St. Paul, in his first letter to the Church in Corinth, said, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3) For St. Paul, it is in and through the grace of the Spirit of God that we are introduced to and strengthened in our faith in a God who loves us. We have come to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ through the Spirit’s action in us and in the Church as a whole. Therefore, the Holy Spirit has a very special role in the building of God’s reign on earth. This is precisely why Jesus promised His disciples that He would send the Spirit to guide them in their mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all the ends of the earth.
Fifty days after Jesus’ return to His Father in heaven, He sent the Spirit to His disciples. The book of the Acts of the Apostles narrates this event for the disciples and to us Christians of today: “On the day of Pentecost, all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly, there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind. It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.” (Acts 2:1-4)The following prayer to the Holy Spirit by Cardinal Mercier is a fitting prayer today as we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit: “O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will.”
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