Come, Holy Spirit, Come

At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to His disciples on the first day of the week. Locked doors cannot keep Him out. He shows them His wounds, proof that He is truly risen, and then something remarkable happens: He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). With this breath, He gives them a share in the divine life and entrusts them with divine authority: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them” (John 20:23). This is astounding. God now works through human hands and voices to bring reconciliation.

Earlier, Jesus had promised that He would send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who would teach them all things and remind them of all He had said (John 14:26). On the day of Pentecost, this promise is fulfilled. Once again, the disciples are gathered together when the Spirit comes, not in gentleness, but in power. A mighty wind fills the house, and tongues as of fire rest on each of them. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in different languages, so that everyone around them can understand the message (Acts 2:1–11).

Jesus had said, “Whoever loves Me will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him” (John 14:23). The gift of the Spirit is this divine indwelling: God comes not only among us but within us. The Spirit empowers us to love as God loves, to keep the commandments of Christ, not by human strength, but by divine grace.

Before Christ came, our sins had extinguished the light. We walked in darkness, unable to find our way. But Christ came to enlighten us, to shine truth into our blindness, and to show us the path of life. As He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Now, through the Holy Spirit, that light no longer shines only upon us. It burns within us.

On Pentecost, the Spirit descended not as a dove, but as fire: “tongues as of fire appeared, which parted and came to rest on each of them” (Acts 2:3). This was no mere symbol. The fire of God entered into them. It did not consume but transformed.

Christ is the light that reveals, warming and illuminating. The Spirit is the fire that transforms, burning away what is dead and igniting what is divine. Christ helps us see what is good. The Spirit empowers us to become it.

As Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit… will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (John 14:26). But more than remind, He renews. “You send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30). Everything is different now.

This love manifests in the Church. Through the Spirit, the apostles continue the mission of Jesus: proclaiming the truth, forgiving sins, healing the broken, and calling all people to life in God. The Spirit enables every believer to recognize that Jesus is Lord and to respond with lives shaped by that truth (1 Corinthians 12:3). That fire transforms us into something we could not have imagined.

The Holy Spirit is not merely a gift; He is a Person. He dwells in us, teaches us, strengthens us, and shapes us into the likeness of Christ. As St. Paul reminds us, the Spirit gives different gifts to each believer—not for personal glory, but to build up the Body of Christ. These gifts must be used in love, for without love they are nothing. Whatever God has given us—wisdom, teaching, service, leadership, healing—we are called to use it for the good of others and the glory of God.

Apart from the Spirit, we cannot please God. We remain trapped in the flesh. But with the Spirit dwelling in us, we are adopted as sons and daughters of God, heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14–17). “If you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13).

Christ took on our nature so that we might share in His. Grace does not erase our humanity. It elevates it. The Spirit gives us courage to suffer with Christ, so that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17).

So let our innermost cry be: Come, Holy Spirit, come! Without You, we die in our sins and return to the dust. But with You, we live forever in God. You renew the face of the earth (Psalm 104:30).

Where is the Holy Spirit inviting you to be transformed? What part of your life needs His renewing fire?

Ask the Holy Spirit to set your heart on fire today.

Then, use one gift God has given you—no matter how small—to build up someone near you in love.