For those who don't know, Pentecost is from the Greek name of a Hebrew Feast (the "Feast of Weeks," ending the fifty day (7 weeks plus on day, thus the Hebrew name) period following Passover (the commands for the feast are described in Leviticus 23). As we Christians have our feasts as the fulfillment of what liturgies God placed among the Hebrews, our Pentecost is also fifty days after Easter (the fulfillment of Passover).
How, though, does the falling of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles correlate with the Feast of Weeks? Well, we are told in Acts 2:1 that our first Pentecost happened the day the apostles were celebrating the Hebrew Pentecost in prayer, so there must be some significance. I am personally convinced that the common thread is harvesting. The Feast of Weeks was a harvest festival, where man would offer his first fruits of the harvest to God. Jesus frequently used parables relating the Kingdom of God to a harvest and evangelization to sowing seed (Matthew 13, Matthew 9:35-38). The apostles had not yet done this, because they were waiting for the Advocate (or Paraclete, not, by the way, a parakeet or a pair-o-cleats). Having received the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were able to go out and preach the Gospel to all people, all four types of soul, and they reaped a harvest immediately ("Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day" -Acts 2:41).
So what is Pentecost for us? Pentecost is a challenge for us to receive the Holy Spirit and ask Him to work in our lives according to His will (not to use Him as if He was "the force"). Pentecost is a call to prayer and evangelization. Will you take up the challenge?
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Please, Holy Spirit, anoint me!
God bless,
Micah Murphy
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11 comments:
What's the difference in your already having received the Holy Spirit sacramentally and pleading for Him to anoint you now ... again? Did He leave you behind? Did you leave Him behind? Is His presence contingent on your plea? How will you know whether He answers your plea?
Well, manbornblind, the Holy Spirit most certainly did not leave me behind (I should hope not, anyway!). However, we know that the Holy Spirit is received in the soul in a special way in Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. Presumably, while the Holy Spirit does not leave a person (though mortal sin certainly cuts off a man from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit), the Paraclete can "come again" in new and different ways. The charismatic movement (of which I am not a part, though I do agree with them on certain basic points) would say that the Holy Spirit is ever-increasing in those who are open to the will of God, and so there is always room to grow in Him. This is reflected in the ancient Veni Creator Spiritus prayer. As Christians, we continue to ask God to come to us more and more, although He is already present.
The Holy Spirit's presence is, of course, not contingent on my plea, except to say that He does not force Himself where He is not welcome. As for whether He answers my plea, I trust that He will answer my plea if it is accord with His will. I have faith that He wants to dwell in my soul, and so I believe it is an efficacious plea.
I hope this has been a sufficient answer for you. Thanks for reading.
I remember a teacher once saying that it is God's presence that keeps you in existence. If this is true, why then, since "mortal sin certainly cuts off a man from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit," would a person not -- "poof" -- go out of existence when he commits a mortal sin?
That's a very good question. There is a difference between God's presence through holding the universe together (so to speak) and God's personal presence in one's soul (which is an aspect of what we call grace). Mortal sin makes a person lose grace, and therefore God does no longer dwells in that soul. However, God still is present everywhere (even to some extent in hell) in a way that sustains all things in existence. I like to think of it as the difference between God's keeping you in mind (which keeps you in existence) and God's having a relationship with you (which is more or less being in the state of grace).
We express both these realities by saying that God is "present," and indeed He is, but there is an enormous difference between being passively present, just sustaining the universe, and being actively present, transforming a soul.
I hope this answer helps you. If you would like, I would be happy to cite the Bible and the Catechism on the matter.
1) God is present in hell. Hmmm? 2) God is only "passively present, just sustaining the universe"? In my mind He is very active!
1. If, as you say, God's presence is what sustains existence, then for hell to exist, God must be present there. That does not, however, mean that those in hell can participate or experience in His presence. Either you don't believe in hell or you don't believe that God must be present for something to exist. If the first is true, I'd like to know your reasoning. If the second is true, I'd like to know why you made your objection about mortal sinners "poofing" out of existence.
