Pentecost - The Coming of the Holy Spirit

Catholic presentation

The third glorious mystery

Déjà vu?  We say the Holy Spirit came to the Church on the feast of Pentecost.  And come He did, with grace and eloquence and wonder.  But is that the first time He'd come to Earth?  Depending on your Bible translation it may say for example that the Spirit of God moved across the waters:

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters

And then there were the Old Testament prophets who spoke under His inspiration.

In the new testament we have Mary enjoying the fullness of God's favour, we say she's 'full of grace' - how can that be, if not by the Spirit?  Then she conceives our Lord by the Spirit of God.  For that reason we sometimes call her the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.

We call Jesus 'the Christ': it means the one anointed fully with the Holy Spirit.  So all the time Jesus walked the Earth, the Holy Spirit was with Him.  And yet the Spirit was able to descend upon Him like a dove at His baptism in the Jordan (Luke 3:22).  Obviously the Spirit's not tied to one time and place!  But it's only once Jesus had risen in His glorified form that He breathed on the Disciples and said:

John 20:22 ..Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.

Then when Jesus had ascended to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit from the Father's side to the people in the picture here.  They are the remaining 11 Apostles and Mary the Mother of God (they are all listed in Acts 1:4).  Judas' replacement Matthias isn't explicitly mentioned as being there that day so the artist can miss him out!

Of them all, we only know that Mary has experienced the Holy Spirit before.  Does she receive a new gift that day?  We don't know but I think we can be sure she is carried along by prayer.  Take the Bible extract literally, and it suggests that all of them acquired the ability to speak in different languages.  No doubt they used it to express their faith, perhaps with words that God gave them (Luke 12:12)?  Yet on the other hand we know that her mission was a different one to the Apostles.  It was they who were to spread the faith by word and deed, while perhaps she who knew our Lord best of all, would stay and pray.

So what is there to mark this Holy Spirit event out from the others?  Well you could point to the strength of the wind (which denotes the Spirit, so it means the Spirit comes in strength).  Or you could point to His appearance like tongues of fire.  But for me the key thing is that this is a group experience and the group represents the Church: the mystical body of Christ.

Really, this is the first time that the Church is in so full and united a form: the Apostles under Peter, the Spirit and Mary, all of them united in prayer and praise.  And immediately, they launch into the Church's first co-ordinated Spirit-led, prayer-backed mission: preaching and winning converts for Christ (read it in Acts 2)

So do you recognise this as your church?  In form and action?  I hope so, but if not then don't despair, for Jesus is the head of this Church.  Turn to Jesus in sincere prayer and ask Him what you should do?