Nicole Berlucchi, Writer on a Mission

Visit Tribe of Many Arrows on Etsy. These images are used with their permission,
and I am grateful for these beautiful creations accompanying my reflections this month.

For the month of October the “That We May Imitate What They Contain and Obtain What They Promise” series will take a daily look at one mystery of the Rosary and how we have the opportunity to imitate it and rejoice in what it promises us.

Today, we look at the third Glorious Mystery of the Rosary: Pentecost, the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The scripture passage today is a bit lengthy, but wanted to include it in its entirety.

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them as tongues of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in our own native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.” They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much wine.”

Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

‘It will come to pass in the last days,” God says,

‘that I will pour our a portion of my spirit

Upon all flesh.

Your sons and daughters shall prophesy,

Your young men shall see visions,

Your old men shall see dreams.

Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids

I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days,

And they shall prophesy.

And I will work wonders in the heavens above

And signs on the earth below:

Blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke.

The sun shall be turned to darkness,

And the moon to blood,

Before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,

And it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’

You who are Israelites, here these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This man, delivered up the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. For David says of him:

‘I saw the Lord ever before me,

With him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;

My flesh, too, will dwell in hope,

Because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,

Nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

You will fill me with joy in your presence.’

My brothers can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption. God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you [both] see and hear. For David did not go up into heaven, but he himself said:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand

Until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” He testifies with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day. Acts 2:1-41 (NABRE)

Pentecost is where we experience the power of the Holy Spirit and how God’s power can transform us to act with courage, strength and conviction to help others come to know Him. Let’s look how we can be open to the Spirit and help others to do the same.

1. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s power to be released into your life. Let’s note here that when the apostles experienced this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they were gathered together in a room and had been praying there together with Mary and some of the women. Whether in private prayer or in prayer with community at Mass or in a small group, let’s invite the Holy Spirit to overpower us like the apostles. I remember at a Confirmation I attended, we were reminded, an invitation to the Holy Spirit is as simple as saying, “Come, Holy Spirit.” I imagine that Mary, the apostles and the women were praying something similar to this since Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would be sent to them. Let’s follow their example and invite the spirit into our lives like the apostles did through community and private prayer.
2. Recognize the power the Holy Spirit releases in you. In Catechism 221, we can read, “But St. John goes even further when he affirms that “God is love”: God’s very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.” Compound this information with a line from our Creed: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.” OK, so here we are at Pentecost with the apostles, strong wind is kicking up, so strong that tongues of fire appear over the apostles. When I was contemplating this mystery, I was like, of course, these apostles were able to go outside and just start speaking to whoever would listen in whatever language they needed to hear. They are infused with the love between the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is burning them up with the active love of the Trinity. Nothing could be stronger, so when the Holy Spirit begins to move in your life, leverage the strength and courage you will receive and do not fear. This kind of burning love changes you. God’s love is perfect. It gives you courage. It gives you exactly what you need. What’s the verse from 1^st letter of St. John: “Perfect love drives out fear.” This is exactly what is happening at Pentecost. Nothing can hold the apostles back because they are walking in the perfect, steadfast love of God. Nothing can shake them. Nothing can hinder what they are meant to do.  They have received that love and are capable of doing amazing things including speaking different languages. Can you open yourself up to this kind of transformative love that wants to work through you? Will you allow the Holy Spirit to overpower you and burn you up so that everything proceeding from you through the Holy Spirit is proceeding from the Father and the Son?
3. Go where the Spirit prompts you to go. The apostles immediately go outside and begin preaching. They are speaking to the power of the Lord. They are speaking in languages they shouldn’t know. They are referring to the prophets and talking about the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. They show the people the way; they connect the scriptures, laying out how Jesus is the new covenant. That in Him is the Messiah David talked about. The apostles are not selective about where they go, but they simply go out at Pentecost and speak to everyone and anyone who is listening. They speak to them in a way they can understand. The speaking in different tongues is a true miracle here and might feel difficult to apply to our present lives, doubtful that we would be called to preach anywhere that might not be our native tongue. However, we can look at this generationally. We might speak differently to young children than we do to teens and still another approach with adults. Additionally, we would likely approach a conversation about the faith differently if a person was a practicing Catholic vs. a practicing Christian vs. not practicing at all. When we are moved to share our faith with someone whether a young child or a peer, practicing or not, that prompting is of the Holy Spirit, and we should trust the Holy Spirit to move us to say the right words. Open yourself to allow the Holy Spirit to wipe out any fear you might feel bubbling up, unsure of yourself; you do not have to do the work, but instead allow the Holy Spirit to work.
4. Trust the Holy Spirit is at work in the Sacraments and therefore participate regularly to better cooperate with the Spirit. We know the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. Catechism 1831 states: “They [the gifts of the Holy Spirit] belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.” It goes on to say in 1832, “The fruits of the Spirit are perfection that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: ‘charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.’” I added the emphasis. It all sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it? I included Peter’s speech at Pentecost as part of the scripture for imitation reflection because he really drives home our need for baptism, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as well as repentance for our sins. This means get to confession! When we have sinned, it pulls us away from God, but in Confession we can repent and also receive an outpouring of grace. Your example will also be an encouragement to others to actively participate in the sacraments.
5. Invite others to embrace the power of God in their life. If Pentecost teaches us anything, it is that the Holy Spirit wants to be shared. The Holy Spirit wants us to share with others how God has worked in our lives. The Holy Spirit wants us sharing about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit wants us sharing about heaven and eternal glory. Peter tells the people at Pentecost to get baptized, but the first step can be as easy as “Come and see” which we see earlier in the Gospels—St. Philip’s invitation to Nathaniel. Ask to pray with a friend who doesn’t have a deep faith but is going through a hard time. Pass a faith-based book along to a friend who you think might really enjoy it. Invite a friend to a faith-sharing group or to Mass. God is the power in the moments; we simply need to help open the door for Him.

Cooperating with the Holy Spirit unleashes God’s love in our lives and God longs for a relationship with each and everyone of us, so it is no surprise that this mystery produces the fruit of love and zeal for souls. The Spirit gives us the wisdom to know how to act and speak with others so that might hear the voice of God in their own lives. When we love with God’s love, we act with courage and wisdom to draw others into relationship with Him.

Visit Tribe of Many Arrows on Etsy. These images are used with their permission, and I am grateful for these beautiful creations accompanying my reflections this month.

If you missed the previous weeks’ reflections, catch them here:

The Joyful Mysteries: Annunciation, Visitation, Birth of Jesus, the Presentation, and the Finding of Jesus in the Temple.

The Sorrowful Mysteries: Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning of Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion.