Homilies

May 10, 2008
Pentecost - Vigil Mass
Genesis 11:1-9; Romans 8:22-27; John 7:37-39
Fr. Jerome Machar, OCSO

Today we are celebrating the vigil of Pentecost. We gather around the Table of the Lord in anticipation of the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit just as our ancestors in the faith have done generation after generation. With the setting of the sun we are given the promise of a new day and of a new world. Since the day of our Master's Ascension we have been awaiting with holy longing a fresh outpouring of the Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son to fill each of us the gift of repentance and faith. We wait in hope because it is only in the light of the Spirit that we can face the future firmly grounded in the faith that is born of God's love.

In every age the Spirit breathes where she will to bring men and women of every race, language and people the good news of reconciliation both with God and with one another. The Holy Spirit is the cement that binds the three divine Persons of Most Blessed Trinity together in unity. All who are enlighten by the Fire of the Spirit are drawn together in unity of faith and the bond of divine love. The Gift of the Holy Spirit makes us members of the Church, which was founded by Christ to be the place where His Father would make His dwelling. The Church is at the same time a spiritual communion, a mystical body enlivened by the Spirit's manifold gifts, and the sacrament of salvation for all humanity (cf. L. G. #8).

Civilizations have come and gone, but unfortunately the greed and avarice of mankind have not changed. Like the tower builders we speak many words but rarely communicate with one another. Conversely, God, in His merciful kindness, has given us the Holy Spirit so that we might be conformed to the Eternal Word. The recipients of the Spirit, who implanted the divine Word in our hearts, are capable of growing in loving communion with all the adopted children of God through communion with the only-begotten Son. The wind of the Spirit silences our ceaseless babbling. With a gentle small voice, the Breath of God whispers the Word of Love in the ears of our hearts.

The feast of Pentecost offers us an opportunity to reaffirm our profession of faith and to renew as our commitment to proclaim God's marvelous works to the ends of the earth. Unfortunately, some ministers of the Word have turned the building of the Kingdom into an industry for personal advancement and wealth. Somehow they have confused the glory of God with worldly success and prestige. Like the tower builders they devise plans to build magnificent edifices of brick and mortar. However, God desires to build a Temple of living stones united in the bond of Love. Even as we exert our efforts to build the city of man we are hindered by barriers of alienation, anger and polarization. The product of our labors is division. All the while, the Spirit of God blows wherever She wills, as the first fruits of the new heavens and the new earth, where God's peace will reign and all the children of Adam and Eve will live in justice and love. The product of God's work is communion and reconciliation.

Once upon a time. there was a man who took his Christian commitment very seriously. He daily evangelized the people around him. He tried, and tried, and tried to change everyone he met. However, no matter what he said to them, he couldn't change them. No matter how clearly he refuted their arguments, he couldn't touch their hearts. Frustrated by his failure, he knelt and prayed. As he prayed, he asked the Lord why his greatest efforts were such total failures. The Lord Told Him, "Change your heart, Change your lifestyle, change yourself. You will see the fruit." The man listened to the word that the Lord had spoken to him, and did what he was told. He lived More for God, and stopped try to change the world around him. By living the way God had asked and just walking with him, the world changed around him. The world saw the Fire of Divine Love burning in him and could not deny the works of God. So the world was changed by Love in the end. The challenges confronting the world today require a comprehensive and sound knowledge of the truths of the faith.

These challenges also call for cultivating a mindset that is confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith's vision to bear on the urgent issues that confront modern society. We heard the words St. Paul wrote to the Church of Rome. "We know that all living things are groaning as in the pains of childbirth, even until now" (Rom. 8:22). The tears of the poor and the suffering of the innocent affect each of us. The anguish of the world makes our hearts ache for the day "when we will take our place as the children of God totally set free from our bodies" (Rom. 8:23). We and all the members of the human race long for that true freedom, which is God's gift to all who are His children. It is only in the power of the Holy Spirit that our world will know genuine freedom, authentic happiness, and the fulfillment of its deepest aspirations.

Saint Paul speaks of a kind of prayer which arises from the depths of our hearts in sighs too deep for words, in "groanings" (Rom 8:26) inspired by the Spirit. This is a prayer that yearns for the fulfillment of God's promises. It is a prayer of unfailing hope, but also one of patient endurance. Through this prayer, we share in the mystery of Christ's own weakness and suffering, while trusting firmly in the victory of his Cross. "For in this hope we have already been saved" (Rom. 8:24). Those who have hope must live different lives! (cf. Spe Salvi, 2).

Through the surpassing power of Christ's grace, entrusted to us frail human beings, the Church is constantly reborn and each of us is given the hope of a new beginning. Let us trust in the Spirit's power to inspire conversion, to heal every wound, to overcome every division, and to inspire new life and freedom. May God send forth His spirit to comfort and console us. May the Spirit counselor strengthen us in hope. May the Paraclete give us wisdom and courage to build up the kingdom until the day of the Lord Jesus. Amen.