The Holy Spirit was given to us so that we would not feel abandoned and alone, would not feel "spirit-less." This mysterious Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, is always active in us. The Spirit personally reminds us of all that Jesus has taught us in the Scriptures, is our Advocate, pours the spiritual gifts that we need over us, even while we're asleep, and guides us in unexpected and creative ways.
After all, God the Trinity loved us all from the beginning. Each Person of the Blessed Trinity was present at the beginning of the Universe. We think of the Father as the Creator. But Scripture tells us that all was created through and for the Son. And the Holy Spirit stirred as a wind over the depths of the waters. The Holy Trinity is present together everywhere, including within us individuals and within the Church, each Person helping us in special ways to become all whom we can be, and helping the Church become all that it can be.
When God created each of us, the Spirit is the Divine Breath God shared with us. Every breath we take is a communion with the Spirit of God. The Spirit dances in our souls, creative, spontaneous, enthusiastic, passionate, stirring us up to try new things and preserve good traditions, bringing alive new ideas and insights in us.
The Holy Spirit gives you wisdom to lead and to judge what is right and what is the Truth.
The Holy Spirit transforms your fear into courage.
The Holy Spirit inspires you to speak to others to both comfort them and challenge them.
The Holy Spirit guides you through the darkness of grief and tragedy into the Light of Peace.
The Holy Spirit gives you flashes of insight when you are troubled and confused.
Fr. Michael Simone, S.J., says,
"God's Spirit flows through every heart; and at times, God stirs the Spirit in each person to advance the mission of the Son. These moments are exhilarating and disorienting; in them many feel a desire to live differently and finally discover themselves. The Spirit is at work in someone whose career change disrupts well-laid plans, in the teen who leaves behind childish things to pursue a life's dream, in the retirees who pour new energy into community projects, in the widower who finds new love, or in the pastoral minister who leaves her parish for work in an unknown place. In the community of Christ's disciples, God's Spirit is ever at work, transforming creation with new life." (in "Spirit of Christ," in "America" magazine, May 14, 2018.)
The fact is, the Holy Spirit, that Unpredictable Being, can break into our lives anytime and anywhere. Holy happenings don't just occur in Church. There is no real divide between the sacred and the secular, and the creative Spirit is lifting us up whenever anyone or anything lifts our souls up in pure, open-hearted joy. Whenever our creative souls seek to express the inexpressible, the Holy Spirit is there! Rev. Barbara A. Holmes speaks about the Holy Spirit present everywhere, and especially in the Arts:
"We are told that Jesus hung out with publicans, tax collectors, and sinners. Perhaps during these sessions of music, laughter, and food fellowship, there were also . . . moments when the love of God and mutual care and concern became the focus of their time together. Contemplation is not confined to designated and institutional sacred spaces. God breaks into nightclubs and Billie Holiday’s sultry torch songs; God tap dances with Bill Robinson and Savion Glover. And when Coltrane blew his horn, the angels paused to consider.
"Some sacred spaces bear none of the expected characteristics. The fact that we prefer stained glass windows, pomp and circumstance . . . has nothing to do with the sacred....On occasion, we turn our attention to this abiding presence and are startled. But it was always there.
. . ." Art can amplify the sacred and challenge the status quo. The arts help us to hear above the cacophony and pause in the midst of our multitasking. The arts engage a sacred frequency that is perforated with pauses. Artists learned . . . that there were things too full for human tongues, too alive for articulation. You can dance and rhyme and sing it, you almost reach it in the high notes, but joy unspeakable is experience and sojourn, it is the ineffable within our reach.
When you least expect it, during the most mundane daily tasks, a shift of focus occurs. This shift bends us toward the universe, a cosmos of soul and spirit, bone and flesh, which constantly reaches toward divinity. Ecclesial organizations want to control access to this milieu but cannot. The only divisions between the sacred and the secular are in the minds of those who believe in and reinforce the split. . . .
"All things draw from the same wellspring of spiritual energy. This means that the sermonic and religious can be mediated through a saxophone just as effectively as through a pastor. . . . How can this be? . . . [Can] tapping feet and blues guitar strokes . . . evoke the contemplative moment and call the listener to a deeper understanding of inner and outer realities? . . . The need to create impermeable boundaries between the sacred and the secular is . . . a much more recent appropriation of western values. . . .
"Historically, most efforts to wall off the doctrinal rightness and wrongness of particular practices failed. Instead, hearers of the gospel inculturated and improvised on the main themes so as to tune the message for their own hearing. Given Christianity’s preferential option for the poor, the cross-pollination of jazz, blues, and tap with church music and practices could be considered the epitome of missional outreach and spiritual creativity."
(Barbara A. Holmes, "Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church.")
So if you celebrate Pentecost at Church this year, don't be afraid to open up to the wondrous possibilities the Holy Spirit has in store for you. Take the time to remember that the disciples were afraid, confused, unsure of what they were supposed to do next. What happened? The Holy Spirit literally blew them over and blew them away. And suddenly they realized what God wanted them to do next with their lives - and that the Holy Spirit was a permanent part of all of it to give them the courage and steadfastness to do it. Whether it's the urge to try a new ministry, experiment with a new painting or piece of music, or reach out in love to a confused child or homeless person - do it. God will never desert you. God, Who is Love, Truth, Peace, Creativity, Courage, Wisdom, and Joy, is always yours if you only open your heart and ask to be more in tune with God's Presence always within you.