A few beautiful lines from Pope Benedict's Spe Salvi, in connection with Pentecost, the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and Mary as tongues of fire:47. Some recent theologians are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation “as through fire”. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God.
Let the psalm response in the Mass for Pentecost be our prayer too:
Lord, send forth your spirit, and renew the face of the earth!
(pix from http://home.indy.rr.com/legionofmary/images/HolySpirit2.jpg)
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