2. My figures of speech, by which I call God "passive" or "active" are merely analogous. Obviously, God is extremely active, even in simply sustaining the universe. The point is that there are two types of being present. By analogy, I can be present to my wife by holding her in my arms or I can be present to her in the marital embrace. Both require physical effort, both are an act of love, but one is certainly more passive and the other more active. So it is with God; He sustains all people out of love by His presence, regardless of their response to Him, but those souls who love Him and are open to Him receive His presence into their very souls, where they give themselves to one another.
God bless,
Micah
Merely analgous? OK. You make it sound all so complicated. Abraham simply talked to Dives. How does a person give oneself to God in his soul? Is that psychology or something? How does that differ from giving oneself to God in his mind? It's all either very bookish or very poetic, but is it real?
As for my poetic speech, I am guilty as charged. I believe firmly that theology is best served when not only true, but beautiful as well. However, I am not particularly bookish; despite a moderately sized library, I am not a bibliophile of any kind.
If you don't mind, would you tell me a few things about you, your background, perhaps? I'd just like to know what angle I may approach from.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. It was suggested to me by a professor I am rather fond of (and he, I believe, said he got it from CS Lewis, though I don't have a citation for that) that there is a way of reconciling the concept of hell with the concept of God's infinite mercy without bowing to the attempts by so many modernists to do away with hell. The theory (and it is only a theory, though I do not see any contradiction with the deposit of faith) follows, but first, a note on the traditional explanation of hell. The traditional (though not definitive) theory of judgment was that those who lived in grace were rewarded with heaven, whereas those who rejected grace were punished with hell. The problem with this explanation is that it often pitted God's mercy against His justice, rather than uniting the two. An alternative explanation, equally faithful to the deposit of faith, rests more on man's response to God and whether he shares in orthodoxa. Let me explain by analogy. God is a great fire of love, and His love and light shine on all men (cf. Matthew 5:45). If a man participates in grace, he is like a piece of gold. He draws close to God, responding to God's beckoning. As he comes closer, the heat of God's love intensifies, and the impurities fall away, until at last he is like pure gold, and reflects God perfectly in himself (1 John 3:2). If a man does not participate in grace, but rejects it, he is like a piece of straw. God beckons him close, but he refuses, and as God draws near to him, the heat intensifies, and he begins to burn away, so God takes him and casts him into the outer darkness. This is both justice and mercy; justice because God gives the man what he deserves, mercy because God still holds the man in existence, even though the absolute lowest form of it.
Anyway, my reference to the soul is that the soul is the innermost part of man. We are body and soul, with our soul having the two faculties we call mind and will (also called the heart). My purpose was simply to say that those with whom God is most active are the ones who welcome Him into the very core of their being.
So, back to the original topic, do you believe that God must be present in a person for that person to exist? If so, how do you make the distinction that while all people exist, some are in a state of grace and some are not?
As for me, I know that God must be present for one to exist, but I also know that the Church teaches that mortal sin cuts one off from God, so there must be a way of reconciling these two. I just want to know how you reconcile them.
God bless,
Micah
PS - There's a very nasty storm blowing through town, so I may or may not respond tonight.
By the way, my theology of hell is just a slight elaboration of what Pope Benedict XVI said in his encyclical Spe Salvi, articles 47-48. He doesn't mention hell because his encyclical is on hope, but the same dynamic he shows with regard to the transforming encounter with Christ, judgment, purgatory, and heaven can be easily extended to a theology of hell, which I have done.
I don't remember that veiled reference to hell in Spe Salvi. I'll go look again. I've been needing to read it again anyway.
It's not a veiled reference to hell. As I said, it's a view of the theology behind judgment. The view I expressed was simply a logical application of the same theology to the concept of hell.
God bless,
Micah
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