Notices

This week we are celebrating Pentecost. That is the culmination of
Easter. Jesus conquered death. He is alive with God. Suffering, disease,
hatred and violence are not the last word. What are we celebrating in
this feast of Pentecost? Before his death, Jesus made a mysterious
announcement; he said to his disciples, ‘I will send you an Other who
will help you, he will be with you always; he will even be within you.’
This announcement is for us, too. This Other who is with us is the
Holy Spirit. Christ also called him “power from above.” Do we realize
enough how extraordinary this message is? After the resurrection of
Jesus, God comes to dwell within every human being.
God’s presence is infinitely discreet. If we cannot always feel this
presence, this is not because our faith is insufficient, but because God
does not impose himself. God never does violence to our
consciousness; God respects our dignity and autonomy.
Faith is that simple trust in his presence within us. Believing that the
breath of the Holy Spirit speaks in our depths God’s yes to our
existence. And his presence in us awaits our yes in order to come to
fulfillment. The account of the first Pentecost tells us that the time has
come when God pours out His Spirit – according to the age-old
promise of the prophets – upon all human beings.

Br Alois of Taizé