As Spring Deepens

In a few weeks we will mark the Feast of Pentecost; the coming of the Holy Spirit. Our readings this weekend are preparing us for this great celebration, often called the birthday of the church. I must admit, I often feel like the Holy Spirit gets short shrift when I am praying. Ironically enough, I do believe it is because of the Spirit that I am able to pray at all. Perhaps I just take the presence of the Spirit of God in my life for granted, and for that I am both sorry and humbled.

In John's Gospel this Sunday Jesus introduces the idea that he will send his Spirit to remain with us, as a permanent connection to him and the Father. Very often I find myself confused by the Gospel of John and this passage is one that trips me up every time. "I'm in him, he's in me, we're in you..."leaves me shaking my head and trying to get oriented to who is the object of what sentence!

Praying with folks this week, (NAFSCC: North American Forum on Small Christian Communities) I heard something from our colleague Diane in Florida that helped me understand this gospel a bit more. The idea that in my very bones, in my DNA...I'm a person of faith, in this case, Catholic...that underneath everything, deeper than I know, is my connection to the God who called me before I was born. Maybe this was something like what Jesus was trying to explain, that the connection between him, the Father and the Spirit, is in his very DNA...and he was trying to share that with his friends, as a way of giving them the comfort of knowing that they would not be alone. I can wrap my brain around that idea. Thanks Diane.

I find hope and a challenge in a line from Peter in the second reading: "Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope"...many times I find myself tongue tied when someone asks me about my faith. Or worse, I find myself embarrassed to admit I strive to live a life of faith. Why would I be shy about acknowledging that I strive to live with Christ as the center of my life? Even as an adult I can still succumb to unspoken peer pressure. That's a tough thing to admit, which is why the challenge of this passage will stay with me for awhile I hope.

How do these readings touch you this year, as we enter into week 8 or 9 of living through this Pandemic season? What are you praying with or thinking about as spring deepens and we still try to follow remain at home instructions? Are you blossoming in the light the Easter Gospels and finding time for quiet and prayer? Are you being nourished by new ways to connect with loved ones? How will you ask the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen you when we arrive at Pentecost in two weeks?

I hope for each of us, that this strange season of being homebound is fertile ground for the Spirit of God to nurture new growth in us, that will sustain us in ways we can't yet imagine, when we are able to move out into our cities and world once more. May we learn to hold on to the things we value most when we are free to move about again. I pray one of those truths may be, that we know we are connected to God in the most intimate way possible, through the very breath of His Spirit in us.