Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal Household wrote: “The Holy Spirit is the love of God. Within the Trinity, he is the flame of love going from the Father to the Son, and from the Son to the Father…To say that the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit means that they were filled with the love of God…Pentecost was the moment when each of the apostles had the overwhelming experience of being loved by God. ”
How do we know that the Holy Spirit is present and in action? The answer is found in St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. When we see these fruits, we know that the Holy Spirit is at work within us.
“To be holy is to live according to the gospel…it is the ever present challenge to be a people of heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness. It is a call to embrace the beatitudes…it is an invitation to bring a heightened sense of the presence of Jesus Christ
into the regular rhythms of life: going to school, or work, raising a family, and participating in civic life.” (The United States Catholic Bishops)
The “work” of the Holy Spirit is to make us holy, to sanctify us…so we may produce the fruits that St. Paul describes. Come Holy Spirit!
God bless us all always! Deacon Mike