Page 176 - spiritual_accompaniment_montreal_archdiocese

HOMILIES

During this pandemic, news concerning the danger of catching COVID-19, the risks linked
to this virus, and the confinement and deconfinement are foremost on our minds. Know,
however, that deep in our soul, God is at work. God is preparing us to receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. We cannot receive Him on our own, like other things.

God himself prepares us to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus prepared his
apostles to receive the Holy Spirit. His public life, his passion, his death on the Cross, his
resurrection, his appearing to his apostles and disciples, all of this was to prepare them to
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In a mysterious way, the pandemic arrived during Lent! As we are experiencing its effects,
we are called to convert, to come closer to Jesus Christ, to pray more, to do acts of mercy, to
fast. During the pandemic, we might have been able to do these things with more commit-
ment.

As we celebrate the Resurrection, we are called to renew our faith in Jesus Christ, in his life,
in his presence in our lives, because Jesus Christ knocks without ceasing at the door of our
heart.

The apostles and disciples were confined with Mary in the Upper Room, and they also knew
confinement. Not only were they confined in the Upper Room, but they were troubled by
fears!
Nevertheless, they prayed with Mary. They prayed with ardor, they prayed intensely in
Mary’s presence, in expectation of the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus Christ. We know
how, after they received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the apostles came out of
confinement and left on their mission. And the mission took them on a new adventure.



As we go from confinement to deconfinement, perhaps making adjustments in
our priorities, we can look to the apostles and disciples who remained with Mary, praying
together, waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. They, too, lived confine-
ment, waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Do we wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit? Jesus

(cont’d)

Collection of texts by the Most Rev. Christian Lépine 176