Pentecost 2012

Credibility!” This is a word we have become very familiar with in recent years. Sadly, the familiarity is the result of the lack of credibility in many of the institutions that touch our daily lives. Business lost credibility because of financial scandals, government lost credibility, our Church, and our Bishops lost credibility because of the scandals. And all of these scandals had one thing in common, the lack of truth. Do you remember Pilate’s question to Jesus: What is truth? Well, it is a question that is still being asked. Where do we find truth? Who are we to believe? Where are we to look for guidance in the great questions that face us as Christians and as citizens? Jesus promised to send the Spirit of Truth. And it is the fulfillment of that promise that we celebrate today, on the solemnity of Pentecost. The one person who has absolute credibility is God. And God gives us the Spirit of Truth so that we may be able to discern what is true. And that Spirit is at work in our Catholic Church. There are times when the Spirit is obscured, cannot be heard. And we may very well be living at such a time at present. But the Spirit blows where it wills and cannot be blocked forever. Truth will out, if only we open up our minds and hearts to God’s Spirit. As the prophet Joel says, I will pour out, pour out my spirit on all people. The Holy Spirit is called “The Advocate.” The word, in Greek meant someone who would go to court with you, sit beside you, and give you support and advice, what we today would call an “attorney.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, we need the Great Attorney, the Holy Spirit sent by God. What can the Spirit give us? Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and the Fear of the Lord... yes, all gifts of the Holy Spirit. We need wisdom and knowledge to find the truth, Understanding to grasp it, Piety and Fear of the Lord to accept it, and Fortitude to live by it. The Holy Spirit freely gives all gifts if only we open up our minds and hearts! May we today open our whole being to this Spirit of Truth, to the fire of the Spirit of Love that we may continue, in Hope, to spread the Good News in our parish and in our world ■ Fr. Agustin.