Third Glorious Mystery: The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
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“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
It is easy to think of the Descent of the Holy Spirit as something that hap-pened to the disciples, but we have not fully understood the signif-icance of the event recorded unless Acts, unless when we read “you shall receive power . . .”, we read it aware that that “you” is as applicable today to you and me as it was to the disciples present at the time. Similarly, with the power we receive from the Holy Spirit, we must also take on the responsibility of bearing witness to Christ to the ends of the earth.
As we reflect on this beautiful mystery, we would do well to imagine ourselves there with Mary, who is intimately connected with Holy Spirit. She conceived her son by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is often poured out in her presence. Thus it was fitting that Mary should be present at the birthday of the Church, for as she is the Mother of Jesus, so she is also the Mother of the Church. We are told how Mary would ponder things in her heart, and we would do well to follow her example in pondering on what the Holy Spirit brings to us. Now would be a good time to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation. For if we do not know what gifts we have been given, we are unlikely to utilise them fully, and we might neglect to play our part in aiding the renewal of the face of the earth. So then let us pray for Mary’s intercession that we might better appreciate and cooperate with the workings of the Spirit within us and then be witnesses to Christ to the ends of the earth.
