The Holy Spirit,

Bond of Transformation and Unification

The Holy Spirit is always at play in the fields of the Lord, but we consider Him on the solemn feast of Pentecost because of His place internally, within the Holy Trinity, and externally, in the Church and in the world.

Father and Son exist in an eternal bond of love, an eternal bond of unity. This bond is so strong that it is Personal: the Holy Spirit. Because the Father and Son are distinct Persons, their love is distinct from them, even as it is mutually shared by them. Parents rightly think of their children as the “living proof” of their own love for each other; but there was a time in our parents’ lives when they did not exist in relation to each other or to their children. Father and Son have always been Father and Son to each other, and they have always shared the Fruit of their Love. Human beings are immortal (i.e. undying, having no end), but not eternal (without beginning or end)—a very important distinction. Like Father, like Son, the Holy Spirit is eternal. He is the Principle of eternal Love, the Love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father.

As the love-union of parents often results in new life, the love of the Trinity freely chooses to go beyond itself in the creation of the universe. The Holy Spirit’s involvement in our sphere is most keenly found in His overshadowing a young maiden of Nazareth, impregnating her with Divinity. “The Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35). Upon that Son rests the Father’s favor: we see this on two important occasions where the Holy Spirit is present in time to the Father and the Son, Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan and His Transfiguration upon Mt. Tabor. (Tabor, incidentally, is another name for Sinai, the mountain upon which God entrusted the Law to Moses—another moment of revelation). Finally, this “beloved Son” handed over His Spirit to the Father upon His death. Is this His life-breath, or is it the Holy Spirit? Yes—the Son always returns the Spirit that He receives from the Father, in eternity and in time.

The Spirit is the Principle of transformation and unification. On the first Christian Pentecost He transforms the disciples into fearless witnesses of His truth and mercy. He bestows sacred power upon the Apostles, to call down from heaven the Presence of Christ in the Church. Recall the words of the Eucharistic Prayer: they are words of transformation (“Send Your Spirit upon these gifts, to make them holy, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ)….and words of unification (May we who are nourished by His Body and Blood be filled with His Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ. May He make us an everlasting gift to You.”) The Holy Spirit transforms each disciple of Christ into an everlasting gift to the Father—that is, an offering of praise. He unifies us with God and with each other, by the transformed Elements that we share in the Eucharist.

What do these sublime truths have to do with our lives? We live in a world shot through with division. The disunity of this world is not merely overcome; it is transformed into oneness. But this is not an instant reality; if it were so, we wouldn’t have to continually pray for unity. Otherwise, why would St. Francis have prayed to seek not so much to be understood, as to understand, not to be loved, as to love? Perfect understanding and love await us still. No world order will accomplish it. Our faithful Mass attendance and regular Confession will help to transform a broken world. Our sincere effort to listen to another person when he or she is talking, our desire to loosen the bonds of sin, whether we have offended another or another has offended us—these are proper beginnings toward transformation, yet we neither begin nor fulfill them apart from the Holy Spirit.

As imperfect as her members are, the Church is perfect because she bears faithful witness to the truth of Christ’s Gospel in the midst of a confused and confusing world. Lord, send us your Holy Spirit each day to strengthen our resolve to follow you more faithfully. Through You, may our love give life.