Pentecost Sunday is always associated with the descent of the Holy Spirit and the giving of its gifts to the disciples of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. But Pentecost is the moment when God manifested Himself in a hidden, silent and simple way.
This Solemnity of Pentecost is also called the Birthday of the Church. It is because even though the disciples received the Holy Spirit on Christ’s first appearance to them after His resurrection (Jn 20:22), it was on Pentecost day that this descent of the Holy Spirit became a public manifestation by which the crowds were amazed, including local and foreign Jews who gathered in Jerusalem on that great occasion. Different people with different languages could understand them preaching, even if they spoke unto them in their own tongue. That was the power of the Holy Spirit working in them.
Maybe it is good to talk about the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is the proper name of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is a Person, distinct from the Father and the Son. This name is frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles. When Jesus proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, He calls Him the “Paraclete” literally meaning, “He who is called to one side,” (or Advocatus in Latin) and commonly translated as “Consoler”. He is an Advocate since He is a witness for the defense on behalf of Christ and assisting the disciples testifying for the Lord. Jesus also calls Him “The Spirit of truth.” St. Paul addresses Him as the “Spirit of the promise, the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of God”. St. Peter also referred to Him as the “Spirit of glory” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 691-693).
In the scriptures, we can also find many symbols used for the Holy Spirit. For example, water which symbolizes the Holy Spirit’s action in Baptism and efficacious sign of a new birth; anointing with oil which signifies that the Lord is with the baptized; fire which symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit’s actions; hand, especially the laying on of hands is a vivid example of the outpouring Holy Spirit; finger which symbolizes the Holy Spirit to remind us of our teamwork and unity that we must have; dove used in the Bible to symbolize the Holy Spirit; and wind. The term spirit translates the Hebrew word ruah meaning breath, air, wind and many more.
When we were baptized and confirmed, we received the gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord to help and strengthen us in giving witness to what it means to be Christian.
We pray that the Holy Spirit may continue to help us to be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.