The Descent Of The Holy Spirit

Fruit Of The Mystery: Love Of God

The following meditations are provided to assist you while praying the Holy Rosary. It is offered in a format where a question is posed to lead the meditation and then is followed by an answer below it. It may be more helpful to grow in your meditation skills if you try to contemplate the question while praying this decade of the Rosary, and view the possible answer upon completing the prayers for the Mystery.

The meditations below offer possible answers to questions regarding these Mysteries. Because the Wisdom of God is infinite, there are limitless insights that one may gain from meditating repeatedly upon the questions surrounding these Mysteries. There are no wrong or right answers when praying the Holy Rosary in this way. We are simply seeking to be inspired in our understanding of who Jesus is and how much He loves us, as the Holy Spirit gently guides us through reflective prayer.

For many reasons it may be difficult to engage our minds to enter into meditating on the Mysteries at hand. An alternative option is to simply meditate upon the meaning of the core prayers of the Holy Rosary as you are praying them. You may find these reflections on the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be prayers to be helpful during these times.

Mother Mary

1. After Jesus ascends to Heaven, how did the Apostles spend the nine days leading up to the Descent of the Holy Spirit?

The Apostles knew they were in great need of the grace of God if they were to successfully carry out their mission of founding the Holy Catholic Church. Thus the nine days were a time of intense preparation. Daily they gathered in the cenacle of the upper room with Mary, where their time was spent in prayer, fasting and learning about the silence of Mary. Here the apostles drew their necessary strength and wisdom. The poise and confidence of Our Blessed Mother came from experience in knowing the love of her Son, the faithfulness of the Father to her prayers, and her intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit- her well-beloved spouse. She simply prayed and waited upon the Lord, full of peace and confidence. In the cenacle of our hearts we must learn from Mary to pray, be silent, and wait upon the Lord to fulfill His promises.

2. Why did the Apostles rely so heavily upon the prayers and counsel of Mary as they prepared for their mission and awaited the arrival of the Holy Spirit in the upper room?

We often think ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ (WWJD) Who better would know this answer in any situation then the woman in whose womb He took shape; the one who nursed Him through infancy; the one who shaped Him in childhood; the one who raised Him into manhood; the one who ministered to Him in His public ministry and preaching tours; the one who suffered with Him in His Passion to an almost equal degree of pains; the one who helped Him to die- even to the point of His last breath. Is it any wonder that she lived for a good number of years after Jesus ascended to Heaven? When so many questions about what Jesus would do arose as the Apostles were in the early stages of founding the Church, Mary was their best source for counsel. Though this cross was heavy to bear, the Blessed Virgin Mary was left to fulfill the final part of her mission: to be the Mother of the Holy Church. This included leading the apostles even from the moments of the first nine-day cenacle as they prepared for the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

3. Why is Mary referred to as the new Eve?

Eve was given her name, which means “mother of the living,” in the Garden of Eden because of her role in the creation plan. When the day of Pentecost arrived, and the Holy Spirit descended to begin its renewal of the fallen human creation, Mary became known as the new Eve, or the Mother of all those who would now find new life in Christ. As Mother of the Church, she is the Mother of this Body of Christ which received its first breath of life as the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in the upper room. This role was designated to her the moment she responded ‘yes’ to Our Father’s plan for her to bring Jesus into this world, Who is the Head of this Body of Christ. And this role was confirmed at the foot of the Cross when Jesus asked all of His followers to take Mary as their very own Mother. Mary continues this role from Heaven as she unceasingly labors to draw all of her children back into the loving presence of their Father, through her Son.

The Holy Spirit

1. How is Jesus formed within us?

Christ is formed within us through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. It was this way when He physically came to earth through Mary, and it is this way if He is to take shape within our very hearts. We must remember, however, that we must employ God’s great gift of free will to make choices that allow Jesus to thrive within us. It was only through Mary’s ‘yes’ to God’s plan to use her to be the bearer of His Son that Jesus was able to grow within her. If we do not use our free will to cooperate with God’s plan for us, the life of Christ will not flourish inside of us. When we call upon the Holy Spirit to be with us, we must be open and available to every part of God’s Will for us, and our selfish will and desires must be completely absent. In this way the Holy Spirit can further His Kingdom and work freely in us to bring about the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

2. If there is one Holy Spirit that flows through each one of us, how come we are so different?

Truly Christ is the Head, and all the members of His Church are the Body of Christ. Just as our physical bodies have a spirit that gives it life, so the Body of Christ also has a spirit that gives it life. This is the Holy Spirit that flows through each member of the Church. Although the same spirit moves us all, we are very different. This is because the Holy Spirit is Divine, and His nature is infinite. There are many gifts that the Holy Spirit possesses and distributes to each of us in different measure. It is for this reason that we all demonstrate unique strengths and gifts that we are called to use in different ways to glorify God. Just as a physical injury impairs the rest of the human body, a breakdown can occur if each member of the Body of Christ is not using their special gifts as they should. This is why it is so critical for us to reach out and gather all of God’s children back into His Church.

