The Lord makes a promise to His disciples: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.” The placement of this passage serves as a bridge for the coming Solemnity of Pentecost. It was at Pentecost that the disciples would receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit when gathered together in the Upper Room.
Traditionally, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on this Thursday, 40 days after Easter. In our diocese, this solemnity is transferred to the following Sunday. The time that stretches between the Ascension and Pentecost is nine days. For these nine days, the disciples heeded the words of the Lord; thus, they went to Jerusalem and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer.”
This period of nine days was not just a passive wait, but a time of intense spiritual preparation. Here, tradition states that they underwent a period of asceticism which would detach them from the world in order to make room for the divine gift which would come. The physical Jesus had returned to His Father, and they intensely prepared for the coming of this Advocate.
We, too, should prepare for the coming of such an Advocate. It is so easy to allow the days of the liturgical year to pass by without entering fully into them. Undergoing such a novena allows us to enter into a series of prayers so that we may remain open to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord).
The Sacrament of Confession would serve us well during this period of days. Through such a confession, we examine our lives in light of the Lord’s command to love and seek out the grace that we may live such love in the midst of this world. This allows us to be a suitable dwelling place for the Holy Spirit to enter in and dwell with us.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is very important for us. Without the Holy Spirit, the commandments would seem to be a heavy burden of rules that cannot be followed. The Holy Spirit assists us in knowing all that is true and gives us the strength to act upon it despite its difficulty. Through the Holy Spirit, our fear becomes courage and our confusion becomes a clear witness to the Gospel.
We cannot be content to stay as we are, but must allow the fire of God’s love to renew us. The world may not see or know Him, but through our prayerful waiting, we are inviting the fire of God’s love to renew us. It is He who empowers us to go forth from this church and participate in the ongoing mission of renewing the face of the earth.
In the days ahead—especially from the Friday following the Ascension to the Saturday nine days later—let us have such expectant faith. Let our hearts remain open to the Seven Gifts which give us the strength to live as true disciples of the Lord. Let us prepare with true faith as we say, Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit).
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