As we think about the joys resulting from the spring arrival of Pentecost, and of our young men and women celebrating the sacrament confirmation, we often reflect upon the coming of the Holy Spirit. Our minds might linger on thinking a bit enviously what it would be like to have the Holy Spirit descend upon us. We long for the experience of being filled with indescribable peace, knowing we are close to God, that He loves us enough to come to us, to fill us with energy and enthusiasm, reviving us to live out His will.
The good news is that the descent of the Holy Spirit is not only for the apostles, catechumens, or even the kings and prophets of the Old Testament. Each one of us has the privilege of the Holy Spirit residing in our hearts. It doesn’t leave us after sacramental preparation is over or amid the hard times in life. Rather, the Holy Spirit is a gift we are so lucky to receive through Christ Jesus and have the opportunity to tap into daily.
In the Old Testament, it seemed only certain people were chosen to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit: prophets, kings, and judges. In the Davidic kingdom, the Holy Spirit came only to the anointed. It came to Saul, but through his actions, Saul lost God’s favor. Leaving Saul, the Holy Spirit transitioned to David as the anointed one chosen to lead God’s people. In this historical context, it is easy for us to come to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit can easily slip from us due to our sinful nature, or could even pass us by entirely due to our unworthiness.
To understand this transition of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, we need to backtrack to the Book of Judges. In the ruthless time before Saul or David took the throne, there was no earthly king for the people. God was king, but His omniscience and power were too abstract for the people to always put their faith in. So the people begged Samuel for a king. This deeply saddened God.
You see, God wants to be our one true King. He wants us to trust Him. His vision of the Israelite people, His people, “a people He called His own,” was a people that shared in His divinity and consecrated themselves to Him. Bergsma and Pitre (2018) tell us that God’s original plan for Israel was for Himself to be their one king, yet in another sense, every Israelite was to share in a kingly and priestly role. “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests,” (Ex 19:6).
Yet, by granting their request for an earthly king, the people could actually see and appeal to, God set about a chain of events that led to the reconciliation of His people by way of King David. Through David, Jesus came down to earth as an earthly king, though humble, and at His death He sent us the Holy Spirit to always be with us – God among us.
Jesus is no longer here in a physical sense for us to see and hear, but our faith carries us beyond those limitations. We can see, hear and touch thanks the gifts of the Spirit which shape our hearts as Christians. Jesus gave to us the Holy Spirit to be with us continuously, to lead us in His will.
You may have noticed the Holy Spirit at work in your day and not even have realized it: when a prayer is answered or a pathway opens for you, from a homily that speaks directly to your heart, or in a feeling of zeal to do something God is leading you to do that you would ordinarily not have attempted.
How do we nurture this gift and keep it living inside of us? How can we feel the Holy Spirit with us each day and not lament losing it? Ultimately, it boils down to a pretty easy equation of prayer and faith. Let’s circle back around to David as an example. His life was certainly not free of sin or mistakes, but each time, through prayer and supplication, he came back to God. Each time God pulled him back to renew him with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit within David was powerful enough to overcome giants, to change the hearts of powerful enemies bent on his destruction, and lead him as the king over all of Israel.
The Holy Spirit is in you, too, and should not be taken lightly. After all, this is the same Spirit of the kings and prophets of old. In the rosary we evoke the Holy Spirit as we say:
“Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.”Prayer is our best ally to keep the Holy Spirit close. Let your prayer give you strength, filing your soul like a song that calls to the Holy Spirit each and every day. As Francesca Battistelli sings in her 2014 hit “Holy Spirit”:
“Holy Spirit, you are welcome here.
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.
Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for
To be overcome by Your presence, Lord.”
Today, let us ask the Holy Spirit to come and flood our lives so that we too might be a priestly people intent on God’s purposes in our lives.
April Parker is the director of curriculum and instruction at St. Pius X School and a member of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro.