Homily: Monday of the 7th Week of Easter - Did you receive the Holy Spirit?

As we approach the feast of Pentecost, our readings increasingly reflect upon the Holy Spirit’s activity in the Church.

During his third and final missionary journey, Paul visited Ephesus.  And there he found a group of believers who seemed to be missing something.  He pinpointed the problem by asking, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?”  They gave the surprising answer that they had never even heard that there is a holy Spirit. 

They had never received the Sacrament of Baptism, and therefore they had never received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. 

What caused Paul to ask that question?  Though they believed that Jesus was the Messiah, likely, what was missing was the sort of activity that should mark a Spirit-filled group of full-fledged Christians.  Remember, by this time, Paul had visited and established many communities.  He would have seen the gifts of the Spirit at work, with his own eyes: prophesying, speaking in tongues, healings, mighty exhortations, Christians teaching the faith, speaking words of knowledge and understanding.

So immediately Paul baptized them and laid hands on them, and the outward signs of the Spirit began to manifest: speaking in tongues and prophecy. 

If Paul were to visit a typical Catholic parish today, if Paul would visit here at St. Clare, he might be inclined to ask the same question he posed to the disciples in Ephesus: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”  The presence and activity of the Holy Spirit is meant to be visible through Spirit-filled praised and worship, bold testimony of the Gospel, signs and wonders, prophecy and tongues. 

We twenty-first century Catholics need to seek and open ourselves to the graces of Pentecost if we are to fulfilling our calling to be faithful witnesses in the new evangelization.

Powerful preaching, conversions of large groups of people, and remarkable signs and wonders have been more frequent in Church history than many Catholics realize.  We would do well to pray for such preaching, conversions, and signs and wonders in our time, and to open our hearts to the new ways the Holy Spirit wishes to use each of us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.