3. How can we serve God effectively when we are so weak? Why does God choose us in our weaknesses to serve Him?

It is in our weaknesses that God is most glorified. When He accomplishes great works through us that we would not have been able to undertake without His grace, God’s loving presence in our lives becomes more apparent and more appreciated. When we consider the changes that the Holy Spirit brought about in the apostles, it can be very inspiring. At the moment that the Holy Spirit descended upon them those men who abandoned Jesus in His great time of need, began to go about in those same streets and proclaim the message of His Kingdom. Here fear was replaced by courage, ignorance was replaced by wisdom, and weakness was replaced by strength. And this was just the beginning; these men who now numbered eleven would found a Church that would save billions of souls for centuries to come. Those who fled the danger of the Passion in fear, would eventually lay down their lives for the sake of the Kingdom. If we lower ourselves in all humility and are open to the workings of the Holy Spirit, we too may become vessels of God’s grace to accomplish great feats in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ.

4. How is God so patient with us until we are transformed by Holy Spirit?

Not only are we weak sinners before the Holy Spirit descends upon us and claims us as God’s children, but even after we receive Him we continue to sin. This is a result of our fallen human nature. It does not surprise God, for He knows every little aspect of our character. And yet He continues to wait patiently until we become transformed into the likeness of His Son. Ultimately, this process isn’t complete until we reach Heaven and are free from all sin. He continues to forgive us from our sins because of His great Mercy and love for us. This is also because God exists outside of the limits of space and time, and He sees us not only as we are now, but as we shall be in Heaven. We must continually ask for the Holy Spirit to renew us as we make our way back to Him. In the interim we must repent and do our best to grow in holiness; and just as God is, we must be patient with ourselves and patient with others until our journey is complete.

Pentecost

1. Was the miracle at Pentecost a one-time event? When else do we find the Holy Spirit descending upon us?

Though Pentecost itself was a singular event, in a sense the miracle of Pentecost has not stopped. The Holy Spirit is continually being sent by Christ through His Sacraments in the Church, and also to His followers every time they call upon the name of the Lord. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians grow in virtue to become more like Christ in the way we give witness to His love in our lives. Through His power we receive the grace to love God more, and express this in the way we treat our neighbors. The Holy Spirit is the highest gift of God, because it is God Himself. Thus the more we call upon God to send us His Spirit, and the more receptive we are to this gift, the more He is able to conform us to Himself and use us to share His love and reflect His glory.

3. 2. Is Pentecost only a Christian celebration?

Actually, the Jews celebrated Pentecost long before the birth of Jesus. It was originally a festival in Jerusalem which gave glory to God by offering Him the first fruits of their wheat harvest. It eventually became a commemoration of the Covenant between God and Israel as His chosen people. This would indicate why there were many Jews in Jerusalem at the time of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Here we also see the fulfillment of the Scriptures in Jesus, who establishes the new and everlasting Covenant between God and all of humanity through His Blood. Pentecost, for Christians, would now celebrate the sending of the gift of the Holy Spirit who is the sign of God’s faithfulness to this new Covenant. It is through the Holy Spirit which fills us with His grace and love, that we are now able to honor God with the first fruits of our praise and good thoughts, words, and deeds.

The House of God

1. Why is it significant that the apostles were gathered in the house when they first received the Holy Spirit?

The action of the Holy Spirit is to unify God’s children by filling them with His spirit of peace and love. Christ instituted His Church to be His greatest witness of the unifying power of His Holy Spirit. It is for this reason that it was significant that the Apostles were gathered with Mary to receive Him together at Pentecost - as the Body of Christ. Scripture makes it clear that the Holy Spirit fills the house where the apostles were gathered, to reveal that the Holy Spirit is poured out in the place where we gather (Church) to receive Him. The disciples go out from the house to proclaim the Gospel, inspired by the Holy Spirit they have just received inside the house (Church). This continues to be the mission of the Church today: we gather together to receive the Holy Spirit, that we may be filled by the loving presence of God in order to go out and gather more members of the Body of Christ.

The Love of God

1. How is the fruit of this Mystery, the Love of God, perfected within us?

The virtue of Hope comes to be perfected within us when discover that God has fulfilled His promises in our lives. When Hope is consummated in this way, we experience the fruit of this Mystery, which is Love of God. In other words, when we place all of our hope in God’s promises and we perceive that they have come to be, we realize the incredible love that God has for us. Our only natural response then, is to return this love of God back to Him in the same way that He loves us. The best way we can do this is by loving and serving one another without judgment or for any self-motivated reason. The apostles experienced this Love of God when Jesus’ promise was fulfilled at Pentecost and He sent them the Holy Spirit. In return, they sought to spread this love and serve Him by going out into the city to draw others to Christ with bold proclamations of the Kingdom and Our Father’s love for us, which was best shown in the sacrifice of His Son. We are also called to give witness to the Love of God through our words and actions.

2. Why does Jesus often refer to His followers as beloved?

Our hope is filled and faith confirmed within us, when we realize that we are loved by God. And our journey on earth is to embrace this love with all of our hearts, minds, strength and souls. In essence our goal is to be-loved, which is why Jesus often refers to us as beloved. When we come to know the love of God, our ability to love Him in return slowly increases, and we also begin to grow in our ability to share this love with one another. This love we learn is not like worldly love, in that we experience a love without judgment, without selfish motivation, and without limit. It is in this way that we are called to be-loved, and to love others.