Friday of the Twentieth Week in ordinary Time
(Ezekiel
37:1-14; Matthew 22:34-40)
Whatever the
“Spirit of the Lord” meant to Ezekiel, Christians see it as God. More specifically, it is the third person of
the Holy Trinity. As the prophet sees it
raising the dead to life, the Spirit is responsible for all creative action in
the Church. It moves the People of God
to praise, to bless, and to give thanks.
Although many are unaware of its actions or loathe to admit its
efficacy, the Spirit has worked significantly within the past fifty years.
The Second Vatican
Council called the Church to a heightened awareness of the poor. The response was significant. Intellectually there was renewed attention to
human rights. Pastorally parishes united
to speak to political powers. But the
movement fell under its own weight as church men and women lost a sense of personal
holiness. The Spirit of God then shook
up the base in the charismatic renewal. Emphasis
was given to prayer but, where it took a foothold, also to raising social concern
and ecumenical relations.
We might have
to reconsider our attitude toward the charismatic renewal. Often some among us have dismissed it as
escapism into private devotion when corporate action is called for. Those who know the renewal intimately, like Pope
Francis, would disagree. The renewal,
largely led by laypersons, has brought hope and comfort to millions. As a work of the Holy Spirit, it needs to be appropriated
so that vigorous life within the Church can reemerge.
