A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians
1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13 ©
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.
Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.
REFLECTION
A few years ago I injured my shoulder whilst lifting during my house move. It was a painful experience; I couldn't lift my arm without pain, I wasn't able to change posture without pain, I certainly could not put on a jacket without pain.
Every small movement caused searing pain in my shoulder to remind me it was inflamed and unhappy with movement. The experience taught me how integrated as a whole the human body is designed to be - moving my left leg needed a counter movement in the muscles on the right side of the body and vice versa. I became exceedingly sensitive to the workings of the different muscle and ligament groups that would normally be harmoniously functioning in unity.
The experience allowed me to understand the Church better. The whole Body of Christ benefits from the virtues of one holy saint, similarly, the sins and wounds of one person affects every member in the Church to varying degree.
We are united in the mystery of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity - the Holy Spirit.
When we profess the communion of the saints, it is not just a metaphor or nice imagery. It is true in every dimension. It is a common union through one Spirit.
Today on the Solemnity of Pentecost, with the help of the Holy Spirit, may we receive Him who makes life in God possible. He who sanctifies and unites. He who will enable us to love perfectly.
Come, Holy Spirit!
