Once an archbishop was discussing Christianity with a learned Japanese writer. The writer told the archbishop, "I can understand God the Father and God the Son, but I can never understand the significance of the ‘Honorable Bird’ (Holy Spirit)."

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On Sunday is the feast of the Holy Spirit or Pentecost, seventh Sunday after Easter. It commemorates the momentous event when the Holy Spirit descended on the scared apostles in the Cenacle where the Last Supper took place.

One difficulty in knowing the “Honorable Bird” is that he is represented in various symbols. The Holy Spirit is portrayed as a dove that hovered over Christ when he was baptized at the river Jordan.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down "like wind" with fiery tongues over the heads of the disciples. "Wind" ("pnoe" in Greek) is used in the Scripture to designate a person's "breath" or "spirit" (ruah in Hebrew) (Genesis 2,7).

The Spirit is the Church's breath. The divine breath gave the young Christian Church astonishing powers like the gift of tongues, courage to face the hostile Jews, a burning zeal, diligence, and persistence in preaching Jesus and his teachings. Because of this, Christianity has grown rapidly through all parts of the world.

The Spirit also moves us to ‘conversion’ and spiritual rebirth. I had a friend who was a bank manager. He talked of nothing but money and investments. He wasn't really that irreligious because he would go to church regularly, standing behind a pillar of the church. One would call him a "church pillar."

Some time ago, we met. I expected him to rattle off his favorite topic — money. Surprisingly, he now talked about religious matters and works of charity.

"What happened?" I asked. "It’s a long story, Father,” he said, “but after joining a Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS), I realized that I'd been missing a lot of important things in life. Where God occupied the sideline before, now He is at the center of my life.”

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Did you ever feel turning a new life because of guilt feelings over some illegal transactions or illicit relationships? Or were you inspired to turn to God because of a crisis in life, the good example of a friend or a spiritual retreat or seminar, or a religious article?

Such experiences are the whispers and promptings of the Holy Spirit. The most important question, however, is: Do you heed the Spirit’s call?

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Unfortunately, some prefer to follow the urgings of the evil spirit because the enticements and material incentives are irresistible.

We, too, received the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation, but why does He not change our lives as He did to the apostles, that accountant and spiritual converts?

The Holy Spirit won't change us unless we ‘want’ to be changed.

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The lighter side. Johnny has been a charitable, God-fearing man so one day the Lord told him, “As a fitting reward, ask three wishes and I’ll grant you.”

“First, I want one billion dollars.” Poof! There’s a flash, and a paper with a Swiss bank account number appears in Johnny’s hand.

“Next, I want a Ferrari.” Poof! Another blinding flash, and shiny Ferrari is parked next to him.

“Finally,” Johnny says, “I want to be irresistible to women.” Poof! There’s another flash, and Johnny turns into a box of chocolates.

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Thank you — Here's what a donor to our “Adopt A Seminarian” scholarship program wrote: "My sons have no vocation to the priesthood so I might as well help others who are in the seminary already." Very inspiring.

Donate any amount or sponsor a seminarian's schooling good for one year. Email: [email protected].