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My Minecraft Persona
Tag Archives: Holy Spirit
Descent of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands
Today, at daily Mass, I meant to talk about St. Anthony Mary Claret. I always enjoy talking about the saints on their feast days, and trying to find some connection between this saint and our lives today. So, I printed up a bio of the saint from SQPN, and headed over for Mass.
Well, I think the Holy Spirit had other ideas. As I was proclaiming the Gospel, I was struck by this passage:
He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. (Luke 13:13)
At all the celebrations of the Sacraments, with the exception of Marriage, the priest or bishop lays his hands on someone or holds his hands over the matter of the Sacrament. Part of the blessing Holy Water includes the priest holding his hands over the water. At the Epiclesis (calling down of the Holy Spirit) of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest holds his hands over the bread and wine which has been offered to become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The bishop lays hands on those who are to be Confirmed (can be done by holding hands over them), and also lays hands on those who are to be ordained to Holy Orders. Part of the Rite of Anointing includes the priest silently laying his hands on those receiving the Sacrament of Anointing.
It was the Sacrament of Anointing that really caught me. I had always wondered why the rite called for the priest to lay hands on them. Yes, I knew that the Sacrament worked through the power of the Holy Spirit, symbolized by the anointing with the Oil of Infirm. Yes, I knew that laying on of hands symbolized the descent of the Holy Spirit, but I had never made the full connection until this morning. I admit, I’m not always the brightest bulb in the box. It took me until today to realize consciously that nearly every time Our Lord healed, he touched them or was touched by them.
When the priest lays hands on those receiving the Sacrament of Anointing, it is a prayer for healing by the Holy Spirit. Realize, of course, that the healing we pray for may not always be a physical healing, but any time we pray for healing, healing will occur if the recipient is open to the Holy Spirit. The healing they receive may be spiritual, with a greater openness to the spiritual benefits of the suffering they have to endure. The healing may be a preparation for the final journey into eternal life, which is why Anointing is part of the Last Rites. Any time the Sacrament of Anointing is received, healing will occur.
I truly meant to talk about St. Anthony Mary Claret this morning, but I don’t think he’ll mind that Someone else wanted to be the focus. Come, Holy Spirit!
Homily for Pentecost
The Apostles received the fulfillment of a promise when the Holy Spirit descended upon them and enabled them to speak in many foreign languages, praising Our Lord and proclaiming His Gospel. This Holy Spirit, which appeared to the Apostles as tongues of fire, is still at work within the Church, as well as the individual lives of Christians today.
Throughout the history of humanity, the Holy Spirit has been steadily guiding us towards our final end of eternal life in Heaven. From the beginning of Creation, He guided the people of God, the Israelites and their Jewish descendents, towards the coming of Our Lord as man. Through the words and actions of Our Lord and His Apostles, the Holy Spirit led the early Christians through the creation of Jesus’ Church here on Earth.
Now, as members of that Church, the Holy Spirit is leading and guiding us to draw closer to Our Lord, teaching and sanctifying us so that we may assume our places within the Body of Christ in preparation for our final union with Him in Heaven. As St. Paul points out his first letter to the Corinthians, “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.” Just as our bodies are made up of parts that have different roles, each individual Christian has a role within the Church. Our hands cannot take the place of our feet, though some may have a far better sense of balance and be able to walk short distances with their hands, just as our eyes cannot be used for hearing and our ears for seeing. As Christians, we need to discover our roles within the Church and fulfill them for our good and the good of our fellow Christians.
We find and act in these roles through the Holy Spirit working within us, as these roles are given to us as gifts by the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul again says, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.” We each bring different gifts, abilities, and even challenges to the Body of Christ. We need to discover, through the Holy Spirit, how we can use these gifts and abilities for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
As we use these gifts and abilities, we will find ourselves being drawn closer to Christ. Jesus exhorted His disciples, and us by extension, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The eventual end of our lives, the reason why we were created by God, was for unity with God, to share in the love that exists between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have been promised that following Our Lord’s commandments will lead us to that unity, as the Triune God will come to us and dwell within us.
This is the work of the Holy Spirit with us today, to unite us with God and one another. Sadly, there is much division in the world today, just as there has always been since sin entered into the world. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to end the disunity within the world: divisions between individuals, factions within the Church, divisions between denominations, or between Christians and non-Christians. We need to seek ways to bring unity to the world, uniting all people as sons and daughters of Christ and following His commandments.
It won’t be easy, and we may never see an end to strife before the second coming of Our Lord, but we know that we have the Holy Spirit on our side. As St. Paul reminds us, ‘No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.‘ The fact that we believe in Our Lord Jesus Christ and profess Him as Lord of Heaven and Earth should be enough to reassure us that the Holy Spirit does dwell within us as baptized Christians and wants to work through us. We just need to seek ways to do so. May we allow the Holy Spirit to use our gifts and abilities to bring about that unity in the world.