The Body and Blood of Christ (C)

 

The Body and Blood of Christ (C) [Lk 9:11-17]

22.06.2025

Multiplication of the Loaves (Feeding the Five Thousand)

Readings: (1) Gen 14:18-20 (2) 1 Cor 11:23-26

1.    Theme in brief

Breaking our bodies and shedding our blood for others

2.    Focus Statement

The Holy Eucharist, which is Christ’s Body broken for us and his Blood shed for our salvation, motivates us to share our resources in sacrificial service to others.

3.    Explanation of the text

Today’s gospel begins in the context of Jesus taking the apostles to a secluded place at Bethsaida after their return from mission journey, to have some private time with them (9:10). The crowds that were so much desiring to listen to his words and get healed of their illnesses came to know about it and followed him; thus, encroaching even his private space (9:11). In spite of that he did not consider them a nuisance but gave up his desire for privacy for their sake and once again began his twofold mission: (1) to proclaim the Kingdom of God and instruct people about its nature; and (2) to heal the sick (9:11).

As the sun was about to set, the apostles sensed a critical situation. As they were in a “deserted place” (9:12), where would the crowds get food to eat?  They proposed an immediate solution to Jesus: to send them away before it would be fully dark so that they could go to villages and countryside to find their own food and lodging (9:12). They thought dismissing the crowd to manage their physical needs on their own was the best solution instead of going through the enormous problems involved in buying and transporting provisions, cooking and distributing food for five thousand men excluding women and children (9:13)!

Instead of escaping from the problem, Jesus asked the disciples to face the problem with these emphatic words: "You give them something to eat" (9:13). They responded by pointing to the meagreness of their resources: “We have no more than five loaves and two fish" (9:13). Here we notice their tendency to focus on what they hadn’t got instead of what they had. Their focus was only on the enormous problem and not on any other possibility. Even after observing so many miracles of Jesus in their presence, they could not imagine the possibility of Jesus handling the hunger of the crowd with his power. They doubted about his ability to take care of this situation.

Jesus did more than just feeling pity for the misery of the crowd; he took action as soon as he heard from them that they had five loaves and two fish with them. In that action, Luke uses the four striking words similar to those used by him in the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper (cf Lk 22:19) and also at Emmaus when Jesus sat for supper with two of his disciples (Lk 24:30). These four words are: taking, blessing, breaking, and giving. Luke says the Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, blessed God, broke them and gave them to his disciples who distributed them to the people (9:16).

According to the Emmaus Story, Cleopas and the other disciple recognized Jesus precisely when Jesus was at table with them he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him (Lk 24:30-31). Some scholars say that Jesus’ request to his disciples before using these Eucharistic gestures to organize the crowd into groups of fifty each is a pointer to the Eucharist which was considered as the source of unity of Christian community (9:14-15).

4.    Application to life

On today’s feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, we thank and praise God for the incomparable gift Jesus made of himself to us in the Holy Eucharist. On this day we celebrate the abiding presence of Christ in our midst under the signs of bread and wine. We collectively give thanks to him for his mysterious yet tangible presence with us in the Eucharist. Through this wonderful sacrament, Jesus who came into this world as our Emmanuel – that is, God with us – continues to remain as God who stays with us through the Holy Eucharist and to draw us towards his love so that we can love one another with this spiritual nourishment. In addition, by celebrating this feast we express our faith in the “Real Presence” of the Risen Christ in the Eucharist. If we ask a question, who is really present in the Eucharist, the answer is: The one who gives himself as our spiritual nourishment; the one who shares his life fully with us; and the one who offers himself fully for us. Jesus was a man for others. And in the Eucharist he gives us a spiritual nourishment to be men and women for others by leading a life of caring, sharing and sacrificial service. When we receive the Eucharist since Christ dwells in us we become Christ-bearers to the world. This privilege places upon us the duty and responsibility of giving or communicating Christ to others at home, in society and in our workplaces – his love, mercy, forgiveness and sacrificial service.

