Feast of Pentecost

Pentecost, the Feast of the Holy Spirit, is celebrated 50 days after Easter.  This year Pentecost Sunday is May 20 and signals the end of  Eastertime.

Who is the Holy Spirit ?  The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity.  The Holy Spirit is God.    Gerard Manley Hopkins, an English  Jesuit priest and poet, who lived in the 19th century, describes the Holy Spirit as a Paraclete. He says,

“For God the Holy Ghost is the Paraclete, but what is a Paraclete?  Often it is translated comforter, but a Paraclete does more than comfort.  The word is Greek; there is no one English word for it and no one Latin word, comforter, is not enough.  A Paraclete is one who comforts, who cheers, who encourages, who persuades, who exhorts, who stirs up, who urges forward, who calls on; what the spur and word of command is to a horse, what clapping of hands is to a speaker, what a trumpet is to the soldier, that a Paraclete is to the soul: one who calls us on, that is what it means, a Paraclete is one who calls us on to good.”

Isn’t that beautiful ?  The Holy Spirit, who is God, spurs us on to do good, to be holy.  Pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit that you need to develop during the coming year.  Ask the Spirit to let you know what that gift is; he’ll let you know for certain.

Happy Feast !