Renewal in our lives, the Church and the world

“Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” This is our prayer in the responsorial Psalm for Pentecost. It’s the reason the Church can exist and continues to exist. We live in the age of the Holy Spirit.

Without the power and presence of the Spirit of Christ, Christianity would have been unable to change the world and sustain itself during two millennia of persecutions, scandals, and obstacles.

Without the Spirit of Christ, we Christians would be unable to be Christ in today’s world. We’d be unable to do what the Father asks of us.

Pentecost Sunday re-lives the birthday of the Church, and as it does, it also re-lives our spiritual birthdays, i.e., our initiations as members of the Church. It’s a community-wide celebration of the impact that our baptisms have had on our lives and it’s a reaffirmation of the Sacrament of Confirmation when the bishop confirmed that we truly received the Holy Spirit during baptism.

Pentecost reminds us that through these sacraments we received God’s power and presence so that we can overcome sin, live in holiness, and change the world around us.

How does God “renew the face of the earth”? Through us! First, God the Father gave his Holy Spirit to Jesus the Son so that he could successfully fulfill his mission on earth. Jesus then gave his Holy Spirit to us, so that we can grow in holiness and to continue the work of renewal that he began.

If you feel inadequate for any holy task, you’re correct: You are inadequate. But the Spirit of God who dwells in you is more than adequate. Proceed forward trusting in this partnership!