Today we celebrate the glorious feast of Pentecost. Today we complete the fifty days of Easter festivities. The sending forth of the Holy Spirit fulfills Jesus’ Easter promise. At the first Pentecost the sound of a driving wind filled the house as the Holy Spirit filled the hearts of the believers. An ancient prayer echoes throughout the centuries: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.”
The presence and vitality of the Holy Spirit also completes our Christian experience of God as Trinity. Both St. Paul and the gospel today speak of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. This divine personal indwelling is in addition to our experience of God’s transcendence (God the Father, the Creator) and God’s immanence (the Incarnate and Risen Son of God).
On this Pentecost Sunday think about how the presence and action of the Holy Spirit fills your heart and enkindles within you the fire of God’s love.