Feast of the Pentecost - Preparation!

One of the most literally painful moments of my life was the first time I ever skied(remember, I am from Ohio, we don’t ski). I was 25. I went with a group and they invited me but did not tell me what to bring, so I was ignorantly and blissfully unprepared. I wore blue jeans, brought no gloves, did have sunglasses, but no sunscreen. It was a bright spring day in southern Idaho. I had a blast...except for having wet blue jeans and when I awoke the next morning, I was RED! SO Painful.  Needless to say, I invested in sunscreen, ski pants, ski gloves, et al. Skiing became even more enjoyable after that.

Preparation helps us to do what we need and what we want to do and do it well. Before we cook or bake, we need to make sure we have all the ingredients.  Before we run a marathon, we prepare ourselves by training.  Before we play our first baseball, volleyball or football game, we must be prepared.  Preparation helps us to think and be open to what will come.

Pentecost, the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, only came after they were fully ready, fully prepared. By the way, that is the meaning of “40.” It was a symbolic number for the Hebrew people and it meant completeness or readiness. 40 years in the desert, meaning the Hebrew people wandered until they were ready. 40 days in the desert, until Jesus was ready for the temptations.

Jesus needed to fully prepare the community, so that they will open themselves to the fullness of the Spirit. He did this by his whole life of teaching and being with them, then his death and Resurrection, and then finally the Ascension.

The community needed to be open to receive what God was giving to them, God’s Holy Spirit.  They needed to be prepared to receive this gift of the Divine.

The Holy Spirit, the very personal love of God that creates the unity of the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit, the very personal wisdom of God, the prudence, all the gifts.  The Holy Spirit, which we receive in Baptism, but in Confirmation, we have now opened ourselves to its fullness through our preparation.

God sends the Holy Spirit upon us to fulfill us as persons and as a community.  God invites us into an intimate relationship, in which we will find love, kindness, mercy, compassion; so that we can live that out and be who we are as children of God.  If only we prepare ourselves.

This past year 32 young men and women have prepared themselves for the Sacrament of Confirmation, which we celebrated this morning.  Preparing for Confirmation at its heart, sets up the person for success.  Confirmation preparation provides the conditions for what is within the heart, soul and mind to germinate, to begin to flourish, so that God’s love within will be realized. It has an educational component, but the essence is the soul and heart. It is about an experience of God.

What we have tried to do, what we will have more work to do as parish and diocese, is to prepare our young persons to experience the Fullness of the Spirit, to flourish with God. We want to have experienced a taste of the Holy Spirit, so as to be open to it more and more.  We prepared them to experience kindness, forgiveness; experience mercy, love and community; experienced what it means to live for others, to service and commitment.

This does not come from books, but in action, in prayer.

In the coming years we are going to enhance our Confirmation preparation so that our Young Persons Experience God in different ways, and will be more ready to receive God’s gifts as they continue on in life.

Ourselves too, as adults, as parents, as pastor; our preparation never ends.  I wonder sometimes if we have truly opened ourselves to the Holy Spirit?  It can be disheartening to read and see the divisions; Catholics attacking others; more worried about their own egos; about their own success; forgetting the greater picture.

People who live in the Spirit are successful. They are well connected to others; with quality of your relationships.  Success is how much we lift others up, not tear them down.  Success is how much we listen and hear, not speak over.  Success is how much color we see in this world, not just black & white; we appreciate the diversity in which God works through us.  And clearly, it is how well we hear God speaking to our own hearts and minds.

See, God always speaks to us through God’s love language, the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit always speaks to us that we are a child of God, we are loved.  The Spirit will urge us to forgive, to get up and start over again, and again, and again.  The Spirit will tickle the hairs on the back of our neck to get our attention.

As we attune ourselves more and more, continue to prepare ourselves to the working of the Holy Spirit, we find ourselves moving in this world with more awareness; with more freedom; living out those virtues.

This community needs all of us to live well, to live in the Spirit.

Lets face it, there are more than enough narcissistic jerks out there who only want for themselves, and don’t give a hoot about others. Covid exposed those persons a lot! We don’t need more bullies in our schools, nor in our parishes, nor in our community. These are all signs of people not prepared for the Spirit, or rejecting God.

God empowers us, in our own personal way, to live as God’s child.  We all must continue our preparation; fully initiated, we go forth..  To give love and receive it back.  To forgive and be forgiven  To help others, show patience, kindness and humility.  To be All that God created us to be.