What Luke narrates in today’s gospel, in fact happens in every Eucharistic celebration, especially when we gather for it on the Day of the Lord (Sunday). Christ invites and gathers us around the Eucharistic Table for threefold purposes for which he sacrificed even his desire to have private time with the apostles according to today’s gospel:  (1) to instruct us about the Kingdom of God and its meaning or implication for us today as we listen to the Word of God and reflect over it; (2) to heal us from our sins which are our spiritual sicknesses; and (3) to feed us with his Body and Blood so that with the strength of this spiritual nourishment we may go out to feed those who are physically and spiritually hungry.

As we have already pointed out, today’s gospel text of multiplication of loaves is prescribed for this feast precisely because it has a lot of Eucharistic connotation. This is clear from the fact that Luke uses the same four words while narrating this miracle which were used by Jesus at the institution of the Eucharist at Last Supper: Jesus took bread, blessed God (that is, gave him thanks), broke it and gave to his disciples (compare Lk 9:16 with Lk 22:19). Some experts say that taking the loaves of bread, breaking and giving them to his disciples symbolize the “taking” of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane for crucifixion, the “breaking” of his body during his passion and crucifixion and “giving” of himself as a sacrificial offering for the remission of our sins. Let us apply this to our spiritual life. Like Jesus we too are called to take and recognize God’s blessings and gifts in our lives; to bless and thank him for all our gifts – our health, time, talents, abilities, job, friends, family and faith; to break these gifts and blessings by sharing, spending, distributing and sacrificing them for the good of others; and in this way to give ourselves for the salvation of the world.

Just as Jesus broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, so also Eucharistic Bread is the memorial of Jesus’ body broken for us and his blood shed on the cross for us, for our salvation. By using Eucharistic words for the multiplication of loaves, Luke probably wanted to tell his readers in his days and also tells us today that the celebration of the Eucharist must lead us to a spirit of greater sharing within Christian community that may result in the multiplication of the little resources we have. Sharing our resources and energies is a service that demands sacrifices.  Every Eucharist reminds us of our obligation to make sacrifices for the service of others.

As Jesus makes himself fully available to us in the Eucharist, we also are strengthened by the Eucharist to make ourselves available for the service of others. As Jesus is generous to feed us and stay with us through Eucharistic presence, we also get strength to feed others (both physically and spiritually) and stay with those who are in need of our help. Every time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, he tells us as he told his disciples in today’s gospel, “You give them something to eat” (9:13). Only when we are willing to take out the little we have Jesus blesses it to satisfy the physical or spiritual hunger of people around us.

Jesus’ reply to the request of disciples to dismiss the crowd to get their provisions with these words implies that it is their duty and responsibility to feed those who hunger for material as well as spiritual bread (the Word and the Eucharist). As we approach the Eucharist, Jesus seems to tell us: “As I give myself fully or share my whole being (Body and Blood) in the Eucharist, take this and receive the spiritual energy to give yourself or share your energies, talents and time with others. You give something of what you have to feed (both physically and spiritually) those who do not have it.” In the Eucharist, Christ makes himself totally available for us and shares his life with us, so that we too may do the same for others. The Eucharist is a spiritual meal of our community which commits and strengthens us to a life of service. By receiving the Bread of God, we become strengthened to take care of the bread for which so many people hunger.

We hear in the media that in our world millions go hungry, lose their homes in war and natural calamities. We think we are helpless to do anything for them except offering some prayers for them and a little contribution of money in the collection box. If we cannot do more than this for those people far away, what is our attitude towards the poor and the needy at our doorsteps? Like the disciples of Jesus, when we see poor people we also say: Let them go and find some work and take care of their needs. Though human mercy comes up and tells us that we could share with them something of what we have, we suppress or silence this feeling by making excuses of the type the disciples of Jesus made: (1) five loaves and two fish are like peanuts when we have five thousand mouths to feed (that also excluding women and children); and (2) we don not have the means to buy food and feed such a crowd. When we meet problems often we think of solutions from outside. According to today’s text Jesus challenges us to find solutions to our problems from within us and generously bring out the resources at our disposal, however little they may be. When all of us share even a little there will be sufficient for all and ‘twelve baskets’ of leftovers. The miracle that is waiting to take place in our hearts is: our conversion from selfish persons into generous sharers. As Michael de Verteuil says in his book ‘Lectio Divina with the Sunday Gospels’: “If we complain about the little we have, we never have enough; but if we take what we have, raise our eyes to heaven and say the blessing over it, we have as much as we want, and even twelve baskets of scraps left over.” Like the disciples had thought, if we send the people to villages to find their own food without sharing something of what we have, we fail to be Christ’s disciples.

