READ

John7:37 -38

Witness

I am a priest. My life is divided between the service of the altar and caring for the poor, the sick and the elderly. In Latin the word for Spirit is masculine, in Greek it is neuter, in Hebrew it is feminine - this, I think, leaves us free. When I was ordained I wanted, very much, to love God and to give myself, my life and my manhood to the Lord. Later I found it defined for me by St Francis who said of the Trinity that we are sons of the Father, brothers of the Son and spouses of the Holy Spirit. I have begun to understand love more deeply especially when I invite the Spirit to come and make the Son present in the Eucharistic prayer. When I hold the chalice I am conscious of the Spirit hovering over the surface of the waters of creation; it is the cup I share with my loved one.

On the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, that is on the day of Pentecost, of the year before his death and Resurrection and the giving of the Spirit on the next Pentecost, Jesus, said, “If anyone is humble, let him come to me and let him whom believes in me drink, for scripture says, ‘out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water’”. He said this of the Spirit that was not yet given, for Jesus was not yet glorified.

In Saint John’s Gospel, when Jesus speaks of glory, he is not talking of heaven, but of his passion. When he says, “Father glorify me with the glory that I had with you before the world began”, he is talking, firstly about what will happen during the Crucifixion. He will breathe forth his Spirit and from his open heart blood and water will flow into the sacraments of the church that the Spirit’s action will make present.

The Spirit is the life and love of Jesus; its home is in his heart. The open heart of God is the dwelling place of the Spirit; the Spirit is there to be received in the sacraments, literally in the reception of the chalice, at the celebration of the Eucharist.

There is a threefold giving of the Spirit in the Gospels.
Jesus is glorified on the Cross, when he breathes on the Apostles and when the Spirit comes to dwell in the heart of the faithful, the Church is born at Pentecost.

Let us pray

Father you love your Son so deeply that the love between you is a reality,
it is a person in your Trinity, who is all love.
Send your Spirit into our hearts
and make us a kingdom of priests to our God
to offer spiritual sacrifices of love
through Christ our eternal high priest.

Amen