Today we celebrate one of the high points of the liturgical calendar. The Easter season concludes with this Solemnity of Pentecost, here, in this Holy Mass which makes present the mystery we recall today. The coming of the Holy Spirit is not only an event of the past that gave rise to the beginning of apostolic preaching. This morning, the Paraclete is poured out once again to work in us the same wonders that we have heard in the Word of God.
I believe that what I have just said we do not completely believe. How can what happened to the Apostles happen to us? We do not have faith, and it is this lack of faith that limits the action of the Holy Spirit in us. He would like to transform our whole inner world, to give us that "abundant life" that Jesus promised to his disciples, to breathe into our sails and take our little boat to unexplored and marvelous seas. I ask Mary, who is also praying with us today, to obtain for us the grace of that simple, childlike, audacious and courageous faith that we need to unleash the power of God in our hearts.
That is why today I would like to appropriate the prayer of the Church and condense my message in three words: Veni, Sancte Spiritus. Come, Holy Spirit! Sweet guest of the soul, rest from our toil, respite from hard work, joy that wipes away tears and comforts in mourning. Come, Holy Spirit, upon the Bride of Christ. Renew her with your grace. Renew her with the holiness of her children. Pour the gift of charity upon our hearts. Make us zealous to fulfill the mission Christ has entrusted to us. Give clarity where there is confusion. Courage where there is cowardice. Truth where there is falsehood. Life where there is death. Faith where there is unbelief. Light where there is darkness. Certainty where there is doubt. Beauty where there is vulgarity. God where man has forgotten his Creator.
Come, Holy Spirit. Come also upon our parish, upon St. Anne, now that it faces a new stage in its journey and mission. Bless the ministry of the new pastor and make the seeds that you yourself have planted in these years, germinate and grow until they bear abundant fruit.
I must say that I personally have great hope for the future of St. Anne. I have a feeling that the coming of Father Keith is going to bring an abundant shower of blessings to our community. I wish for all of you to blossom into a beautiful springtime of the spirit. I believe that my departure opens the door and offers possibilities for new and better things to happen, and from that perspective, I am very happy for you.
I ask the Holy Spirit to protect this flock as He has always done, to continue to be as present and close as we have always experienced Him here, and to bless you all with His gifts and fruits: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord, love, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, meekness, faith, modesty, continence and chastity.
May the Holy Spirit, who makes us lovers and friends of God, bring us the presence of the Father and the Son and unite us to them in love. Through the sacraments of the Church, may we receive the glory that makes us shine with the very light of God, and after journeying through this life in docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, may we merit to attain eternal and blissful communion in heaven with the Blessed Trinity.