I wish everyone, everywhere, peace and every good thing on this solemnity of Pentecost. In my opinion, among the holy days of Christianity, only Easter is more important than Pentecost. One of these days I will find the words to express to you how important this holy day is to me. On this solemnity in the year 2000 (it was June 11), I was confirmed and received the Holy Spirit. Through all the ups and downs in my life; through all that I have seen in this world, I have kept faith because of this one confidence: that the Spirit of God, the Spirit made available to everyone through Jesus Christ, is with us. Even now, in this time when I wrestle with God over many things, I remain a disciple of Jesus because of the Holy Spirit that lives in us and among us and gives us a most unlikely power.
At this time of the Christian liturgical year, I look forward to the story of the descent of the Holy Spirit; I look forward to the rite of confirmation, when others are anointed with oil and receive the Spirit that I believe has grasped me. And I relish the music of Pentecost, which celebrates the coming of the Spirit, the fulfillment of Christ’s work of salvation. This year, the words of the Pentecost sequence, the great hymn to the Spirit, move me more than ever. They are bringing me great solace at a time when I feel like I know God so little and my love has become so small. But I hope this dry period, too, will pass; and the great Spirit who has been so good to me before and filled me with abundant life and the strength to love, will grasp me once again, if I but surrender to Her. Thus these words comfort me and become my most fervent prayer. In this attitude of watching and waiting, I share these words with you.
Pentecost Sequence
Come, O Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, O 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.
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