Next, let us consider the spiritual significance of this miracle. Miracles in the gospels are like sacraments – external and visible signs of internal and invisible spiritual meaning or significance (grace). Similarly, physical healings are external signs of inner healing. In the same way, satisfaction of physical hunger of the crowds in today’s gospel is an external sign of Jesus’ role as the One who satisfies our spiritual hunger. It is a fact that human hunger goes beyond physical hunger. Human beings do not live by material bread alone (Mt 4:4). They are hungry for justice especially when they live in a unjust social structure or political system. They are hungry for peace when they live in a world torn apart by wars, riots, conflicts, violence and crimes. Then there is the deepest hunger for love and care, especially when people feel unloved and uncared. Quite often people feel totally helpless and powerless to satisfy their spiritual hunger. Jesus has given us the most wonderful sacrament to tackle our spiritual under-nourishment, that is, the Holy Eucharist. We become what we eat. By taking Jesus into us through Holy Communion in faith and with proper disposition we become more and more like him  - more loving, service-minded and self-sacrificing persons. But if we eat only the junk food provided by the mass media and the evil company of the world without having close communion with Jesus, we take into us a lot of ‘poison’ (evil).

As mentioned in the explanation of today’s gospel text, the disciples are given the task of organizing the crowd and distributing the bread. This shows that we are called to share what we have with others, just as Christ shares his life with us. Just as the disciples are told to organize a scattered crowd of people into groups of fifty each, we are called to gather people into the unity of God’s Kingdom. We are also called to bring about a ‘miracle’ of unity in our divided world or community.

5.    Response to God's Word

Does Eucharist inspire and strengthen us to share even our meagre resources with the have-nots? Do we realize that we are fed with divine life, so that we may feed others with the same? Does our participation in the Holy Mass motivate us to render a service to the poor, the suffering and the needy, or just to fulfil a ritual or gain respectability and acceptability in our society? What is our attitude towards the poor and the needy?

6.    A Prayer

Lord Jesus, today we express our faith in your real presence in the Eucharist. As you give yourself fully as our spiritual nourishment and share your life fully with us give us the strength to be men and women for others. As we take and receive you in faith, may we become more and more loving, service-minded and self-sacrificing persons like you. As you are generous to feed us and remain with us, give us the strength to feed others, both physically and spiritually. By receiving the Bread of God, may we become strengthened to feed the spiritually and materially hungry. In a divided world, may our continual gathering around the Eucharistic table bring about unity among the scattered children of God. Amen.

Most Holy Trinity (C)

 

Most Holy Trinity (C) [Jn 16:12-15]

15.06.2025

Revelation of the Father by the Son and the Holy Spirit

Readings: (1) Prov 8:22-31 (2) Rom 5:1-5

1.    Theme in brief

Our continual discovery of God’s love

2.    Focus Statement

Jesus reveals to us who the Father really, and sends the Holy Spirit to guide us in our discovery of God’s love in day-to-day life and to know the inner mystery of the Triune God.

3.    Explanation of the text

In today’s gospel, Jesus confides to his disciples about many more things he still has to tell them but if he will tell them all those things they will not be able to bear them now (16:12). Since nobody is sure about the exact meaning of these words, some experts say that it refers to the mystery of God and his love which nobody can fully grasp. They say that it implies that the revelation of the mystery of God takes place progressively, stage by stage through the help and guidance of the Spirit (16:13).

