"These men are not drunk, as you imagine; why, it is only the third hour of the day. On the contrary, this is what the prophet was saying: In the last days the Lord declares, 'I shall pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young people shall see visions, your old people dream dreams. Even on the slaves, men and women, shall I pour out my Spirit.' "
Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends,
Greetings of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit!
We draw near to the great Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell on our Blessed Mother, the Apostles and the Disciples of our Lord. All of them were transformed into courageous witnesses of Jesus the Lord. On this day, there was manifestation of a violent wind, an earthquake, of fire, and another sign - the gift of tongues, where the Apostles and the disciples began to speak other languages, hitherto unknown to them.
Is there a possibility that such an event could be repeated in our own time? Why not? Unless of course their God was a different God and if He cannot repeat His work in our times - which is out of the question! Why do we not petition the Lord with faith to do something new in our own days? Why are we without zeal or enthusiasm, why are we so slow to believe? We can almost hear the words of Jesus speaking to us,
You foolish men! So slow to believe all that the prophets have said!"
The Spirit transforms our lives. The earthquake signifies the visitation of the Lord. Who can stand before the Lord? The Heavens and the Earth tremble before Him.
The violent wind signifies the mighty breath of God, the Divine Wind which swept over the waters at the time of creation. "Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters." (Genesis 1:2) We need this Divine Wind to appear in our lives too, and to sweep over our souls, bringing light and order into the chaos, the darkness that fills the horizons of our minds. Very often we see no hope, no way out - we are locked inside the thought structures which we ourselves have built and become prisoners of misery and emptiness. This cannot be! We are children of God, born to be free!
Come O Mighty Wind, come O Creator Blest, come O Spirit of Jesus Christ, come at His bidding to once again sweep over the face of the earth!
The tongues of fire signifies the flames of God, those flames of Divine Knowledge which burn brightly over our heads and which burn to ashes all the thoughts which are in us which are earthly, human and devilish, "this is not the wisdom that comes from above, but earthly, human and devilish." (James 3:16) These flames are also the Divine Flames of charity and love which burn to ashes all remnants of anger and bitterness, instead fanning into a flame Divine Love, which leads us to the higher form of love, sacrificial love.
What a great blessing for those people who are still present in this world with these flames brightly burning over their heads and which they transmit to us!
The gift of tongues signify the unification of the peoples, the nations, the tribes and the languages of the earth under one banner. God's Church is from the beginning Catholic, it is Universal. It is never limited to a particular nation, a particular tribe or a particular language. The Spirit of God breaks across all cultures, languages and every other division that human beings have created.
How can we fail to marvel at this work of the Lord? Dear brothers and sisters, are we ready, do we have the courage to pray for the coming of the Spirit into our lives? Do we have the courage to say, "Yes, Lord, I will be your witness, first in my own home, then in the communities where I go, and finally even to the earth's remotest end?" Are we ready to open ourselves to the great adventure that waits for us when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives?
And now, why delay? Let us also join with Mary and the Apostles and disciples and pray with all our hearts and souls:
"Come Holy Spirit! Come to fill the hearts of Your faithful! Come, breathe in us, make us Your eternal temples! Shine forth from within us upon the face of the earth!"