Uploaded homilies might feel a little odd. They are meant for preaching and use more conversational language. But ... maybe something might strike and be helpful!
Today we celebrate Pentecost, the day that the Holy Spirit came into humanity. While, to us, this seems like a part of history and just normal, we have to understand the difference between believing in God without the Holy Spirit Vs. what it is like to have Him. Let’s look at the Holy Spirit and then I want to demonstrate what it’s like in reference to what we’ve all probably experienced in the world with this pandemic and separation.
First, what’s the purpose of the Holy Spirit? There’s actually a saint who puts it best. His name is St. Hilary, yes, Hilary was a boy’s name back then. But he had this great way of discussing the Holy Spirit relating it to the human faculties or senses. He talked about how our eyes, they cannot see without light. Our ears, they can’t react without sound vibrations. And our noses, if there weren’t odors or things to smell, they wouldn’t know what their purpose would be. In other words, without light to see the pulpit, my eyes would be healthy, but they wouldn’t be functioning in the way they were meant for.
Not only that, but I have to cooperate with the senses too. If I’m meant to listen to someone, I have to be close enough for sound to reach me AND I have to concentrate on their words. If I’m meant to smell a rose, I have to get near it.
It’s actually the same with the human soul. Unless our souls absorb the Holy Spirit through our faith and belief AND I cooperate … the mind has the ability to know about God but we don’t truly understand or experience Him. Go back to the human senses. I know ACADEMICALLY what roses smell like. I remember it. But there’s a difference being knowing the smell of roses VS. actually being near them and actively smelling them. It’s through the power of smell that I connect to the rose in a real way. It’s the same with the Holy Spirit. I know God. He created me. He loves me. He saved me. But It’s through the power of the Holy Spirit that I actually CONNECT with God. Without the Holy Spirit AND my cooperation with the moments of prayer to make it happen … God’s not experienced or seen or felt.
That’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and tried to prepare us for Him. The main purpose is we all return to God the Father. The person in the Trinity who desired to create everything, because of His perfect love for us. Now, because of Pentecost, we connect to Jesus because of the power of Holy Spirit, much like we connect with the idea of a rose THROUGH the power of smell. But ultimately, Jesus then leads us to God the Father. The experience of perfect love
So, that’s kind of a mix of theology and thinking about Pentecost in terms of our human faculties of smell, sight, hearing … but I think we’ve all come to understand this a lot better through the quarantines that have been going on. These past few months, I’ve taught online and only communicated with people on the phone and video conferencing. I think a lot of people have gone through this as well. If you’ve felt frustrated and unsatisfied with all this … Pentecost explains why.
The main idea is that with all our technology … voice, video, and email … technology conveys information. Ideas, thoughts, and feelings are conveyed … but the in person experience doesn’t happen. Information does connect people (I know this or that about you), but that’s on a level that isn’t as deep or fulfilling as the other ways to connect. Humans are so incarnational … we need encounter and being in the same room to form those bonds that change us on real levels.
Think of the Sacred Scripture. I could read this as information. This and that happened. But if I leave it on that level, mass and prayer are probably not going to be satisfying the older I get because I’ve heard these things before. Instead, the Holy Spirit is the light that’s meant to help us see God through these words. Hear how God loves you specifically and personally … and how His way of life is actually going to make you happy in ways you didn’t even realize you wanted.
I think this is why Jesus never personally wrote anything down. Have you ever thought about that? He is not one of the authors of the Bible. The authors are people who experienced God and wrote down why they drastically changed their life. The Holy Spirit protected their writing so the truths about God remained safe. But Jesus didn’t write anything down because He didn’t want to deal and teach in dry information. Instead, what He did leave for us is an experience. The one thing that Jesus left for you … here … in Sacred Heart / Assumption in 2020 is not just words, but Himself in the Eucharist and the Church to protect it. A host that is a sight to be seen, something to be touched and tasted. Our material faculties experience the Eucharist as food, but unless we allow the immaterial part of us … our souls … to believe and have faith in the Holy Spirit’s action, we don’t have the encounter Christ wanted to give.
Again, there can be light in the room, but if I’m supposed to SEE a certain object, I have to cooperate with that light. I can’t have my eyes closed. I can’t look this way or that. My cooperation means I open my eyes and look forward. That’s just prayer. Putting yourself in a spot and disposition to SEE God. I promise, if you stop in at a church, have a prayer spot at home or on a walk, and just attempt to be in God’s presence … your soul will connect more and more.
We talked about the Holy Spirit. Think about how there needs to be light in order to see, but I have to cooperate … open my eyes and look where I’m supposed to. That’s prayer. Put yourself in a disposition to feel and talk to God, and dry information becomes real. I know what a rose smells like, but the experience is way better. If you find yourself a little dissatisfied with spiritual things … it’s time to experience God in the way you were meant to. Put yourself in a mindset to have that interior search.
The rest of this mass. Remember that Jesus didn’t write down any information, instead, He left us is the Eucharist. A great way to make our HUMAN senses PAY ATTENTION, but then use the Holy Spirit to go deeper. Let His spiritual presence be acknowledged. This is Jesus that I’m bringing INTO myself and my life. Have faith with the gift of the Holy Spirit and, in a REAL way, come and meet God.
Bible … Sacred Scripture. You can read it on an informational level. What happened? When? What lessons were learned? Or, you can ask the Holy Spirit to place you there. Ask Him to help you read as if it’s a letter written to you. That’s how you would encounter God.
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