October 5, 2008

"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future." --- Gail Lumet Buckley

Since we will celebrate Confirmation of our young people next weekend, I would like to reflect on the Holy Spirit in our lives. We hear preaching about the Father and Jesus, but not so much about the Spirit.

In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is present at creation. Genesis 1 relates that a "Wind" from God swept over the chaos, and the Earth was formed. Breath, wind, and fire are symbols of the Holy Spirit of the Bible. The Spirit spoke through the prophets in the Old Testament - sometimes to warn the people when they were not living up to the Covenant and sometimes reminding them of God's care and love when they were in exile and during difficult times.

In Luke's gospel, Gabriel announced to Mary that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and she would conceive a son who would be the Savior. In John's gospel, before Jesus ascended to heaven, he told the disciples he would send an Advocate to help them discern what is right and true and also give them the strength and wisdom they would need to live as Jesus taught. In Acts we hear of the descent of the Spirit in the symbol of fire upon the disciples in the upper room.

The Holy Spirit is still at work in our lives. At our liturgy, Fr. Jerry prays for the Spirit to come down over the bread and wine and change them into the Body and Blood of Jesus. All we have to do is be aware and open to the Spirit's promptings. When we feel the urge to call comeone ordo something for someone, it is the Spirit leading us. Let us look and listen for the Spirit in our lives.