Dearest sisters and friends,

 

Greetings to you all on this great feast of Pentecost!  May the fire of the Holy Spirit set your hearts ablaze with courage and joy.

 

On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit made a dramatic and powerful entrance into human history. There was a sound like the blowing of a violent wind, there was what seemed like tongues of fire, and those gathered found themselves speaking in different languages.  St. Luke does not hesitate to describe the disciples’ confused reaction, “Everyone was bewildered…..amazed and perplexed”.  Despite being overwhelmed they asked the right question: ‘What does this mean?’ (Acts 2:6,12).

 

What does it mean to have received the Holy Spirit?  It means we can give witness to the power and grace of God in our lives.  It means that I can discover the presence and action of the Spirit in my own life, in the life of another and in world events.

 

As St Paul tells us, “the Spirit speaks to us in sighs too deep for words” (Rom 8:26).   Listening deeply to God and to others means becoming aware of the ‘still small voice’ whispering within us. It is listening deeply to what is said in words and to what is said beyond the words. Sometimes we may hear echoes of our own voice, or the voice of another or the voice of temptation.  It is important to be able to discern the voices.  With an open heart, it is much easier to recognise the voice of God’s Spirit. This level of listening is itself a gift of the Spirit. It is said that ‘there are none so deaf as those who do not want to hear’.  If my attitude is open and receptive, and if I really want to hear that voice, then I can be sure that I will hear it.

 

The freedom of the Spirit to act in us is determined by the freedom that we allow.  The limits to that freedom are those that we ourselves choose to set.  At times we close our eyes, our ears and our hearts to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. However, when I consciously put my own words aside and listen to God in prayer, that is when the Spirit can speak most clearly to me. Then, I can offer my heart to God and say with conviction and openness, ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening...’.

 

One of the many wonderful stories of the work of the Spirit, which have been part of the liturgy since Easter, was that of Saul, who was blinded by his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-9).  It is a remarkable irony that at this moment of light and life-changing truth he became physically blind.  He suffered this condition for three days.  Saul’s blindness is ours, too.  We can fail to see or grasp the message of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We often need other people to show us the way, just as Saul needed Ananias. Saul knew that he could not get out of this predicament alone.

 

Ananias heard the voice of the Spirit. He listened, he responded against his better judgement and against his knowledge of what Saul was capable of.  It was in fact a life-threatening risk.  Yet, with extraordinary courage and faith he allowed himself to be led by the Spirit, greeting Saul with the words,  “...the Lord has sent me…in order that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17).  The way was opened for Saul to find acceptance in the early Church and to embark on his astonishing mission of becoming Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. 

 

When God calls, our natural inclination may often be to say no, for it may look hard, or even foolhardy, as it seemed to Ananias.  That is to see things from our perspective rather than God’s.  If God wants us to do something, God is able to accomplish it, provided we first say yes to the murmurings of the Spirit.

 

What is the Holy Spirit communicating to us today, Infant Jesus sisters, friends and colleagues? 

In recent times we have been faced with several inexplicable events, natural disasters and upheavals in the world, some of which have touched us personally or have affected our families or friends.  There have been earthquakes in Haiti and China, with tragic loss of life and suffering.  There have been landslides in Peru, devastating people’s homes and lives, a volcano in Iceland, whose ash cloud almost brought Europe to a standstill…as well as the political unrest and riots in Thailand and Nigeria.  What is the Holy Spirit saying to us through these events? How can we discover and communicate the life-giving hope that filled the apostles on the day of Pentecost?

 

Many of us, particularly in our newer foundations, are faced with extreme needs each day, to which we want to make an immediate and practical response.  In all our countries we meet people with needs that are often deeper than are at first apparent. Walking humbly with others is walking alongside, with deep mutual respect and an opennesss to respond at all levels. We recall the challenge from the Collegial Assembly ‘to leave our safe places to be with those who are seeking a deeper meaning in life’.  It is a challenge to be present in such a way that enables reciprocity and mutual enrichment. It is a challenge to look beyond the words of the other person and believe in the underlying desire for something deeper. As Nicolas Barré reminds us, “Having reached out to others with gentleness and humility, you must follow this through with a warmth and enthusiasm inspired by love… this is how the Holy Spirit acts in our hearts” (PM 20).

 

May the Holy Spirit deepen within us a passion and enthusiasm for life, an ability to risk and to allow ourselves to be guided into the way of peace.

 

Marie Agnès, Masako and I are united with you in the Holy Spirit who is constantly pouring the love of God into our hearts and sending us forth to share that love in the world,

 

Marie