To each one, the Church, Happy Birthday! This glorious feast day of Pentecost falls in beautiful synchronicity with our own lives. The liminal time and space of worldwide quarantine is opening. We went into hiding, not unlike the Apostles, in fear. For us, this was fear of COVID-19 in addition to our safety. For many, but not all, we stayed in our upper rooms, creating easy rituals for life in loungewear. Now, cautiously and masked, we begin to emerge in many parts of the world.
Are we ready to do so? Impatient, perhaps, but is there a hesitancy around our hearts about what lies ahead, wondering if we can find the familiar, the comfortable, the “usual way”?
“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in
one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind…” (Acts 2:1-2)
No one could have been prepared for this! Not after just 50 days; or even three years with Christ. But the time for heady pondering was over. Ready often comes simply, definitively with a big bang.
“Wind filled the entire house…tongues as of fire came to rest
on each one of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled
them to proclaim…” (Acts 2:2-4)
It was done unto them. They were gifted with Christ’s own Spirit. They were indeed ready after all. Our Church was born, and we are reborn, as we celebrate this birthday, showered in gifts.
New life surrounds us, if we have grateful eyes to see. Opportunities unfold in the quarantine gifts unwrapped today:
Wisdom to value relationships with Mother Earth and each other
Understanding to see the essence of things unseen
Counsel to act in accordance to our insights
Courage to stand firmly, in love
Knowledge to determine the way
Piety to want the desires of God’s own Heart
Fear of the Lord to beautifully, finally surrender.
These gifts build on the Christ-given virtues of faith, hope and love, the grounding of our Church. As for the Apostles, so for us, these seven gifts of the Holy Spirit enlighten our minds and strengthen our wills, today. In this most unusual, unforeseen time, we, the living Church have what is needed.
“We hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.” (Acts 2:11)
We have the words to say to each one in our lives; we have the Spirit to share. As the cities’ quarantines ease and we renew our contacts and expand our relationships, we do so with a springtime resurgence. We pray:
Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth
It begins with us, birthday gifts in hand. We show our true Spirit, our Heart.
Reflection: Julie Siderfin, Associate, St. Louis
Image: Photo by Adelyn Leander, Alumna of Sacred Heart Schools, in Chicago, Illinois; Barat College; and San Francisco College for Women
