“The most important thing I have leaned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and one’s self seriously. The first is imperative, the second is disastrous.” - Margaret Fontey
“What is serious to men is often very trivial in the sight of God. What in God might appear to us as "play" is perhaps what He Himself takes most seriously.” - Thomas Merton
“Come, Holy Spirit, come! Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.” - from "Veni, Sancte Spiritus"
On this Feast of Pentecost, we are presented with so many images of the Church blazing forth into the world in new and exciting ways. As one who is not exactly prone to spontaneity (just ask her) listening to the stories of the Apostles shouting to the rooftops and going out into the streets makes my palms get a little sweaty. And they didn’t even plan for it. They just…“did it”! My heart rate is raised just thinking about that.
And then I read the words of Jesus. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (Jn 20:21) As loathe as I may be to approach a stranger to begin a conversation, or as nervous as I may be to go up to a neighbor or co-worker, or as scary as it may be to begin a talk with a family member, what I need to remember is that Jesus has promised that He has sent me to do just that. And I have received His peace, so there is no need to be all freaked out.
The conversation does not have to be all heavy and serious and ponderous. It only needs to be about God. And Jesus. And the Holy Spirit. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” (1Cor 12:13) I am called to help bring that Body of Christ into fullness here on earth. Now. Today. Whether or not I have a good plan in place.
If I think about it too much, I’ll falter and waiver. So I just need to have some fun with it and trust that the Holy Spirit, who emboldened the Apostles that first Pentecost, is truly inside me, guiding me. I am baptized; I have received the Sacrament of Confirmation; I receive the Eucharist. I can do this. Every day.