Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,

Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome is a beautiful, vast house of worship.  When on thinks of Catholic churches, beautiful stained glass windows come to mind.  This is more of a part of Gothic architecture.  In all of Saint Peter’s, there is only one window with a depiction of the Holy Spirit that even comes close to stained glass, and it is not glass.  It is thin sheets of alabaster, so it has no brilliant colors.  It has a subtle beauty to it.  When the sun shines though it, it is a remarkable sight.  It is as if the Holy Spirit is descending upon the whole Church!

This weekend we meditate upon the mystery of the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  It is much easier to speak about what the Holy Spirit does, than to describe what the Holy Spirit is.  The Holy Spirit is the life in the Church. When one considers the fallenness of humanity and the inclination to sin, it is a miracle that the Church has survived at all.  It has not only survived, it has spread and grown throughout the world.

In 2000 years there has been great scandal in the Church.  The enemies of our Faith are quick to remind us of the Spanish Inquisition, the selling of indulgences, the priest scandal, and the list goes on.  The Church has been around for a long time, and human beings are sinful, so there are plenty of things that have gone wrong.  There have been immoral popes, heresy, the Protestant Reformation, et cetera.  So how does the Faith survive?  It is because of the Holy Spirit. The believers of the Church are weak and sinful human beings.  They fall into sin; they disappoint; they cause scandal.  But the Faith is of God:  It remains pure and holy.

It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the strength and wisdom to live the life of Faith.  Those who follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit are the people who become saints and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Through our baptism and confirmation, we become temples of the Holy Spirit.  It is this Holy Spirit who enables us to live our Christian life as disciples of Jesus.  If we practice listening to the Holy Spirit, He will guide us.  Or we can ignore the Holy Spirit and we can hear the voice of God less and less.  One way leads to everlasting life and the other to death and doom.

Jesus promised to send the Spirit as our advocate and guide.  The apostles were locked in the upper room filled with fear.  When the Spirit of God descended open them, they were so filled with faith and courage that they ran out and began proclaiming the Good News!  May we be filled with the joy and faith that the Holy Spirit brings.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.  Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.  And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Msgr. Cox
Pentecost, Fray Juan Bautista Maíno  (1620)