by Christ, brings about the conversion of human hearts.

-Blessed John Paul II, General Audience on April 19, 1989

For Those In Need Of Motivation

For those of our readers who are struggling to give extra time to God this Lent, there are plenty of resources online that can give you the motivation you need.

Of course you can meditate on the Stations of the Cross here on Open Wide the Doors, but you can also look to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s site for some help on your Lenten journey. Life Teen has Lenten posts for young people up on their blog, and other sites offer viewers the opportunity to take short, online retreats.

Blessed John Paul II stressed that the Lenten Season is a time “to listen to the Word of God more devoutly.” If you don’t have access to the Sacred Scriptures, there are a number of sites that offer easy access to the Biblical text.  

The two most important things you can do to get out of a Lenten rut are (1) ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to move, and (2) frequent the Sacraments (yes, there’s a site for that!). 

Simply pray for the grace to turn your heart to the Lord during the remainder of this Lenten journey, and you will not be disappointed.

What Can We Do?

Although it is such an exciting time for the Church, most of us have to go on with our daily lives.

We work, we study, we cook and clean, wondering if the only thing we can do about the upcoming Conclave is wait patiently to see what happens.

As members of the Church’s spiritual community, we actually have a big role to play!  Patience is important, yes, but as we wait we must pray that the Cardinal electors remain open to the workings of the Holy Spirit as they prepare to choose our next Pope.

People all over the world are fasting, praying rosaries, interceding in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and offering up the Eucharist for the future of the Church. A more personal way to get involved is to adopt a specific Cardinal to pray for throughout the election process.

Let us call upon Our Lord, then, and pray that He send forth His Holy Spirit to guide His Bride the Church during this part of Her earthly pilgrimage.