Word of the Week

Pentecost Sunday

Wind: Pnoe (GK.): meaning, “breath; breath of life”, or “wind”

The Solemnity of Pentecost annually takes up the passage found in the opening verses of Chapter Two in the Book of Acts. In doing so, every twelve months we are afforded the opportunity to consider the many aspects concerning the descent of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room (Acts 2:1-11). This year, we will consider the importance of Luke’s use of wind. The CCC states: “‘Holy Spirit’ is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new children (cf. Mt.28:19)…The term ‘Spirit’ translates the Hebrew word ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God's breath, the divine Spirit (Jn.5:3-8). On the other hand, ‘Spirit’ and ‘Holy’ are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By joining the two terms, Scripture, liturgy, and theological language designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit, without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms ‘spirit’ and ‘holy’” (CCC, 691).

The aforementioned pnoe can be found two times in the New Testament (cf. Acts 22, 17:25). As noted in the catechetical definition, this Greek echoes the Old Testament ruah, which communicates the presence of God in the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters of creation (cf. Gn.1:2). This OT backdrop is essential to understand the importance of what happens on the great Solemnity of Pentecost in the upper room, which speaks of the Holy Spirit descending in a “mighty wind” in the form of fire (cf. Acts 2:1-11). Just as the wind was hovering over the birth of the old creation in the OT, so was the wind hovering over the birth of the new creation in the NT. The Church has always celebrated Pentecost as the birthday of the Church, because in the ‘rush of the mighty wind’, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, which makes us a new creation in Christ, the source and vitality of our spiritual birth. Furthermore, as the gospel of John reminds us, this newness is sustained by frequenting the sacrament of confession where Christ continues to “breathe” life into our souls (cf. Jn.20:22; Gn.2:7).

Wind is a force with many overtures, from a simple rain, to possibly a much greater force in a hurricane or tornado. Among these forces, one thing is for certain, upon the sound of a blustery breeze—some form of condensation is coming. What Divine Revelation communicates for us in today’s reading, regarding what proceeds after a wind, is somewhat different, not something cold and damp, but something fiery and hot, the gift of the presence of God in the Holy Spirit. It is this gift that allows us to live in the warmth and presence of the inner life of the Trinity. As noted in previous bulletins, such a gift is not for us to hoard over for ourselves, but rather, to be shared, to set the world ablaze with the fire and presence of God.  Finally, this means that we are open to the promptings of the spirit by putting up our sails and let the wind to blow where it will. In other words, allowing God to cease control of who we are that become more like God in anything and everything.

 

“To perceive in the "Spirit of God" that moved across the waters a first embryonic reference to the creative action of the Spirit opens up the understanding to so many subsequent passages of the Bible, the origin of which otherwise could not be explained.”

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

Primary Texts Consulted

•  Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
•  Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.

The Catholic Hour Home Page
Comments or Questions?
Contact Webmaster