Some other experts say that it may refer to his passion, crucifixion, resurrection, descent of the Holy Spirit, future persecution of the Church and the gathering of the Gentiles into the fold of the Church. All these future events are totally contrary to their expectations from the Messiah. These matters are not only beyond their grasp at present but also shocking and scandalizing. Therefore, before his departure from this world, he promises them to send the Holy Spirit with whose guidance and enlightenment they will be able to grasp the meaning of these events. That will give them the courage and strength to bear future shocks (16:13). One thing is clear: Jesus makes known his wish to continue his close communication with them after his Ascension through the guiding work of the Holy Spirit (16:12).  

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth” whose role is to guide them into all the truth (16:13).  In John’s gospel, the words ‘God’s truth’ refer to the revelation brought by Jesus about God’s true nature, about who God really is, in what way and to what extent he loves human beings. Jesus has already revealed to them ‘God’s truth’ – who the Father actually is. Now the role of the Holy Spirit is to help the disciples further discover ‘God’s truth’ or God’s boundless and unconditional love in day-to-day life so that they may grow stage by stage in their knowledge of the inner mystery of God. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth precisely because of his role of guiding the disciples into all the truth (revelation) about the mystery of God. Thus, revelation of God’s love, his mystery and his holy will continues till today and will continue for ever – all because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world.

The guidance given by the Holy Spirit is not going to be his own or coming from his own authority, but only what he hears from Jesus (16:13). Thus he does not add anything new to the once-for-all revelation of God through Christ. He constantly keeps on updating our understanding of Christ’s revelation. Further, the Holy Spirit does not do anything for his own glory or to attract people to himself. By his work of guidance in the path of truth, he draws people to Jesus and thus glorifies Jesus and not himself (16:14).

Jesus further tells his disciples that whatever the Father has, belongs to him (16:15). Earlier also he had mentioned: “I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (Jn 15:15). Now he tells his disciples whatever he has, the Holy Spirit declares or makes it known to them (16:14-15). The word ‘declaring’ means giving right interpretation or explaining the significance of what Jesus has revealed about the Father. Thus, the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by interpreting (‘declaring’) the meaning of the words he has heard from Jesus (16:13), just as Jesus has revealed whatever he has heard from the Father. He takes what the Father has given to Jesus and prompts its implications to the disciples. By explaining to us Jesus’ teaching, the Holy Spirit indirectly reveals the Father’s mind just as Jesus does. Thus, there is a perfect link from the Father to the Son and from the Son to the Holy Spirit and from the Holy Spirit to the disciples. From this we get some glimpses of the oneness of purpose, total transparency, sharing and intimate communication that exist among the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

4.    Application to life

Our faith tells us that our God, though one, does not exist alone or in isolation. He is neither a loner nor unrelated or disconnected. He is a community of three persons – a Divine Community of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Actually speaking, the Holy Trinity is nothing but another expression of the briefest definition of God given by John in his First Letter, "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8). If God is love, he needs others to give and receive love. Among the three Divine Persons of the Trinity, love is shared through a closer interaction or communion, total sharing and the deepest level of communication. If God were not love, he need not have been a Trinitarian God. He could very well be a solitary God.

What are the implications of our faith in the Holy Trinity for our Christian life? We are all baptized in the Trinitarian formula: in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Hence by baptism itself we are inserted into the Divine Community or Family. Hence, by baptism itself we are called to imitate the traits of the Trinity – sharing, understanding, communication, transparency. Besides, we are called to practice something of the unity in diversity that we find in the Holy Trinity. In spite of their diversity in functions (the Father being Creator, the Son being Redeemer and the Holy Spirit being Sanctifier), all the three work for one goal or purpose – the salvation of all humankind. We should not forget that our baptismal vocation involves a responsibility to work out unity within our families, communities and society in spite of differences of opinions, viewpoints, gender, nationality, race, caste, tribe, ethnicity, religion or faith traditions. We are called to build up oneness of purpose by respecting our differences and accepting/ appreciating what is good in others and emphasizing what is common to all of us, instead of exaggerating our differences and making an issue out of them.

