“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful” 

We ask, first, that the Spirit come. The Holy Spirit is the “Paraclete,” “Advocate”: the one “called to our side.” Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate… to be with you forever, teach you everything, and remind you of all I have said to you” (John 14:16-26; 15:26).  

Second, we ask the Spirit to “fill” our hearts, “occupy all available space,” leaving room in our hearts only for the Beautiful; in our minds only for the True; in our wills only for the Good that is of God. The Spirit makes us whole: undivided, unfragmented; one as God is One. 

The Spirit comes to give us awareness of God’s presence in us. Jesus said we will know the Spirit, “because he abides with you, and will be in you.” We will know the Father is with us: ““I will not leave you orphaned.” And that Jesus is with us: “I am coming to you.” God’s presence is Three in One. 

“In the unity of the Holy Spirit” we are one with God as the Three Persons are One (John 17:11, 21): “You will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you,” sharing one divine life: “Because I live, you also will live.” 

“Come, Holy Spirit, fill…” We are asking for the experience of divine life: to “be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). 

— 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.