Pentecost Sunday

The Holy Spirit
It is a cliché in Catholic circles that the Holy Spirit is the neglected Person of the Blessed Trinity. While the Council of Nicaea promulgated formulas for the Father and the Son, it merely stated belief in the existence of the Holy Spirit. More details would be added at future Ecumenical Councils, as the Creed we recite on a Sunday demonstrates, but nevertheless the Spirit retains an element of mystery and ineffability. However, we realise that the Holy Spirit absolutely is essential to the Christian life which is grounded and built upon grace. We understand that the Holy Spirit is at the very centre of the Sacraments, the Magisterium and in the hearts of each individual Baptised person. Through the Spirit we are united to the Mystical Body of Christ and made sons and daughters of God the Father.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises us a new Advocate who will counsel and advise us. The Holy Spirit will continue to make Jesus’ teaching present in the world and in each individual heart until the end of time. Also, each of us has a conscience that is bound up with the Holy Spirit. How we engage with our Faith will inform our conscience but it is the same Spirit that guides all of us. It might be hard to capture the essence of the Spirit in a dogmatic formula but if we open our hearts and minds to it we can hear and know the Spirit. This will be beyond words but rooted in our very essence.
                                                                    Father Alex
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