In 1971, when I was a seminarian, our Superior General came to visit the Ontario-Kentucky Province.

He was from Poland (Fr. Joseph Obuchowski), and this was his first Visitation of our Province. The Visitation began with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. During the prayer, the Divine Praises, Father General meant to say, Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, when instead he said, Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Parakeet. It was hard for people to keep a straight face, but out of respect for him, and his struggles with English, no one laughed out loud in the Chapel. The Holy Spirit has a variety of names. In tonights/todays gospel (John 15:2627, 16:12-15) we hear some of them. On this Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, and into our lives as his disciples. For many the Holy Spirit is very mysterious. It is easy for us to understand the Father, as revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures, and by Jesus. It is easy to relate to Jesus, Godmade-man, as we encounter him in the gospels. But the Holy Spirit seems more elusive and more difficult for us to understand and articulate. In the gospel, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Advocate. An advocate, according to the Dictionary is: one who pleads the case of another, defends a cause, or supports the interests of another. We are not complete strangers to this word, as advocacy in industry, commerce and government is commonplace today. So, the Holy Spirit, as an Advocate is one who pleads, defends and supports us. He is on our side. He is with us, especially when we are in a weak or vulnerable condition and need defense and support. When we seek enlightenment in making decisions and to do the right thing, the Holy Spirit leads and guides us, as our Advocate. When we are trying to pray and unite ourselves more closely with God, it is the Holy Spirit who comes to our aid to help us. The Holy Spirit possesses this power, as the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, but he cannot force us against our will. In order for us to receive the grace that the Holy Spirit can bring we must call upon the Holy Spirit and open ourselves to his wisdom and numerous gifts. We have to accept his advocacy. The gospel also presents the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit reveals to us the truth of Gods revelation the revelation of Father, Son and Spirit. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will guide us to all truth. This truth will unite us with the Father and the Son, glorifying and praising God. However, once again, we need to have the proper disposition to accept that truth. We may intellectually tell ourselves that we are seeking the truth, but when we discover the truth, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, we may not want to embrace it, as it may be calling us to a change of heart, a change of attitude and an admission of our need for God. I return now to the name for the Holy Spirit that I mentioned early, the Paraclete. This is a rich biblical word. It means the one who hears the cry of the poor. What a beautiful definition! When we turn to the Holy Spirit, it is most often in our poverty our need, our confusion, our frustration, our uncertainty, when things are not going the way we had planned. The Holy Spirit hears our cry and comes to us in our need. This may take many forms: in our prayer, through Sacred Scripture, in the testimony of another, or in the teachings of the Church. God the Father extends himself to us, but sometimes

we are not willing to come to the Father on his terms. God the Son calls us, but sometimes we do not want to be saved. God the Holy Spirit, is there for us, but sometimes we prefer to remain poor and vulnerable rather than accept a truth that is not to our liking. In the First Reading today (Acts 2:1-11) we see the Holy Spirit coming to the disciples on Pentecost. They began to speak in different tongues, proclaiming the mighty acts of God in the language of all the travelers who found themselves in Jerusalem. Whereas the multitude of languages associated with the Tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis (11:1-9) became a source of division and confusion, here the multitude of languages bring unity and bear witness to the presence of the Holy Spirit. This encounter with the Holy Spirit transformed the disciples into brave sharers of the Word, and witnesses of Jesus Christ. They were no longer going to meet behind closed doors in fear. The Second Reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (12:3b7, 12-13) St. Paul reminds us as he did last week that we are like the parts of the body the Body of Christ and that each one of us has a unique and particular gift to share for the building up of the Church and the Kingdom of God here and now. Each one of these gifts, as St. Paul tells us, is given for some benefit. It is not by accident that we possess these gifts of the Holy Spirit, they are just that GIFTS! Pentecost is the opportunity for us to renew that life of the Holy Spirit within us. We received it at our Baptism, and again at our Confirmation. Today forty-four young people of our Diocese will receive that gift as they are Confirmed at the Cathedral this afternoon. God continues to pour out the Spirit upon us. That Spirit is ours to enliven us and give us a passion for Christ and for sharing in his life and the life of his Church, and to share that life with others. It should not be kept a secret, but we are called to bear witness to it everywhere and always. The Holy Spirit cannot be kept under wraps, but made manifest each and every day at home, at work and at school. Today, let us turn to the Paraclete (not the parakeet), the Advocate, the Spirit of truth. Let us open ourselves to that abundant life and grace of God so that indeed, as the Psalmist (104) said, we will renew the face of the earth.