With the great feast of Pentecost, we came to the end of these two strong spiritual seasons of the year: Lent, continued by the Holy Week and then Easter. One of the three optional acclamations exclaimed after consecration of the Body and Blood of the Lord says: “Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection You have set us free”. This acclamation summarizes very much all what we have celebrated and lived during Lent-Holy Week-Easter. His Cross and Resurrection have set us free.
Two great mysteries that come together for the sake of us, to set us free from sin, death and hell. And the ripped fruit of all of this time is Pentecost. Only one day of Pentecost. Odd enough: for the Christmas season, as we celebrate the birth of Our Lord, we never say enough “Merry Christmas”. Very much for Easter, we repeat quite much “Happy Easter”. With Pentecost, other than the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, some other of the disciples praying with one accord with Mary the Mother of Jesus, we also celebrate the birth of the Body of Christ which is the Church. Sister and brother, this most great event is not significant than Christmas and Easter. But Pentecost like a strong wind passes by so quickly, almost inadvertently. Where has that Holy Spirit gone? Don’t let Him go away. Hold onto Him strongly! He is the Sweet Guest of the Soul, el Dulce Huesped del Alma. And many other wonderful things that He accomplishes in the Church and in your personal life. Please read and meditate carefully what the great pope Benedict XVI taught us in one of his homilies of Pentecost:
“Now in today’s solemnity Scripture tells us once again how to receive the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles recalls that the disciples were all together in the Upper Room where Jesus had eaten the Last Supper with his apostles, where He had appeared to them risen-that room that had become, so to speak, the headquarters of the nascent Church… this also applies to the Church today, it applies to us too. If we want to prevent Pentecost from being reduced to a mere rite or even an evocative commemoration, but we want it to be an actual event of salvation, we must prepare ourselves in devout expectation for the gift of God through humble and silent listening to his Word… the Holy Spirit overcomes fear. We know that the disciples -men and women-, sought shelter in that same Upper Room after the arrest of their Lord and that they had remained isolated for fear of suffering the same fate. Even more, after Jesus’ Resurrection their fear was not dispelled. But here at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit rested upon them, those men and women emerged fearless and began to proclaim the Good News of the crucified and risen Christ to all… Yes, wherever the Spirit of God enters He puts fear to flight: He makes us know and feel that we are in the Hands of an Omnipotence of Love. His infinite love does not abandon us. It is demonstrated by the witness of martyrs, the courage of confessors of the faith, the undaunted zeal of missionaries, the frankness of preachers, and the example of the saints, even some who were adolescents and children. It is demonstrated by the very existence of the church, which despite the limitations and sins of men and women continues to cross the ocean of history, blown by the breath of God and enlivened by his purifying fire”.
There is quite much more to say about the Holy Spirit and his most wonderful beneficiary effects in our lives. That beautiful sequence proclaimed right before the Pentecost Gospel is also known as the Golden Sequence. It comes from an ancient hymn in honor to the Holy Spirit composed in Latin, chanted by Monks from old ages: “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” (you can google it). But the translation to English and Spanish have resulted wonderful:
Come, O Holy Spirit, come,
and from your celestial home
shed your rays of light divine.
Come, O Father of the poor.
Come, O source of all our store.
Come, within our hearts to shine.
Come, of comforters the best,
as the soul’s most welcome guest,
sweet refreshment here below.
in our labour rest most sweet,
grateful coolness in the heat,
solace in the midst of woe.
You O Light, most pure and blest,
shine within each inmost breast
of your faithful company.
Where you are not, we have have nought;
nothing good in deed or thought,
nothing free from taint of ill.
What is soiled, now wash, make pure.
What is wounded, work its cure.
What is parched, refresh its plight.
What is rigid, gently bend.
What is frozen, warmly tend.
What has gone astray put right.
Give your faithful, who adore
and confess you, evermore
Your blest sevenfold mystery.
Give them virtue’s sure reward.
Give them your salvation, Lord.
Give them joys eternally.
And the translation to Spanish:
Ven Espíritu Santo
y desde el cielo
envía un rayo de tu luz.
Ven padre de los pobres,
ven dador de las gracias,
ven luz de los corazones.
Consolador óptimo,
dulce huésped del alma,
dulce refrigerio.
Descanso en el trabajo,
en el ardor frescura,
consuelo en el llanto.
Oh luz santísima:
llena lo más íntimo
de los corazones de tus fieles.
Sin tu ayuda
nada hay en el hombre,
nada que sea inocente.
Lava lo que está manchado,
riega lo que es árido,
cura lo que está enfermo.
Doblega lo que es rígido,
calienta lo que es frío,
dirige lo que está extraviado.
Concede a tus fieles
que en Ti confían,
tus siete sagrados dones.
Dales el mérito de la virtud,
dales el puerto de la salvación,
dales el eterno gozo.
Amén, Aleluya.
Dear sisters and brothers, may the fire and love of Pentecost prevail always in your hearts.
Padre Alejandro
