Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday. Traditionally, it is known as the birthday of the Catholic Church. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his ascension to heaven. When the Spirit of God came down on the disciples on the day of the Pentecost, the disciples, who were cowering in fear because they though their Master had left, became infused with the Spirit of God and with full of courage and wisdom began to proclaim the gospel of the risen Lord. Since then Christianity began to spread like wildfire among the Jews and later among the Gentiles.
The Holy Spirit or sometimes called the Holy Ghost or the Paraclete which takes the form of a dove in literature is the least known and most misunderstood person of the Holy Trinity. Sometimes He is referred as the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of Jesus. These terms imply a relation of the Spirit to the Son, which can only be a relation of origin.
Catholic dogma teaches us that the Holy Spirit though really distinct as a Person, from the Father and the Son, He is consubstantial with Them; being God like Them, He possesses with Them one and the same Divine Essence or Nature. As Saint Athanasius stated expressly that “the Holy Ghost comes from the Father and from the Son not made, not created, not generated, but proceeding.
The New Testament makes a few references of the Holy Spirit. We read in John “And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with, you for ever. The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive”; Moreover, “But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me.”
St. Peter addresses his first epistle, “to the strangers dispersed . . . elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, unto the sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
The Spirit of consolation and of truth is also clearly distinguished in the Gospel of John, from the Son, from Whom He receives all He is to teach the Apostles, and from the Father, who has nothing that the Son also does not possess. Both send Him, but He is not separated from Them, for the Father and the Son come with Him when He descends into our souls.
The Holy Spirit plays a critical role in our salvation. While the Father is the creator, the Son the redeemer the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier. According to noted theologian Herman Bavinck, the Holy Spirit “awakens in man that deeply hidden awareness of guilt. He convinces man of sin, even where previously no consciousness of sin was apparently present. The Holy Spirit uses the word of the preacher and touches the heart of the hearer, making it accessible to the word.” When the Holy Spirit convinces people of their sin, of Jesus’ righteousness, and of certain judgment, He awakens the human heart to hear and see truth in a new way. Upon seeing and perceiving, the human heart cries out for God. As sanctifier, He bestows gifts to the soul namely: Wisdom which illumines the mind and instills an attraction to the divine; Understanding or the ability to grasp the truths of faith; Counsel which enables a person to judge promptly and rightly, especially in difficult situations; Fortitude or courage, Knowledge which allows a person to see things from the perspective of God; Piety or reverence and Fear of the Lord.
In one of his reflections, Pope Francis identified the Holy Spirit as the fire of love burning in the Church and in our hearts, even though we often cover him with the ash of our sins. When the Spirit of God came down to the disciples on the day of the Pentecost, the disciples, who hitherto were cowering in fear because they though their Master had left, became infused with the Spirit of God and with full of courage and wisdom began to proclaim the gospel of the risen Lord. Since then Christianity began to spread like wildfire among the Jews and later among the gentiles.
We reiterate the prayer of the Holy Father for the Holy Spirit to grant us the spirit of forgiveness in the midst of intolerance, hasty judgment, discrimination and rejection; for the spirit of unity in the midst of discord and violence; and the spirit of conversion in the midst of sinfulness. Today more than ever, we must seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to enable each and every one of us, including our domestic institutions and the governments throughout the world, to always think and act according to His will.
I write this column from Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. It’s a lovely city, proudly calling itself the Jerusalem of Europe because all of the world’s major Theistic religions converge, some would say collide, in this city by the mountains. On my last night here last Thursday, I cried as I made a round of Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral, Gazi Husrev-Beg Mosque, Orthodox Cathedral Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, and the Ashkenazi Synagogue. In all these places in Sarajevo, in approximately a 500-square meters radius, the people pray to and worship one God. One wished they would not kill each other again as some here did in the 1990s.
Because we have different ethnicities and religions, we frequently speak in different tongues. This diversity frequently becomes a source of conflict; in worst case scenarios, as we saw in the Balkans (literally according to some “the land of blood and honey”) in the 1990s, differences are used to justify the most evil actions such as ethnic cleaning and genocide.
We see this in the Philippines too—this speaking in different tongues that sometimes leads to violence. The harsh words of the President not just about drug pushers but also about drug addicts has resulted in an unprecedented number of deaths in poor neighborhoods.
Responding to the quo warranto decision of the Supreme Court, some critics have been demonizing the Justices in the majority and those like Father Rannie Aquino who have defended the decision. Let me be clear that I disagree strongly with the decision and with the arguments of Father Rannie and other supporters of the Supreme Court. But I do not see any positive value in attacking people personally. Besides, I do not believe that I have a monopoly of the truth and is always on the lookout for alternative perspectives and the arguments that support them. There are certainly Justices in the majority that I respect immensely —Justices Jardeleza and Gesmundo for example, and definitely I consider Father Rannie one of the most brilliant legal thinkers in this country.
It is a grace—this ability to understand different perspectives, to be able to put on the hat and shoes of other persons. Diversity can actually be a strength if only we appreciate how it can bring us together.
We can have opposing, political views, practice different religious, utter other words, speak even in different tongues, but we can still love, certainly be at peace with each other.
This is the continuing gift of Pentecost. The Spirit is always with us. That is why when one says “The Lord is with you,” the response is “And with your Spirit.”
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