We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday…fifty days after the crucifixion of Jesus. The Holy Spirit descended on the confused and frightened apostles. They were filled with courage and conviction.
Today, we receive the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of confirmation. We are sealed with the seal of the Holy Spirit who guides us and fills us with joy.
The 7 gifts of the Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God.
The 12 fruits of the spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, Self-control, and chastity.
The following quotes from the saints inspire us with the joy and faith they received.
1. Those whose hearts are pure are temples of the Holy Spirit.
by Domenico di Pace Beccafumi
2. He pours light into our minds, arouses our desire and gives us strength. As the soul is to the life of the body, so the Holy Spirit is the life of our souls.
St. Peter Damien
3. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector … to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console.
4. Just as two rushing rivers intermingle in such a way that the smaller loses its name and is absorbed into the larger, so the Divine Spirit acts upon the soul and absorbes it.
St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
5. Happy the man whose words come from the Holy Spirit and not from himself.
6. O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there thy cheerful beams.
by Sandro Botticelli
7. The Holy Spirit is like a gardener cultivating our souls.
Public Domain Image
8. Pentecost offers us the chance to live in a new way; with the Holy Spirit as our guide.
9. Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.
10. The Holy Spirit leads us as a mother leads by the hand her child of two years old; as a person who can see leads one who is blind.
11. Rise, you who were lying fast asleep. Rise and hurry to the Church. Here is the Father. Here is the Son. Here is the Holy Spirit.
12. Acquire the Spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved.
St. Seraphim of Sarov
13. I love you my Lord and my God, the eternal Paraclete, co-equal with the Father and the Son…It is by You that sinners are turned into saints.
14. Stretch every fiber of my being, dear Lord, that I may more easily fly towards you. May Your Spirit, which once breathed over the chaos of the earth, give life to all the powers of my soul.
15. Every divine action begins with the Father, proceeds through the Son, and is completed by the Holy Spirit.
16. The life of the spirit is not our life, but the life of God within us.
17. Think of the Father as a spring of life begetting the Son like a river, and the Holy Ghost like a sea, for the spring and the river and the sea are all one nature. Think of the Father as a root, and the Son as a branch. and the Spirit as a fruit, for substance in these three is one. The Father is a sun with the Son as rays and the Holy Ghost as heat.
18. Every truth without exception- and whoever may utter it- is from the Holy Spirit.
19. Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God. The Father is your table. The Son is your food, and the Holy Spirit waits on you and then makes Hos dwelling in you.
20. In the inner stillness where meditation leads, the Spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.
21. Remember, then, that you received a spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear. Keep safe what you have received. God the Father sealed you. Christ the Lord strengthened you and sent the Spirit into your hearts as the pledge of what is to come.
22. The Spirit is the source of holiness, a spiritual light, and he offers his own light to every mind to help it in its search for truth.
23. The Spirit is the source of holiness…He is the love that draws them on, the sweetness that attracts them, the way in which a man approaches God.
Public Domain Image
24. Spirit of truth. You are the reward of the saints, the comforter of souls, light in the darkness, riches to the poor, treasure to lovers, food for the hungry, comfort to those who are wandering; to sum up, you are the one in whom all treasures are contained.
St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
25. Jesus to the Apostles on Pentecost: Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins their sins are forgiven, if you don’t forgive them they are not forgiven. ” JOHN 20: 21-23
Chritmas, Easter and Pentecost are holy seasons of joy. We are filled with the spirit of joy as we journey with Jesus and deepen our faith.