Love is basically other-oriented, both at the human and divine levels. In every love-relationship we discover each other’s love day by day as it takes newer and newer forms. As we come to know each other, more and more, deeper and deeper we discover their love in a deeper level. This is made possible by imitating the qualities of transparency, sharing and communication which exist in the Holy Trinity. From today’s gospel-message we come to know that Jesus shares with his disciples all that he hears from his Father on equal footing and in total transparency and promises them to send the Holy Spirit to continue this sharing – though in a little different way. All the three Divine Persons share among them whatever they hear from one another. None of the three keep anything exclusively as one’s own. All the three take from the other and share it among themselves. They have nothing to hold back or hide from each other and from us; no hidden agenda, no secrecy. Therefore, Jesus says in today’s gospel that all that the Father has is his, and the Holy Spirit ‘declares’ (that is, interprets for us or discloses to us) what is revealed by him about his Father.

Faith in the Holy Trinity means faith in a God who goes out of himself in self-communication and self-disclosure. First he did it through his Son Jesus and now continues to do it through the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus says that he has many more things to tell us about the mystery of God and his love. Not only that, we too have many more things to learn. We are learning it through the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit. He helps us to personalize and interiorize the words of Jesus. Thus, we are perpetual learners. We need constant updating not only in the secular field due to the fast changing world, but also in religious and spiritual sphere. There is always something to learn, share and teach. We need to discover and learn daily newer and newer signs of God’s love for us and the significance of various events (sweet and sour) in our lives. We also have to discover daily the meaning of various signs of love in human relationships with the guidance and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. We have to discover and learn from what is happening in our world today – what God wants to tell us concerning certain shocking and unexplainable events such as terrorist attacks, global warming, ethnic cleansing, communal riots, growing corruption in public life and so on.

Jesus reveals to us who God is (the truth about God); he sends the Holy Spirit to guide us in our discovery of God’s love in daily life. Thus, divine revelation is a continual and progressive disclosure of God’s mystery. Hence, our faith is not static thing, a deposit we received from our parents which needs to be kept in a ‘safe-deposit vault.’ It is a dynamic and progressive process. Faith is like a tool which we have to apply to discover new truths and new mystery about God. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit does not add anything new to what Jesus has already revealed. He only guides us and interprets (‘declares’) to us the meaning and significance of Jesus’ words for present situation. How can the Holy Spirit do it unless he is in constant dialogue with the Father and the Son? Similarly, how can we know what is going on in the minds and hearts of others with whom we live unless we enter into a deeper communication or dialogue?

Our families and communities are called to reflect the transparent relationship and deeper level of communication. Quite often we engage only in social and superficial communication, and share only general information within our families and religious communities. Communication is an act of self-disclosure of what is going on inside us – a deeper sharing of our joyful and hurtful feelings, likes and dislikes, plans, aspirations, hopes, fears and faith in God on a regular basis. Nobody will know what is going on inside us (what troubles and worries us) unless we choose to disclose it to those who are close to us. It is through this kind of depth-level communication we discover each other’s love, grow deeper into it and understand each other. We grow in love and understanding and improve the quality of relationships only when we make known to the other what is going on inside us, what struggles are going on inside us.  By this we discover who the other person is; then we discover his/her love. By discovering genuinely human love we discover God’s own love. When our level of communication improves, the quality of our life improves.

Today we have to examine whether our communication is deeper, or superficial – limited only to news, jokes, weather report, work, tomatoes and potatoes. Also let us examine whether most of our talk is limited to only criticizing/ judging/ condemning somebody, grumbling, complaining and gossiping against somebody, or whether it is supportive, appreciative, encouraging and is concerned about showing compassion towards those with whom we daily interact.

5.    Response to God's Word

Do we discover each other’s love and grow deeper into it through a deeper level of communication? Is our faith static or dynamic? In other words, do we aim at growing in our faith and becoming more mature Christians? Do we share our joys and sorrows, hopes and aspirations, problems and fears, doubts and faith, plans and projects on a regular basis? Ask yourself: Am I a good communicator or bad? Is my communication on a deeper level or superficial? Do I have a lot of things to hide from others? Are my dealings, speech, work, accounts and financial handling transparent?

