Last Sunday, we said that Pentecost completes the work that Jesus was sent to do on earth. Dying on the Cross, He reconciled us with the Father. Rising from the dead, he brings about our divine filiation. We have become children of God. All these took place through the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us access to the forgiveness of our sins: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whatever sins you forgive, they are forgiven…” The Holy Spirit also enables us to cry out, “Abba, Father!”
However, there is something more to be said about Pentecost. By the coming of the Holy Spirit, the revelation of the true God is at last made complete. Not only did the third Person of the most holy Trinity reveal himself at Pentecost. His coming enables us to see and understand in faith whatever Christ wanted to reveal to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” What is this fullness of truth that the Holy Spirit means to lead us to? This fullness of truth is nothing else but the truth of God – the inner life of the Blessed Trinity. The Holy Spirit enables us to see the communion of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit reveals to us that the Father and the Son are inseparable. “When the Lord established the heavens I was there…I (was) beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race.” The Holy Spirit enables us to understand that this verse from the Book of Proverbs speaks of God’s only begotten Son who from the very beginning “was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Holy Spirit enables us to understand that Christ reconciled us with the Father: “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by declaring to us the glory of God’s only begotten Son which, until his coming, has been hidden from the eyes of mortal men: “He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
The Holy Spirit takes from the wealth of Christ and declares it to us. He gives us access to whatever belongs to Jesus. We are not mere spectators to the glory that belongs to Jesus. The Holy Spirit allows us to enter into this glory. Thus, even in our afflictions, we continue to stand and “boast in hope of the glory of God.” We are not disappointed even in our afflictions “because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given us.” The Catechism tells us: “God is love: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God freely will to communicate the glory of his blessed life” (CCC, 257). “The ultimate end of the divine economy is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity…” (CCC, 260). By dwelling in us, the Holy Spirit enables us to find peace in the Blessed Trinity. And we shall remain in peace, with nothing to disturb us, so long as we remain in the Blessed Trinity. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity wrote: “O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so as to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action” (CCC, 260). O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee who art dwelling by Thy grace within my soul. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
However, there is something more to be said about Pentecost. By the coming of the Holy Spirit, the revelation of the true God is at last made complete. Not only did the third Person of the most holy Trinity reveal himself at Pentecost. His coming enables us to see and understand in faith whatever Christ wanted to reveal to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” What is this fullness of truth that the Holy Spirit means to lead us to? This fullness of truth is nothing else but the truth of God – the inner life of the Blessed Trinity. The Holy Spirit enables us to see the communion of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit reveals to us that the Father and the Son are inseparable. “When the Lord established the heavens I was there…I (was) beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race.” The Holy Spirit enables us to understand that this verse from the Book of Proverbs speaks of God’s only begotten Son who from the very beginning “was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Holy Spirit enables us to understand that Christ reconciled us with the Father: “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by declaring to us the glory of God’s only begotten Son which, until his coming, has been hidden from the eyes of mortal men: “He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
The Holy Spirit takes from the wealth of Christ and declares it to us. He gives us access to whatever belongs to Jesus. We are not mere spectators to the glory that belongs to Jesus. The Holy Spirit allows us to enter into this glory. Thus, even in our afflictions, we continue to stand and “boast in hope of the glory of God.” We are not disappointed even in our afflictions “because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given us.” The Catechism tells us: “God is love: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God freely will to communicate the glory of his blessed life” (CCC, 257). “The ultimate end of the divine economy is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity…” (CCC, 260). By dwelling in us, the Holy Spirit enables us to find peace in the Blessed Trinity. And we shall remain in peace, with nothing to disturb us, so long as we remain in the Blessed Trinity. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity wrote: “O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so as to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action” (CCC, 260). O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee who art dwelling by Thy grace within my soul. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
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