Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, when God breathed the Holy Spirit onto the 12 Apostles after the Resurrection of Jesus. They received Him and their minds were illuminated with the Truth, their hearts set ablaze with passion and zeal. It was a huge turning point for them- they had just witnessed their Messiah tortured and killed in the cruelest way possible, and then rise again 3 days later. They must have been so confused and scared. Jesus had told them about the Holy Spirit, but I'm sure they still had questions. Then, after praying fervently for days, they finally received the Holy Spirit like never before. They began to know Him, as a distinct member of the Trinity. They were finally given the key to understanding everything that had just happened. It was like the light bulb went off in their brains- they immediately started praising God, speaking in tongues, and going out and evangelizing to the nations.
What a feast.
For a Franciscan student, it's just as big as Easter and Christmas. We are known for living in the Spirit in a particular way. Infamous, maybe. Our campus lives and breathes devotion to the Holy Spirit. Which is why I thought today would be the perfect day to talk about how I fell in love with the Holy Spirit in Austria. :)
This is mostly in thanks to Father Brad, the Franciscan TOR priest on campus who showed me the Holy Spirit in a completely new way. He's a person, the 3rd person of the Trinity. He's not just a formless ball of fog floating around.. He's God. And he wants to dwell in our hearts so badly. Once we let him in and give our lives over to His will, amazing things can happen.
In Scripture, there are two different baptisms talked about. There is the first obvious one, when we are baptized with water to cleanse us of Original Sin and bring us back into union with the Father. The second baptism, which many Catholics don't know about, is baptism by the Spirit. It's like our own personal Pentecost, when the Spirit comes down upon us in such a powerful way that we are made new. Our lives are changed. And we receive gifts that previously could not be unlocked. I was blessed to receive this second baptism the 2nd week I was in Austria, at a prayer group meeting. I felt the love of God surround me with a power and strength I had never felt before. I literally felt wrapped in a coccoon of love, of safety. Everything throughout my body was burning with a warm heat, and my heart was in a state of awe and wonder and the sheer Goodness and Beauty it was witnessing. I will always remember this moment. It completely changed the way I pray and look at God. He's not a far off judge who sits there waiting to condemn you- He is Love. He is Beauty. He is Peace. He is Mercy. He longs for you every single moment of every single day, waiting for you to come to Him and give your life to Him in love.
As the semester went on, I continued to grow deeper in my knowledge and love of the Spirit. I learned a lot about healing and suffering. God loves to heal. I've seen it before my very eyes. I've had it happen to me- both physical and emotional. I've seen backs, shoulders, necks, legs, and most importantly, hearts healed. It's not magic. It's not some special formula you say. It's God. God loves to heal. God loves to make things new. The important thing is that your heart needs to be open to receive it. Many times, a person will not receive a healing God wants to give them if their hearts are hardened with unforgiveness, bitterness, pain, jealousy, or pride. If you think God can't heal your heart, that's a form of pride. It's telling the omnipotent, all-powerful God that he isn't capable of healing your wounds. Think about it.
This is how Christianity was meant to be lived- in the Spirit. Does that mean that you're not a good Christian if you don't run around yelling in tongues and healing people left and right? Of course not. Then you'd just be crazy. But every Christian is called to have a relationship with the Spirit, whether it's a more charismatic relationship or a private inner one. It makes our souls and our religion come alive. Catholocism is alive and breathing. It's not simply an empty ritual of going to Church every Sunday, going to the Sacraments, and praying monotonously the Rosary. These things are absolutely necessary, but should be done with a spirit of life to it. The Mass is a partcipation. It's a marriage feast between Heaven and Earth, when the God of Love comes to meet you in the most intimate way possible. Prayer is communication with God- it means you have a conversation. It's not just rattling off prayers without spending the time to listen to the answer.
Come Holy Spirit, let the fire fall <3
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