6.    A Prayer

Most Holy Trinity, you are a model for transparency, sharing and communication which should characterize our families and communities. Today we realize how far away we are from this ideal. Quite often we engage only in social and superficial communication, and share only general information in our families and communities. We repent for the times we failed to cultivate a deeper level of communication or sharing of our likes and dislikes, hope and aspirations, emotions and pain, fears and doubts and above all our faith in you on a regular basis. May we discover daily your love for us and the meaning of various signs of love in human relationships with the guidance of your Spirit. Amen.

 

 

 

PENTECOST SUNDAY (C)

 

Pentecost Sunday (C) [Jn 20:19-23]

08.06.2025

Jesus Breathes His Spirit in the Apostles

Readings: (1) Acts 2:1-11 (2) 1 Cor 12:3-7.12-13

1.    Theme in brief:

Gift of new life and mission of peace and reconciliation

2.    Focus Statement:  

The Risen Lord breathes his Spirit of new life upon us and sends us to carry forward his mission of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation with a new zeal and vigour.

3.    Explanation of the text

According to today’s gospel text, on the evening of “the first day of the week” (20:19), that is, on first Easter Sunday, Jesus fulfils his promise of giving his disciples “another Advocate” besides himself (14:16) by breathing on them his life-giving Spirit (19:22). The symbolism of “breathing” on them indicates that the Holy Spirit is the Risen Lord’s own breath or life. Just as God had breathed into the nostrils of the first man (Adam) the breath of life, and he had become a living being (Gen 2:7), so also Jesus breathes on his disciples in a similar fashion and says: “Receive the Holy Spirit” (20:22). By giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit in the form of breath, he makes them a new creation or imparts new life (zeal and vigour) to them. This new creation also symbolizes the creation or birth of a new community of believers, i.e. the Church.

The gesture of breathing on them may also refer to prophet Ezekiel’s vision of a valley full of dry bones. The Lord asked the prophet to prophesy to those dry bones that he would cause breath to enter in them and they would live (37:1-14). The apostles were now like dry bones – lifeless and locked up for fear of the Jewish authorities (20:19). Like Prophet Ezekiel, Jesus caused his breath or life (Holy Spirit) to enter into the lifeless dry bones of apostles and they began to live (Ez 37:9, 14). The Holy Spirit regenerates or rejuvenates them in such a way that they emerge from their hideouts to become courageous witnesses of the Lord. 

The Risen Lord’s twice repeated salutation of peace (20:19, 21) is also a gift that is closely associated with the Holy Spirit. He gives his Spirit to remain in the Church for ever so that he might motivate her for her mission to build up peace and harmony in the world. Peace in this context does not mean quietness or mere absence of war; it involves all-round well-being, wholeness, harmony and building up of human relationships. In the OT, peace is closely associated with the blessing of God and salvation to be brought by the Messiah. Here probably John wants to tell his readers, with the outpouring of the Risen Lord’s Spirit, the messianic hopes are fulfilled.

Further, the Holy Spirit also is closely associated with the mission of Christ. By breathing his Spirit on them, he empowers them to come out of their locked doors and fears so that they can carry out his mission. Just as the Father had sent Jesus (20:21), he sends them to continue his work. They were locked in, now they are sent out. The mission of the Father is the mission of the Son, which is also the mission of the Church. Though the concept of mission is common in all the gospels, since today’s passage is from John, we have to understand this mission in terms of John’s main themes – to share God’s (divine or eternal) life, light and truth with others; to dispel darkness of sin and death; and to lay down our lives in humble and sacrificial service for others. 

      A further aspect of the mission of the Church is emphasized in today’s text – to forgive sins of any so that she may proclaim the forgiving love of God and carry forward his ministry of reconciliation (20:23).

