Veni Creator Spiritus! Come Holy Spirit!
We tend to forget that Pentecost marks the moment when God began to dwell among God’s people in a totally new form. For 30 years God literally was in our presence, he dwelt among the people as Jesus Christ. But, because Jesus was fully human, as well as fully divine, his presence among God’s people was limited to a human life span. Thus, if God were to continue to dwell among us after the life span of Jesus, it would have to be in a new form-a form different from a human body. Pentecost marks the moment when God began to dwell among us in a totally, and radically new way-no longer in the physical person of Jesus, but in the spiritual presence of the Holy Spirit.
But, Pentecost also marks more than the change in the form of God’s presence among us. It also marks the change in the form of Jesus’ presence among us. Jesus now dwells among us, but as someone dwelling inside us.
One of the privileges of being a seminarian is being able to serve as a Master of Ceremonies for a Bishop. I have the pleasure of being one of the Masters of Ceremonies for Bishop George Rassas which allows more than anything to see the different parishes of the Archdiocese, but also to share in one of the most important moments in the lives of us Catholics, and that is the reception of the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation. When you speak of Jesus dwelling within us, I am immediately drawn to us receiving Jesus, in the form of the Holy Spirit, through Confirmation. A truly beautiful moment in the lives of Catholics, and one that we should not take for granted. We now have within us! Jesus, the Holy Spirit, who is there to guide us throughout life, more than ever through those seven special gifts that we receive. The gifts of piety, courage, wisdom, knowledge, wonder and awe, understanding, and counsel are given to us as a sign of our now, full membership in the Church. We should therefore realize that these gifts are within and when we see them or feel them in action it is because the Holy Spirit is dwelling within us, using us to bring forth the
We often forget that the Holy Spirit is within us! We forget that the Holy Spirit ultimately is Jesus, which makes all of us his children; children who are made in the image and likeness of God, children who are brothers and sisters, who are one in the Spirit. May God continue to bless us with the presence of the Holy Spirit, and may He continue to renew the face of the Earth.
The presence of the Holy Spirit is just as real as the presence of the Second Person of the Trinity. It is "spiritual" insofar as it refers to the mode of being possesed by the Third Person of the Trinity.
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The Spirit does not refer to a mode or "form" of God's presence. Rather it refers to the means by which the Divine Life is transmitted and received. The Spirit was always "present" to the chosen people, however He remained hidden due to the absence of grace which was given through Christ.
Each person of the Trinity has existed from eternity. They are distinct persons - NOT simply God appearing differently using various "masks."
Get over yourself............this was written simply, not as a dissertation. It was written for the people of the parish to read, and was a bulletin article.
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