If you think about it, the very identity of God is about life and breath. In the book of Genesis it is a mighty wind that separates the void into light and darkness. Moses received the ten commandments on Mt. Sinai in a mighty storm of wind. Jesus calmed the violent winds on the stormy Sea of Galilee, thereby saving the apostles from drowning. Jesus’ death on Calvary happens in the midst of lightning, thunder, and a mighty wind. In the resurrection gospels of past weeks Jesus breathes on the apostles and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit. And in today’s Pentecost narrative, it was another mighty wind that signaled the arrival of God’s life-giving Spirit.

Today’s feast of Pentecost gives us the opportunity to breathe in the new life of the Holy Spirit. Amidst the ordinary business of engaging the messiness of life, we speak words of peace and possibility, forgiveness and hope as we breathe the Spirit of Jesus into the nitty-gritty pieces of our daily living.

If the Holy Spirit of God, breathing over our world this Pentecost 2014 is indeed a creative, powerful, fire-filled spirit of life and possibility, think what would happen if I have the courage to say “yes” to the Risen Lord. If I truly allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit to penetrate my heart, our home, all the corners of our waiting world? Come, Holy Spirit! Kindle in us the fire of your justice and love, your hope and peace. You will renew the face of our earth!

—The Jesuit Prayer Team