t eanco VOL. 41, NO. 46 •
Friday, November 28, 1997
early Beloved in Christ, The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a new' liturgical year, bringing us that much closer to the Year 2000, the t.Jubilee of Our Redemption, Jesus' 2000th Birthday. At the Feast of the Ascension Mass this past year, representatives from all the parishes, various organizations, and the Diocesan Pastoral Council gathered at the Cathedral and heard the proclamation of the Gospel reading of the Great Commissioning: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." An icon of th~: Trinity was blessed and distributed and is now found in all our churches as a sign of our unity and an invitation to deepen our appreciation of the mystery of the Trinity as we draw near to the millennium celebration. Duril)g this past year the Church throughout the world focused on the mystery of Christ, the Second Person of the most Blessed Trinity, and the Sacrament of Baptism. This year we are called to reflect on the themes of the, Holy Spirit and the Sacrament of Confirmation. Our diocesan liturgical commE~morationwill be centered on the Feast of Pentecost, and we hope again to have a representation from throughout the Diocese. It is logical to pass from our meditation on Christ to our reflection on the Spirit, for the Holy Spirit, which at Pentecost is poured into the Church, comes from Christ's death and resurrection. The Spirit is the breath of the Risen Chriist. In John's Gospel, Jesus on th~: cross "emitted His Spirit." The last breath of Jesus was the first breath of the Church and three days later, when the Risen Lord appeared to the disciples locked in the upper room, JE~SUS breathed on them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit (whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven)" (In 20:23). The Holy Spirit we have received is certainly more than just a "thing". He is a person. He is a friend. He ..is God. It is not by accident that the coming
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of the Spirit takE~s place on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost which was the commemoration of n~ceiving the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. Pentecost in the New Testament becomes the Feast of the New Law, the law of the Spirit that gives life. If it had been sufficient to proclaim the will of God in the Beatitudes and the Gospel, we would not be able to explain why Jesus died and why the Spirit came. The Apostles them-
selves show that it was not enough. They had heard everything, and yet, at the moment of the Passion, they were not strong enough to carry out what Jesus had taught them. Jesus told them to "turn the othE~r cheek to those who
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strike us" (Matt 5:39), and yet Peter "lopped off Malchus' ear with his sword" (Matt 26:51). If Jesus had limited Himself to proclaiming the New Commandment, saying: A New Commandment I give you ... that you love one another" (In 13:34), it would have remained one more written law. It was at Pentecost when He poured His love into the hearts of His disciples by means of the Spirit that it became by right a new law, the law of the Spirit that gives life. The Apostles and Fathers of our Faith were instructed by our Savior Himself. They witnessed His death, Resurrection, and Ascension; yet, they showed nothing new, or noble, or spiritual, that was better than before until they were baptized with the Spirit at Pentecost. When they were baptized and the Paraclete was poured into their souls, they were renewed and embraced a new life. Empowered by the Spirit, they bore witness to Christ's love in their service to others. In the same way, God leads all of us that come after them to carryon His mission. The saints come to know God and love Him, not because they are attracted by mere words, but because they are transformed by the power of the Spirit who writes not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. It is like "being in love" because everything becomes easier, more spontaneous, less out of habit or selfinterest. As the author of the Imitation of Christ writes: "He who loves runs, rejoices, flies. Love knows no burden and pays no heed to weariness, it wants to do more than it can. Love is capable of all things, whereas the one who does not love fails to do even what he wishes." We could say that to live in grace, governed by the New Law of the Spirit, is to live "in love"... that is, transformed by love. The same change that falling in love creates in the relationship between two people is created by the coming of the Holy Spirit in the relationship between God and a human being. As we close out the 20th Century, we realize that the Spirit is at work in the Church. There has been a yearning for a "New Pentecost." With the Ecumenical U
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