As we rejoice in the "birthday of the Church," which is also the patronal feast of Palmerston North Diocese, this single day seems insufficient to adequately articulate the glory of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. I was struck by a reading from St Basil the Great, one of the eastern doctors of the Church, which speaks of the influence of the Holy Spirit on those who open themselves up to him in faith:
"So too the Spirit is present like the sun to each individual who is capable of receiving him, and emits an influence which is sufficient to help them all, but is not divided; and they profit by sharing in him according to their natures, not according to his power.... Even as bright and shining bodies, once touched by a ray of light falling on them, become even more glorious and themselves cast light, so too souls that carry the Spirit, and are enlightened by the Spirit, become spiritual themselves and send forth grace upon others. This grace enables them to foresee the future, to understand mysteries, to grasp hidden things, to receive spiritual blessings, to have their thoughts fixed on heavenly things, and to dance with the angels. So is their joy unending, so is their perseverance in God unfailing, so they aspire to likeness to God, so - most sublime of all - do they themselves become divine." (Office of Readings for Tuesday Week Seven of the Divine Office)
St Paul writes: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Cor 3: 17-18)
Let us therefore use this opportunity, given by the Church, to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and summon him to transform us.
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