Last Sunday’s celebration of Pentecost, the commemoration of the Holy Spirit descending upon the apostles, was perfect timing. Across this nation as more people die and protests turn violent on top of never-ending uncertainty of the pandemic, many feel powerless. Our cities are in flames, our neighborhoods in conflicts, and our hearts broken. Like the disciples locked in that upper room, we too may be full of fear. Where do we go from here?
Our responses are many - marching on the streets, praying, posting on Twitter, writing letters to our representatives, sending notes to friends in pain, praying, crying, and trying to make sense of this all.
The Spirit that descended on the apostles is the same Spirit that was given to us at our Baptism and strengthened at our Confirmation. Pentecost reminds us that this Spirit is alive in us. This bears repeating: This Spirit is alive in us.
Our gifts from the Spirit extend beyond those seven gifts we studied as we prepared for our Confirmation. Each of us has special gifts from the Spirit. Our gifts are given to us, not for our own good, but for the good of others; when we use our gifts for others, we witness to our oneness in Christ.
We must remind ourselves that we are not alone for the Holy Spirit lives in us. We can draw upon this Spirit as we discern how best to respond to a nation in crisis. We can be empowered and strengthened by this. During such times of hurt and unrest, we must ask ourselves tough questions and take actions:
How are we using our gifts?
How are we using our gifts to heal the pains of racism, injustice, violence, and ignorance?
How can we leverage these gifts to address what is happening in our world today?
Let us use the Spirit within us to create real change in our world. Modeling Jesus’ lessons and taping into the Holy Spirit alive in us, we CAN love our neighbor as thyself and work to bring peace into our world.
Paula M. Riley
Communications Consultant
DeSales Weekly: https://oblates.squarespace.com/desales-weekly
DeSales Weekly Editor: Fr. Bill McCandless, OSFS
