The glorious Easter Season drew to a close last Sunday in the celebration of Pentecost. While the Easter Candle is moved to the baptistery and green vestments of Ordinary Time are used, this is still a special time indeed. This time of the Spirit, if you will, is reflected in a vibrancy within the Church and it is marvelous to behold as the Spirit fills the hearts of the Faithful.
The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is at work in the world through the Church in a way that is best described as “manifestation”. As the first Apostles showed us so well in the scriptural accounts of last Sunday’s feast, where and when the Spirit of God is moving upon and among His people it is obvious to all.
That is certainly true in our experience of the life of the Church in our Diocese as we observe this special time of the Spirit. The principal manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our midst are the celebrations of the sacraments. This special time of the year not only manifests the Spirit in the waters of Baptism, but in the Sacrament of Confirmation and First Holy Communion. The sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist, celebrated principally with the young members of our Diocese, are not only signs of life, but are signs of hope for the future of our faith and Church. We often call the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Life and these thousands of young people drawn more deeply into the heart of the Church are a powerful manifestation of the Spirit of God. But there is more during this special time of the Spirit. Two weeks ago I was privileged to ordain eight men Permanent Deacons and last week five young men to the Holy Priesthood. The Spirit appears in our midst in the form of loving service, consoling presence, and generous gifts of self by these men for the sake of others. I prayed with the men to be ordained priests on their ordination day a prayer from Morning Prayer that Jesus may possess their hearts forever. This notion of being wholly infused with God’s Spirit is a beautiful reflection for the life of the ordained ministers of our Church.
Still more manifestations of the Spirit are visible in the Church as in almost every parish the announcement of the Banns of Marriage is the sure sign that the Spirit of God is drawing men and women to the Sacrament of Matrimony. St. Paul reminds us that the sacramental love of husband and wife is a sign of the great Mystery of God’s love for us, his bride, the Church. The Spirit of God is manifested in a particularly poignant way as a Spirit of unity in the lives of the married. Holy, Spirit-filled marriages are the hope of the Church of tomorrow. In the love and unity of husbands and wives, life itself is manifested. We see their love for one another as a manifestation of the Spirit of God, thereby bringing God’s presence more and more into the world.
While this season of the Spirit is certainly and clearly manifested in the Sacraments of love and life we are witnessing in our midst, the Spirit of new life is also evident in the vitality and the unity of the Church of our Diocese as we continue to persevere through the clustering phase of Vibrant Parish Life. It will be remarkable to witness the new things that God is intending to do through and in our Diocese as we move through consolidation and collaboration into a new and more vibrant manifestation of the Body of Christ, one Body full of the Spirit, proclaiming and living the marvelous works of God for the world.
So while the Easter season has ended we are very much in the time of the Holy Spirit. We can and must call upon and rely upon the Spirit of God in all of the challenges we face. Likewise, we can recognize and ought to thank the Holy Spirit as we encounter Him in every manifestation of joy, peace, love, hope, kindness and more that we experience as the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with His love desirous of renewing the face of the earth.
Blessings to all those who are celebrating new life in the Holy Spirit of God in this time of the Spirit. May we all see that Spirit manifested in our lives and thus, give glory to God for all He wants to bring about through our faithfulness to Him.