When I was studying in Rome there was a very powerful charismatic prayer meeting in the English language on Sunday afternoons. I was told that one Sunday afternoon someone from another country who didn’t know Irish (in Ireland Gaelic is called Irish) spoke in tongues in Irish (Gaelic). It is a modern day example of speaking in tongues similar to the apostles at Pentecost. Fr. Pat Collins C.M describes something similar at a charismatic prayer meeting he attended,
“I attended an extraordinary prayer meeting on a Thursday evening. From the outset a special anointing of the Spirit was upon it. At one point early in the proceedings a woman gave a powerful utterance in tongues. Subsequently we were told by Cardinal Ó Fiach’s secretary, a nun who had once ministered in Africa, that the woman had recited parts of the litany of Loreto in Swahili. Apparently, she had repeated the phrase, ‘Mary is Queen of Peace’ a number of times. (From Prayer in Practice: A Biblical Approach by Fr Pat Collins C.M. and published by Columba Press, page 173 and used here with permission.)
It is another modern day example of speaking in tongues similar to the apostles speaking in tongues on Pentecost. Both of these incidents are examples of what Paul meant in our second reading (Vigil Mass),
“The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means…” (Rom 8:26-27)
These incidents of people speaking in tongues are examples of how the Holy Spirit can move us when we are open to the touch of the Holy Spirit.
I am sure you have all heard people say that we use only 1% of our brains and that we could achieve so much more if we put our brains to better use. I think we could say the same about our reliance on the Holy Spirit. Maybe we rely only 1% on the Holy Spirit. People praying in tongues led by the Holy Spirit are just a tiny glimpse of what could happen if the entire Church were vibrant with the Holy Spirit.
What would the Church be like if it were vibrant with the Holy Spirit? In his letters, Paul writes about the gifts given to the early Church by the Holy Spirit as if such gifts are commonplace in the Church. In his first letter to the Corinthians 12:7-11 Paul wrote,
“The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. One may have the gift of preaching with wisdom given him by the Spirit; another may have the gift of preaching instruction given him by the same Spirit; and another the gift of faith given by the same Spirit; another again the gift of healing, through this one Spirit; one, the power of miracles; another, prophecy; another the gift of recognizing spirits; another the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses.”
If the Church were vibrant with the Holy Spirit it would be flying!!! But we must not idealize the early Church. As we read Paul’s letters, we realize that the early Church had many problems as the Church now, and the Church in Corinth, to whom Paul wrote that beautiful passage about the gifts of the Spirit, had more problems than any other church Paul founded.
So I ask you to pray that the Church may receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I have heard Irish missionaries on holidays in Ireland from Africa say “the Church in this country is dead and lifeless compared to Africa. There is great spirit in the Church in Africa.” Maybe we are relying only 1% on the Holy Spirit. During the Season of Easter, which concludes today, our first reading at each weekday and Sunday Mass was taken from the Acts of the Apostles. It is a beautiful account of the early Church being led by the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless we also see in that account that the Church had problems to overcome. The Acts of the Apostles says that after Jesus’ ascension, Jesus took his seat at the right hand side of his Father and from there he poured out the Holy Spirit on the Church. I ask you to pray to Jesus asking him to continue to pour the Holy Spirit out on the Church so that the Church may fly!
INVOCATION
According to St John, the Holy Spirit brings Jesus alive into the Christian community, by reminding us about his message, inviting us to walk in his truth, and making us live his message of love. This is the Spirit we celebrate on the feast of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit, and teach us to pray to God in his endearing name of Father, the way Jesus taught us. If we don’t feel his living presence in our midst, we will become like orphans. Remind us that Jesus alone is the Way that takes us to the Father. His life dedicated to the least among us shows us his true face. Without Jesus, we will never understand his thirst for peace, justice and dignity for all.
Come, Holy Spirit, and make us walk in the truth of Jesus. Without his light and encouragement, we will never understand his project for the kingdom of God. Our life will lack passion and hope. We won’t understand why we follow Him and for what. We won’t know the meaning of our lives or why we suffer. The kingdom of God will continue to be in need of collaborators.
Come, Holy Spirit, and teach us how to announce the Good News of Jesus. Let’s stop throwing heavy burdens on others. Let us not create problems that don’t exist or condemn those who need help and understanding.
Let us not break the weakened reed or extinguish the flickering wick.
Come, Holy Spirit, and instill in us the religious experience of Jesus. Let us not waste our lives in trivial pursuits while forgetting the respect for justice, mercy and faith. Let no one and nothing distract us from following the one Lord and Master. Let no doctrine, practice or devotion deviate us from his Gospel.
Come, Holy Spirit, and increase our faith so that we may experience
Jesus’ help at the very root of our weakness. Teach us to feed our life, not with mere human traditions and weak words, but with the interior knowledge of his Person. May we always be guided by his courageous and creative Spirit and not by the mere instinct of survival.
Come, Holy Spirit, transform our hearts and makes us surrender to Jesus. If none of us change, nothing in the Church will change. If all of us remain prisoners of our own inertia, nothing good or new will happen to our followers. If we do not let ourselves be carried by his creativity, every attempt to move will be stalled.
Come, Holy Spirit, and save us from the risk of forgetting Jesus. Prisoners of our own fears and uncertainties, we will not hear his voice or
notice his encouragement. Awaken in us our attraction to him because, if we lose touch with him, we shall become more nervous and insecure.