4.    Application to life                     

Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, ‘fiftieth’ day (in Greek) after Easter on which the Spirit of the Living God descended on Mary and the twelve apostles in the form of a mighty wind and tongues of fire according to the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-4). But according to John’s gospel prescribed for today’s feast, the Risen Lord, who himself was filled with the Spirit, imparted the first fruit of the Holy Spirit to the apostles on the evening of Resurrection Day itself by breathing on them with these words: “Receive the Holy Sprit” (20:22). The Holy Spirit is the breath of God (or Jesus) who breathes new life or fullness of life into us, making us a new creation, so that we may share that life with others. The Risen Lord continues to breathe his Spirit into us even today. He empowers us with the same Spirit to come out of our locked doors and fears (as the apostles came out of their hideouts) so that we could be sent out for a mission – a mission of peace, forgiveness, liberation and reconciliation.

Many of us have a poor understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in our personal life. He is mostly presented to us in an impersonal manner through biblical symbols such as dove, fire, water, breath or wind. In my pastoral field here, when I ask children (teenagers) preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation whether the Holy Spirit is really a dove, that is, a bird, all of them firmly say: “Yes”. When I ask them whether he has wings and feathers exactly like a bird, they answer with great gusto: “Yes”. When I ask them whether we can kill that dove and prepare a nice dish or curry, they just keep quiet and stare at me in utter confusion. We are not taught from childhood to develop a personal devotion to the Holy Spirit and consider him as another intimate friend (besides Jesus) who is always at our side to guide, defend and renew/ re-create/ regenerate us. We are taught to sing, “What a friend we have in Jesus,” but never taught to sing or pray: “What a friend we have in the Holy Spirit.” In spite of the efforts of Charismatic Retreats, he still remains an Unknown God to be remembered only when we begin a meeting/ retreat/ seminar/ novena, and when we celebrate feasts like this one, Pentecost. Yes, the Holy Spirit, though an invisible power, can be experienced as an intimate friend if we develop sensitivity to his presence and consciously cultivate a close friendship with him and increase it through a passion for him. But it does not happen automatically because you have heard about the Holy Spirit in catechism and sermons or undergone a theological course on him.

Based on today’s gospel, how can we develop a friendship with the Holy Spirit? His role as the Breath or Life of God (or Jesus) is presented to us symbolically in today’s Gospel in terms of one of the most common but absolutely essential activities of human body, that is, breathing. Hence the Spirit of God is in every breath we take. The activity of breathing takes place in us even when we are not conscious of it. To become aware of it, we need to quietly sit in a place and breathe in and breathe out as we concentrate on the tip of our nose. Similarly, we need to become conscious of the Spirit’s presence by invoking him as we breathe in and breathe out: “Come, Holy Spirit; you are the Giver of New Life; you are the Giver of God’s own life; you are the Giver of Divine Life. Infuse that life into me and renew me; re-create me; regenerate me.” (In fact, this is what the symbol of breath implies.) Regeneration in this context means imparting a new nature, God's own nature or divine nature. All of us are born with a nature perverted by sin. The Spirit gives us the power to rise above our natural inclination to evil, selfishness, negativity, narrow-mindedness and despair. We need his power not to cling to present status quo always by strongly resisting any change, and slip into a life of routine and lethargy.

Though the Holy Spirit is an invisible power, his presence and action can be experienced by the result of his work, just like wind or storm can be felt by the shaking of trees, flying of dust, its blowing sound, etc. To recognize his work or action we need to look at what happens to us, to others, to the world around us with the eyes of faith. Suppose we observe people who take a lot of initiatives to bring about a change in themselves, in others, in their surroundings or society; show a lot of creativity in their work; are able to overcome their lethargy; show a burning zeal for the mission of Christ; then in faith we must ask, from where does this come? For a firm believer in the re-creative and re-generative power of the Holy Spirit, it is sign of his powerful presence and action. Because it is written here, the Holy Spirit will not re-create us automatically. We need to consciously invoke him, call him to our side as a friend and request him to make us more creative and enthusiastic in service and promotion of life. We experience the ‘breath’ of the Spirit blowing in us whenever we hunger for real life and move from coldness, indifference and mere physical existence, to lively and proactive approach to life. Whenever we have a passion (= a strong feeling/ sense/ commitment) for life and its meaning/value, we begin to promote the fullness of life under the influence of the Life-Giver (Holy Spirit).

