Only as United  

The function of the Holy Spirit is to be “the bond of unity” between the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, and between human persons in the Church.  The Opening Prayer at Mass is usually addressed to the Father and ends, “Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.”  The Mass instructions (GIRM 53) say that in the Gloria, “the Church, gathered together in the Holy Spirit, glorifies… the Father and the Lamb.” And (56): The Liturgy of the Word should “promote meditation… in which our hearts grasp [together] the word of God at the prompting of the Holy Spirit.” And (78) that in the Eucharistic Prayer the presider “unites the congregation with himself in the prayer he addresses to God the Father in the name of the entire community through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.”  

No one, including the presider, does anything at Mass except as united with everyone else in the “unity of the Holy Spirit.” The Mass is a communal celebration, not a private devotion. To those who want to be undisturbed in private prayer, Jesus says, “Go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father in secret” (Matthew 6:6). At Mass, we should be enthusiastically vocal and physically demonstrative in order to express and experience our unity in the Spirit. 

ACTION: Make the responses at Mass as if you mean them. Put feeling into the hymns. 

PRAYER: Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings on the USCCB website here

Easter season is the time to focus on the Holy Spirit. Starting on Easter Sunday, we will look carefully at how the Spirit is proclaimed, invoked, and presented to us in the Mass. Lex orandi, lex credendi: “As the Church prays, so she believes.”

After that, we will reflect on the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Galatians 5:22), and at how the Spirit enters the life of those who believe.

As you read these reflections, ask for the gift of Understanding. Ask to really understand what you believe, what you see and hear at Mass. Go deeper into understanding the Mass than you ever have before. We experience the Faith when we become aware of its mystery. We hope you reflect deeply on the Mass and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and find yourself more and more drawn into the mysteries of our Lord in the Mass and in His Gifts.