True freedom means letting the Holy Spirit consume us like the 12 Apostles
Fr David Howell• June 8, 2025
“And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them” (Acts 2:3)
Pentecost was a feast when the Jews offered burnt sacrifices of animals and bread made from new grain at the harvest (Leviticus 23:15-20). So when the flames of the Holy Spirit appeared on that feast day upon the twelve apostles, it seemed that they too were being offered up as burnt sacrifices.
The burning of offerings was a way to give them to God completely, and when the Holy Spirit came, he took total possession of the apostles. They were unharmed by the flames but their minds and hearts were filled with divine gifts, so they could preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The Holy Spirit wants to consume us with his fire too: he wants to take possession of us, which, paradoxically, is the only way we can be truly free.
As well as the flames, the Holy Spirit revealed himself that day through “a sound like a mighty rushing wind” (Acts 2:2), which recalled the breath that revived the dry skeletons in Ezechiel’s vision. That prophet had been told by God to “prophesy to the breath” and say “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” (Ezechiel 37:9).
So too God the Father tells each of us to speak to the Holy Spirit, to call on him to bring life where there is only death within us. Sometimes we struggle to speak directly to the Spirit, since it seems he is something rather than someone.
Let’s use the beautiful phrases of the sequence in today’s Mass to speak directly to the Third Person of the Trinity: “Bend the stubborn heart and will, melt the frozen, warm the chill, guide the steps that go astray”.
The Holy Spirit is also our Advocate, who defends us from the false accusations of the Devil. Whenever we struggle to reject the lies of the evil one, who constantly tries to make us despair of ourselves or of God or of others, then we can call on the Spirit of truth who rebuts each falsehood within us.
Often our Advocate protects us by uniting us to others more deeply, in whom we can confide and whose loving advice liberates us. Just as the Spirit comes from the Father and the Son, and so unites them, so too he unites us in the Church, and stops us isolating ourselves.
And the Spirit is the one who helps us speak not only to fellow members of the Church, but also gives the gift of tongues to preach to all peoples. The apostles received this grace in a miraculous way – “each one was hearing them speak in his own language” (Acts 2:6) – but we can receive it in a more hidden way. The Holy Spirit teaches us the right words to connect with others, whatever their understanding of God might be.
By listening ourselves to the Spirit in prayer, he can inspire the most effective words within us, and fire us with his zeal and boldness.
If we cooperate with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then we can create communion between all peoples and cultures in the Church.
God scattered the nations when they tried to build a tower to reach him at Babel, and multiplied their languages to divide them, otherwise “nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6).
But the miracle of the apostles’ language at Pentecost shows that God was reversing the curse at Babel, uniting his people in the Holy Spirit. Now, those words have a new meaning for the Church if we keep united in the Holy Spirit: “nothing will be impossible for us.”
Mary our Mother was possessed by the Holy Spirit from her conception and she will teach us to speak to him and receive his gifts constantly.
Photo: ‘Pentecost’ by Jean II Restout (1692-1768).
Fr David Howell is an assistant priest at St Bede’s in Clapham Park. His previous studies include canon law in Rome, Classics at Oxford and a licence in Patristics at the Augustinianum Institute in Rome. He is a regular contributor to the Catholic Herald; his articles can be accessed here.