We have a tendency within us to go through all the religious practices such as daily prayers, Holy Mass, novenas, and rituals without allowing our faith to bring about change in our attitudes, prejudices, life-style, and the way we imitate the corrupt practices of the world. Is this not a sign of living a lifeless life? We have to invoke the power of the Holy Spirit today to mould us and melt our stubborn resistance to his power to shake us up. At baptism, we too received the breath of the Risen Lord, that is, his Spirit that made us a new creation. In spite of that we become like dry bones (of Ezekiel’s prophecy) lacking zeal, vitality and creativity in our Christian commitment. Suppose we ‘faithfully’ and blindly carry on what is handed down or bequeathed to us by our ancestors or predecessors without showing any creativity and vitality in our service to the family or society, how can we say that the Holy Spirit is active in us? When we shut our minds against new ideas and avenues, we block the Spirit of new creation. When we are unwilling to read the signs of the times and resist any renewal and adaptation of our faith to the changed conditions, we just shut out the Holy Spirit or block his entry into our hearts. Today we must open our hearts to the Risen Lord and beg him to breathe his Spirit into us and renew and re-create us, so that like Adam we may become really LIVING BEINGS.

Just as the gift of the Spirit was given to the disciples to empower them for their mission, the Lord continues to send us today with the empowerment of his Spirit to continue his mission – to share his peace where it is broken, to reconcile where there is disharmony, to breathe a fresh life where there is no life (where people sit in the shadow of death), to dispel the darkness of sin and to spend our life in humble service for others. Peace is both a gift and a task. We are given this gift by the Risen Lord not only to experience it in our hearts but also to engage in a peace-building mission – a mission that makes whole what is broken into pieces. Forgiveness of others’ sins is the key to peace-building mission. There is a link between peace and ‘not retaining the sins’ (20:23) of others in our hearts. When we retain the sins of others instead of forgiving them, we grieve the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. Retaining or holding on the sins of others in our hearts is like allowing a wound or a sore to remain untreated. Healing takes place only when we let go, instead of holding on to the hurts caused by others. In a world which is so much wounded by hatred, violence and divisions, forgiveness and reconciliation – and through them building up peace – is a mission which the Church cannot afford to forget for the sake of her own relevance in the world. Let us ask ourselves whether in our families, neighbourhood and communities we are known as peacemakers or peace-breakers.

Peace and reconciliation are very much related to building unity in the midst of diversity, plurality and multiplicity prevalent in our globalized world. By overemphasizing those things which make us different from others and never relishing or highlighting what is common among us, we bring division and fragmentation; thus grieve the Spirit of Unity. Unity is not uniformity – forcing and expecting everybody else to think/ act/ behave like us and to follow our cultural pattern. When we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit, we begin to appreciate the richness of variety and diversity among people. They are not a source of conflict, but various colours that are moulded into a single rainbow. The Holy Spirit inspires and energizes us to develop this kind of ‘rainbow spirituality’ in multi-religious and multi-cultural situations in our globalized world today.

5.    Response to God's Word

Are we satisfied with mere physical existence or do we hunger for real life? What makes us lively and what makes us cold? Do so many people have to please us? Am I a difficult person to please? What are the signs of indifference and coldness in me? Do we grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30) by spreading hatred, bitterness, division and unforgiving attitudes? Do we quench the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19) by not yielding to his inspiration; and resist the Spirit (Acts 7:51) by stubbornly holding on to our own ways and blocking any change? Is there creativity and zeal in our service? Are we known as peacemakers or peace-breakers? What are the ideas and attitudes we do not want to change, though outdated?

6.    A Prayer

Come O Creator Spirit blest. O Fount of Life and Fire of Love, blow into us the breath of new and fresh life. Unlock the doors of our minds and hearts to go out of ourselves to build bridges of forgiveness and reconciliation. Stir us up from coldness and indifference so that we can serve with creativity and zeal. Our world and the Church are wounded by divisions. Transform us to work for reconciliation and forgiveness, thus breaking down the walls of division. Blow, blow, blow where you will and bend what is stiff in us. Amen.