After my RCIA end of the year bash, I went to Mass at Holy
Spirit Parish to unite with the Church in celebration of Pentecost, the
birthday of our Catholic Church. I was
able to witness for the first time in my life (on this Feast Day) fourteen people being Confirmed;
thus, being fully initiated into the body of Christ. In all my life, I had never had the honor to
be present during a confirmation ritual on Pentecost. Witnessing this holy moment in the lives of
my brothers and sisters- reminded me and my life and the third person of the
trinity. From the very beginning of my
reversion- the Holy Spirit has been the force that has changed my life and
inspired my mind and heart to an ongoing conversion.
Pope Francis constantly speaks about the importance of an
encounter with God in the lives of believers.
For me the Holy Spirit has been the one that has always led me to
Christ. When my brother was dying in the
ER, I went outside and was sitting on the curb outside begging God for a sign
of His existence. It was a muggy day and
all of the sudden this great, misty wind shook the leaves of the trees and enveloped
me in the tightest embrace. It was a different
type of wind, one that took with it my hopelessness and began a fire deep within
me. At the time I had no knowledge that biblically
the wind is synonymous with the Holy Spirit, it took me awhile to learn that
God comes to us in creation – sometimes through a powerful gust of wind. Since, I have had these moments when I am in
deep prayer and I feel His wind surround me- and it comes in areas where wind
just doesn’t make sense. In an enclosed space
without air conditioning, on a hot day when everything is still, in the small,
confined chapel…
It happens most often when I need a spiritual reboot, when
things are going crazy and I am fighting so hard to not lose my peace. Things here
have been quite challenging lately and not because I am looking for a job, but
because those I love are facing critical moments in their lives and I can’t do
anything to alleviate their pain other than to prayerfully be present. Yet, when I am becoming overwhelmed, I turn
to God and He always lets me know that He is with me. Sometimes, I kneel to pray and close my eyes
so that I can better concentrated- I disclose the state of my heart and when I
really need it, I feel this cool wind surround me. These manifestations tell me He is with me,
that I am not alone and that my troubles too shall pass. It’s as if I am Popeye receiving a can of
spinach that my skin absorbs until my inner most being has a strength only activated
by God. I the rational- who constantly
seeks proof to grow in my faith – believe wholeheartedly that Christ left us
the Paraclete to guide and inspire; to love and to strengthen… That’s probably why I love Pentecost Sunday-
because on that day the whole Church felt His power and through it the world
changed forever.
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