Happy Birthday 2

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created and You shall renew the face of the Earth. O God, by the light of the Holy Spirit, didst though instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Today is Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus.  The Lord said that he would send someone after Him, after he left.  And that He did, he sent us the Ruah, the Paraclete, the Oil of Joy, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit has been with us ever since: guiding, strengthening, informing, loving, imparting, and creating anew.

We often look to Jesus and sometimes to the Father but how often do we look toward the one that lives along side and more importantly, within us.  The Holy Spirit is our guide, we are given 7 gifts that we as Christians are fortified with upon receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.  The seven are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

• The gift of wisdom corresponds to the virtue of charity.
• The gift of understanding corresponds to the virtue of faith.
• The gift of counsel (right judgment) corresponds to the virtue of prudence.
• The gift of fortitude corresponds to the virtue of courage.
• The gift of knowledge corresponds to the virtue of faith.
• The gift of piety corresponds to the virtue of justice.
• The gift of fear of the Lord corresponds to the virtue of hope.

These gifts are foreshadowed in Isaiah 11.  The spirit always existed, it had to.  It is part of the triune God.  We can easily relate to Jesus and to the Father because we have a refrence but the Spirit is something different.  It is said to be the infinite love that is exchanged eternally between the Father and the Son.  The love is so strong it created a new being, hmph, sounds like a family.  How great is it that we can participate by being containers of the Holy Spirit and participate in the trinity. It is certainly a true statement to say that God is Love.

Veni Sancte Spiritus - Come Holy Spirit.  Let us pray that in times of need, the Lord understands latin better!

This is one of my favorite hymns!