COME, HOLY SPIRIT (II)

At Pentecost 2020, the first part of the June prayer sheet dealt with the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit according to the spirituality of the Movement of the Incarnation. This meditation continues this month. By a new coming of the Holy Spirit, Saint Thomas Aquinas means a step forward in virtue or a growth in grace. Thus the creature progresses to a new state of grace or to new acts which may even go as far as giving one’s life as a martyr. This implies a new coming of the Spirit through the Outpouring. This kind of new coming of the Holy Spirit can be observed in almost all the saints throughout the history of the Church, in whose lives there has always been a turning point. The two most notable passages in the Acts of the Apostles which illustrate this new coming of the Holy Spirit, says Saint Thomas Aquinas, are Pentecost (Acts 2) and Peter’s visit to Cornelius (Acts 10). These two passages hold particular significance in relation to two distinct ways in which the Holy Spirit is poured out. At Pentecost, the disciples were gathered in prayer as a community, awaiting the Holy Spirit whom Jesus had promised them (Acts 1:4–5). Then the Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in tongues and to manifest other gifts. What we wish to highlight here is the aspect of a community that knows what it is waiting for, that pleads and intercedes. It seems to us that this is the approach that underlies the form of preparation and prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In the account of Peter’s visit to Cornelius, we find another approach. When Peter arrives at Cornelius’s house, he proclaims the good news of Christ to Cornelius, who had invited his relatives and close friends (Acts 10:24). Whilst he was proclaiming the Word of God, the Holy Spirit descended upon the listeners, who began to speak in tongues, praising the greatness of God (Acts 10:46). The passage reads: ‘Peter was still explaining these events when the Holy Spirit came upon all who were listening to the Word’ (Acts 10:44). And Peter himself, when reporting this to the other Apostles, said to them: ‘No sooner had I begun to speak than the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as he had come upon us at the beginning’ (Acts 11:15). What we note here is the fact that the Holy Spirit comes powerfully upon a community that listens to the Word of God. Saint Anthony, upon entering a church, heard the Word of God: ‘Leave everything, come and follow me’. He left everything behind and became the founder of Western monasticism. Cardinal Ratzinger traces the origin of the Movements within the Church to this charism of Saint Anthony.

In his hymn to love, Saint Paul says that even if one has faith to move mountains, without love one is nothing (cf. 1 Cor 13). This suggests, in this passage, that faith is also expressed through extraordinary deeds and extraordinary charisms (which the Holy Spirit bestows through the Outpouring). Yet he also says that faith comes from hearing the Word (Rom 10:17). Does this not corroborate the idea that the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit also takes place through listening to the Word of God? It is true that one might say the Holy Spirit can use any means to come into a creature, but we wish to emphasise this aspect which is of particular importance to us, for according to several authors, the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit is also evident externally, through an experience that others can observe. This is why St Thomas speaks of these observable extraordinary acts.

Our experience in the Movement of the Incarnation is that when members are truly open to listening to the Word of God, many undergo a profound transformation in their inner lives, and we subsequently observe in their lives a new state of being and new actions that contribute to evangelisation and parish life. We therefore conclude that many have experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Word of God groups since they were established. One example of missionary activity within the Word of God groups is that members whose lives have been renewed are driven by a strong zeal for evangelisation. They wish to set up groups within their parishes. Many have entered consecrated life (as priests or religious). They are actively involved in various forms of evangelisation.

Let us implore the Holy Spirit to come and rekindle within us the flame of love for Jesus Christ. The most common manifestation of the Holy Spirit is in prayer (Saint John Paul II in *Dominum et vivificantem*). Let us pray and pray again: ‘Come, Holy Spirit’.

Henri Bayemi