"Let's ask ourselves: are we open to the Holy Spirit...?"

O  Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.  --Saint Augustine: (354 – 430: was an early Christian theologian and philosopher)

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

And from your celestial home

Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!

Come, source of all our store!

Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;

You, the soul’s most welcome guest;

Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;

Grateful coolness in the heat;

Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine,

Shine within these hearts of yours,

And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught,

Nothing good in deed or thought,

Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;

On our dryness pour your dew;

Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;

Melt the frozen, warm the chill;

Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore

And confess you, evermore

In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;

Give them your salvation, Lord;

Give them joys that never end. Amen.

Alleluia.

The event of Pentecost is hailed as the birthday the church. It is the day the followers of Jesus burst out of the Upper Room to boldly proclaim the Risen Jesus as the long awaited Christ. Pentecost is renewed and re-presented to us in the liturgy, the “work” of the church.

Pope Francis recalls an old image used in the past. He says that the soul is a kind of sailboat, the Holy Spirit is the wind which fills its sails and drives it forward, and the gusts of wind are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Homily, May 19, 2013)

May this strong driving wind fill our lives with the power of the Holy Spirit.