What Would He Say To Us?
May 3, 2023
Fr John Riccardo
There’s a curious and somewhat humorous scene at the beginning of Chapter 19 of the Acts of the Apostles. “And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit’ (19:1-2). One can imagine the people in Ephesus looking a bit perplexed at Paul and asking, “The Holy … who? Uh, no. Not familiar with Him.”
This passage is well worth meditating on in the weeks ahead, as we draw closer to the great feast of Pentecost. Pentecost, after all, is the celebration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our Lady, the apostles, and those others gathered in the upper room. Pentecost is the day that changed everything. Pentecost is the day the Holy Spirit catapulted the apostles out into the streets, where they courageously and charitably proclaimed all that God the Father had done in Jesus.
It’s not unusual to hear prayers for “a new Pentecost.” Do we really want that? Do we really want the Holy Spirit to fall on us, consume us, overwhelm us, set our hearts on fire, move us to surrender everything to Jesus in faith, and catapult us out into our streets to do now what the apostles did then? Do we really want to give all the power back to God, surrender our own plans, and let Him have His way in and through and with us?
There’s a wonderful, relatively new, commentary on the Sunday readings by Peter Kreeft and published by Word on Fire. Kreeft, for the unfamiliar, is one of the greatest Catholic teachers, writers and speakers of the past thirty years or so. Virtually every word he writes is worth highlighting – he’s that good. In his commentary on the readings for last week, Kreeft alludes to this passage in Acts 19 and he has gotten me thinking and praying ever since. Here’s what he wrote (italics mine):
“When St. Paul visited a congregation of Christians in Ephesus, he asked them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit?’ And they said, ‘No.’
“Why did he ask that?
“He must have seen something missing…No joy, no passion, no irresistible impulse to share the Good News with others.
“Sound familiar?”
What would Saint Paul say if he walked into our Churches? What would he say if he sat with us at our dinner tables? What would he say if he sat in on our chancery meetings or parish planning sessions? What would he say if he came to one of our men’s groups or women’s groups? Would he see something missing in us? Would he see joy, passion and an irresistible impulse to share the gospel? Or would he ask us if we have received the Holy Spirit?
How would we answer?
“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.” Fall on us! Fill us anew! Send us as joyful, courageous and charitable heralds into a world increasingly desperate for the hope that only Jesus can give.
“Faced with this situation, what are we to do?