The feast of the Pentecost grants us a unique opportunity to reflect on our own relationship with the Holy Spirit. Out of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit is often the least understood.
St. Josemaria Escriva in his homily titled “The Great Unknown” where he ponders this mystery and challenges Christians to examine their relationship with the Holy Spirit.
He explains, “And so we can put to ourselves the question asked by the apostle: “Do you not know that you are the temple of the Most High God, and that the Spirit of God abides in you?” So we can understand it as an invitation to deal with God in a more personal and direct manner”.
Escriva further says, “For some, unfortunately, the Paraclete is the Great Stranger, the Great Unknown. He is wholly a name that is mentioned, but not Someone, not one of the three Persons (in the one God) with whom we can talk and with whose life we can live.”
In fact, the Trinity is one of the greatest mysteries of Christianity. Because, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it explains, “We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the ‘consubstantial Trinity’” (CCC 253).
Furthermore, the divine persons are actually distinct from one another. “God is one but not solitary.” “Father,” “Son,” “Holy Spirit” are not commonly names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are indeed distinct from one another.
This deep mystery means that we can develop our own relationship with the person of the Holy Spirit and call upon his particular aid in our everyday life. The Holy Spirit is not a “stranger” or some kind of impenetrable force, but a person we can really love.
Though, it’s not an easy concept to wrap our human minds around, but it is indeed a truth of our faith, something that we should meditate as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost.
So, you can ask yourself, “How do I view the Holy Spirit? What role does he have in my life? Do I truly love the Holy Spirit?
