The Solemnity of Pentecost closes the Easter liturgical cycle by commemorating the powerful descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the initiation of the Church. The protagonist of this phenominal event is the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts details the uniqueness of this experience such as the sound that came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, the tongues as of fire that appeared to them, the speaking in other tongues and the perfect understanding of those who heard them (see Acts 2, 2-8). Extraordinary as it looks, all these wonders have as their foundation, the spirit of unity and harmony that imbued Christ’s disciples prior to this unusual incident. “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place” (Acts 2, 1).
The Holy Spirit’s activity thrives when there is peace and concord. I can now much understand why in the healing services organized by the Catholic Revival Movement, Edward Spiteri always invites us to pray for reconciliation and peace among ourselves first. Peace is the essential prerequisite that attracts the Holy Spirit to show and bear witness to God’s saving power. The Bible tells us squarely: “But the fruit of the Spirit is … peace” (Gal 5, 22).
The first place where the Spirit of peace operates is within the Holy Trinity itself. The medieval Benedictine theologian, mystic, and abbot, William of St-Thierry, presents the Holy Spirit as the “bond of peace” between the Father and the Son. “It is not through any intervention from without but in virtue of the essence of what they are in themselves, not by gift of anything outside of themselves but by the gift proper to themselves, that the Father and the Son conserve their unity in the Spirit through the bond of peace”.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit is the main champion and the leading weaver of the bonds of peace within Christ’s body, the Church. Numerous biblical references attest to this basic function of the Spirit of peace. “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Sama'ria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied” (Acts 9, 31). “To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 1, 7). “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14, 17). “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Rom 14, 19). “Finally, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor 13, 11). “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful” (Col 3, 15).
Thirdly, since “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor 14, 33), the Holy Spirit’s mysterious and sanctifying activity is able to promote and ensure order. Drawing from Saint Augustine’s classical notion of peace as the tranquility of order, Saint Thomas Aquinas explains how the peace that Christ gives through the Holy Spirit surpasses that peace which the world promises. In his Commentary on the Gospel of John, the Doctor Angelicus offers a holistic concept of peace. “There are three kinds of order in man: the way a man is ordered within himself, the way he is ordered towards God, and the way each of us is ordered towards our neighbour. And so it is that, for man, there are three kinds of peace: interior peace, in which a person is at peace with himself and his faculties are not in a state of turmoil, the peace by which a person is at peace with God, subjecting himself utterly to God and to God’s plans for him, and peace in relation to his neighbour, by which we live in peace with all men”.
Pentecost of 2010 is inviting us as a nation as well as citizens “to set [our] mind on the Spirit, [who] is life and peace” (Rom 8, 6). In so doing, “may mercy, peace and love be multiplied” amongst us! (Jude 1, 2).
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
San Gwann