When I was a Boy Scout, I came to understand firemaking pretty well. In fact, for a brief time at Camp Falling Rock one summer, I worked at the station where the campers were challenged to build a fire with just a single match or even just a flint and steel. Fire is something that is beautiful, powerful and also useful. Some of the biggest fires I have experienced have been through the Scouts, bonfires so huge and hot that you could feel them from 20 feet away. Those are really impressive. A fire like that lights up the whole area and is able to keep a large group of people warm.
But bonfires aren’t the only thing on my mind as we celebrate this Feast of Pentecost, a fiery feast in the Church. I’m also thinking of my favorite Mass out of the whole year–the Easter Vigil. For any of you who have been to the Easter Vigil, you probably know why I like it so much. There are so many cool symbols involved, one of which is the Easter fire. Mass begins outside, where a blazing fire is going. From that blessed fire, the new Paschal candle, a symbol of the light of Christ, is lit for the first time. It is then carried in triumphant procession into the Church, which is dark, and three times the Deacon holds it aloft and chants, “The Light of Christ,” to which everyone responds, “Thanks be to God.” And during that procession, everyone at Mass has a little taper, a candle which is lit from the Paschal Candle. It is always so beautiful to see the dark Church gradually lit up by the many small candles all tracing their flames back to the Paschal Candle. During the beautiful chant called the Exultet, which is sung shortly after everyone’s candles are lit from the Paschal Candle, we hear this line: “a fire into many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light.”
There is something so fitting about fire that the Holy Spirit chose to appear in the form of tongues of fire as He descended on Mary and the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. And even though we are many years removed from that event, we still have access to its power and reality right here. That same Holy Spirit who manifested Himself by the wonderful sign of the tongues of fire still burns in the Church today, filling all of us with Himself if we are open, and allowing us to carry on the same mission that He empowered the Church for then.
Think about all of the different ways fire can manifest itself. If we think about the example of the bonfire and the simple candle that I began with, in both cases, the flames have an impact beyond themselves. In fact, fire, by its very nature, changes whatever it touches. This is why I say that the Holy Spirit knew what He was doing when He came upon the Church in the form of tongues of fire. He knew that by His enduring presence in the Church, nothing would stay the same.
When we think about who the Holy Spirit is, we can see why His presence is so powerful. The Holy Spirit is that Person of the eternal love between the Father and His only Begotten Son. As we say in the Creed, Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father from all time, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Love of the Father and Son is so complete that He is a Person, One who is given to each of us as our Advocate and Guide. He prays within us when we are weak, gives us the gentle guidance that we need to follow the Father’s will for us, and fills us with abundant gifts.
This Person of Love has been given to us ever since the day of our Baptism. Each person baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as Jesus commanded today in the Gospel, becomes a living dwelling place for the Spirit, a place where God Himself can make His home. So that fiery, infinite Love between the Father and Son, Who is God from all eternity with the Father and Son, He lives in you.
For each of us, this indwelling of the Holy Spirit prepares us to live as God has called us to live. As St. Paul so beautifully reminds us in the second reading: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” The Fire of God who is the Holy Spirit knows how He wants to burn within each of us. He is calling each of us, in our own way, to be transformed by Him so that others may be touched by the Good News of Jesus. His Gospel reaches people best when we cooperate with the work of the Holy spirit within us as members of the Body of Christ.
So think back to that bonfire. Maybe you have had the privilege to know somebody who is a “Holy Spirit bonfire,” where the Love of God burns so intensely in them that you can sense it from across the room. I have had the privilege to know several people like that in my own life. And lest you think that you couldn’t be that bonfire because you’re not a priest or religious sister or brother, think of the example of St. Catherine of Siena. As a Third Order Dominican lay woman, she spent her life serving her family and the poor. The Love of God burned so brightly within her that eventually she began to write letters to the Pope, who at the time was living in Avignon, France. By the power of the Holy Spirit burning within her, St. Catherine is credited with having a major influence in convincing the Pope to return to Rome, saving the bishops in Italy from breaking away from communion with the Church. Besides this, her prayers and example of holiness touched people far and wide and helped them to come to faith. She is now known as a Doctor of the Church!
We may find examples like St. Catherine somewhat intimidating, but not all of us are called to the same type of life she lived. Some of us are called to be like the candles we hold in our hands at the beginning of the Easter Vigil, a humble light that can enkindle those in our immediate circle. Many of us can think of the warmth of people like that in our families and friend groups. Those who allow the Holy Spirit to shine forth through them on their spouses, children, grandchildren, relatives, co-workers and friends.
The point for each of us is to be open to how the Holy Spirit wishes to enkindle us. Some of us are called to let Him reach many through us, some are called to be vessels of Love for just a few, or somewhere in between. But whatever our call, if we are open, the Holy Spirit will work through us, just as He has in clergy, lay people and religious brothers and sisters throughout the history of the Church.
I want to specifically encourage you who are graduating to know that the Holy Spirit wants to work in your heart. Regardless of where life takes you in the coming years, know that God’s plan for your life involves being open to Him living and working in you! Never doubt that even now in your life, God can and will do powerful things in and through you if you are open to Him. Know that the Holy Spirit can light you up to become someone who changes those around you by your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the fruits you will see grow in your life when you cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s fire within you. And if you sense that this fire has maybe grown dim or cool within you, don’t hesitate to seek out the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where the fire of the Holy Spirit can be rekindled in your hearts once again. The world needs this Fire burning in you, now more than ever! Know that you are in my prayers. I can’t wait to see what the Holy Spirit will do in your hearts in the coming years!
As you all know, I typically end my homilies with a prayer. This Pentecost Sunday, I want to pray through song to close:
+ Come, Holy Spirit
Come, great Fire of God
Enkindle in us the fire of your love
Transform us that we may become
The image of God’s only Son +