Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter

May 19, 2003

I came to you at the beginning of lent to plant seeds of spiritual growth; I returned to celebrate the resurrection and new life; and I come again a little bit early, to speak about the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the apex of the Church’s liturgical existence.

Why is it though that the Holy Spirit seems to be the forgotten person of the Trinity? Remember when we used to refer to the Holy Ghost?

The Holy Spirit is the continuu of the Trinity. The Word, Jesus Christ, was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is and spoke and proclaimed by his actions the word of God.

The Spirit, whom Christ has given/sent to us enabling us to preach the gospel, a gospel which continues to be written in our hearts, all of our actions and all of the moments of our lives constitute the gospel of the Holy Spirit.

It is this same Holy Spirit who empowered Paul and Barnabas to make their missionary journeys, where many places they were heard but fewer places were they listened to. In fact, we hear in today’s reading how the people of Lyconia even gave them new names after pagan gods.

Some might find that amusing others meaningless; but in those days names were carefully chosen. Either it was given by God, either directly or indirectly, or it was self-chosen from a particular relationship experience. A name often was the indication of what God planned for you; how God’s vision and your cooperation would affect his divine plan.

In the gospel which prepares us for the fulfillment of the Promise, we hear the actual promise as it was given at the Last Supper, a lengthy sermon taking several chapters to cover and several weeks to preach.

For today I will just conclude with this prayer:

Teach me, 0 Divine Spirit, to read in my heart the book of life. I desire to become your disciple, and like a little child, to believe even what I cannot understand or cannot see. It is enough for me that you my Lord am speaking to me. Amen.