Could you ever imagine inviting a guest into your home and then ignoring his or her presence? Under normal circumstances, such behavior would demonstrate bad will or a total lack of regard for the person visiting. In the home that I grow us in, such behavior would be unimaginable.
If we would never ignore a guest in our home, why is it that you and I often ignore the presence of the Divine Guest who dwells in our hearts and souls? The Guest of which I speak is the Holy Spirit, whose coming into the world we celebrated yesterday on the Feast of Pentecost. How often does the Holy Spirit, who makes His home within us since our Baptism, remain unattended in your life and mine?
The spiritual fact is that the Holy Spirit, whose presence gives us the outpouring of divine grace, is seeking to enlighten our minds with the truth, strengthen our hearts to fall ever more in love with Jesus, empower our hands and feet to do the works of charity and to give expression to our mouths in proclaiming our faith. Yet, the Spirit cannot do any of these things if we do not cooperate with His grace and attend to His presence in our lives.
Let us acknowledge, celebrate and cooperate with the Divine Guest of the Holy Spirit, for to ignore him is not simply rude but has eternal consequences.
The previous reflection on Pentecost originally appeared on Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Facebook page. Follow the Bishop for daily reflections and weekly videos!