ON THE HOLY DAY OF PENTECOST. SAN BUENAVENTURA

 

“he Spirit of the Lord adorned the heavens” (understand it adorned the heavens) job 26,13. To then continue, as if specifying which heavens he refers to: Because it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of the Father is the one who speaks in you. Mat, c. 10

Thus, we see that the divine Savior said them to guard us against the presumption of our strength, he made us know how insufficient human smallness is, and to lead us to trust in his gifts, he suggested to us how influential divine largesse is. And certainly come to the conclusion that the word of God is never the harvest of human ingenuity but rather the fruit of divine bounty. This is why, when the words are preceded: It is not you who speak, it alludes to how insufficient or indigent human smallness is and because, when it is added: It is the Spirit of your Father who speaks for you, it indicates what it is the divine largesse. Far from us, therefore, very expensive, to be of the number of those who said:with our tongues we will triumph our lips are ours. Whereby it is deduced that this gift is only exclusive to be given by the Eternal Father to those who are really HUMBLE supposedly necessary in the soul to receive any of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, only the proud spirits and full of themselves are excluded from these gifts. and even the gift of tongues. The latter is only given when God wants, whom He wants and when He wants, this is said by virtue of the divine gift to which not everyone is called but to those who are chosen by God and for a SPECIFIC PURPOSEin such a way that not just anyone is given as if they were candy. This is said so that the soul is not deceived of having received it because it can easily fall into the illusions of the devil and mistake it as gifts from the eternal Father. ¡So be warned lest the devil surprise you saying, It is a gift of God, ¡it is a gift of God when in reality it is a deception of the devil where he leads you to hell!

Let us beg, on the contrary, unanimously to the Lord, giver of all goods, that by his grace and clemency he will free us from the insufficiency of human smallness, free us from the illusions and deceptions of the devil, and deign, though most unworthy, to communicate his divine largesse, so that, by virtue of it, we may be given to speak and hear things concerning the praise and glory of the Almighty and the grace and consolation of each one of the listeners.

At first it was said: The Holy Spirit adorned the heavens. The Holy Spirit, sovereign architect as he would like to enclose in the apostles, his heavens, as in sacred vessels, the name of Christ, delicious as the manna from heaven and fragrant as the divine aroma. I adorn them first, on the day of Pentecost, with the beauty of shapes tinged with heavenly splendors. Such is the gift communicated to the Church, and the Church our mother remembers it today more solemnly on this solemnity more than on other solemnities, when she celebrates it when she says: The spirit of the Lord adorned the heavenswords that truly describe, and not without order, the grace of the day from three points of view. Considering it in effect, in relation to the effective principle (Here the Holy Spirit is called as the cause of all this solemnity), naming him personally; in relation to the receptive subject (Here the apostles are designated as the recipients of the gifts) and in relation to the intermediate exortive act (The miracles that were worked through the apostles after the tongues of fire rested on them). And this is how what was said above fits very well in this order: the first The Spirit of the Lord; second, The heavens that, as we said, are spoken of about the apostles and third; Ornó, that is to say, ornament.And, indeed, excellent and unique were the gifts and virtues with which the apostles were adorned.

As for the first point, you should know that the Holy Spirit has in himself three properties, according to which he is the beginning and cause of many other gifts, which contribute radically and essentially to the grace of this day. It has, in effect, infallible truth, communicable charity, and unsurpassed power. In this way, being the highest truth, it is the source of the radiance of the believing intelligence speaking of man, for being the highest charity since benevolent love comes from Him (as it is said in the apostles' creed I believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and Son ...),and benefactor; and, lastly, because it is the ultimate power, it is the source from which comes the constant, manly vigor by virtue of which the will is strengthened. And that these three requirements are necessary for man to be saved, whatever his condition, his sex, his age, is something that cannot be denied. The reason is because every adult, if he is to be in a state of salvation, must believe in what is proposed to him in the Holy Scriptures and this is an act of intelligence, benevolent and benevolent charity which is an act of the will. and persevering constancy in hope. And these three gifts by which man resembles the Trinitarian people, flowed from her, as a top secret source, and were communicated today as firstfruits to the apostles.And let it be known that this list of gifts corresponds to the list of evils incurred by reason of the first sin, of which the first is dark ignorance, the second malicious envy, and the third morbid impotence.

Thus, the Holy Spirit, being INFALLIBLE TRUTH, produces a clear knowledge in our understanding, removing the darkness of ignorance. Where it is said in Saint John: When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will teach you all the truth c, 16. And this he did by descending, according to the promise of Christ, on the apostles, illuminating them in an excellent and perfect way that raised them, as far as possible, to know and speculate with a clear gaze the mystery of divinity. Well what? Was it not on the day of Pentecost the very profound knowledge of the apostles, launched to preach with clear words that Christ is the son of God and that he rose from the dead, an argument that, under the cover of dark words, words and enigmas, was predicted? ¿by the prophets? Tell me, then, please, who was it that taught them to speak of such arcane things with such simplicity and evidence? Perhaps the profession they had as fishermen? Was it the flesh or the blood? No, by the way. Let us therefore conclude that we must give indubitable assent, not like old women,neither to the sophisms of philosophers nor to the lies of magicians, but to the certain truth of the Holy Spirit.

For the Holy Spirit is a doctor and doctor so well versed and proven by ancient experience in all kinds of knowledge, that his doctrine is inaccessible to the condition and irreducible rejection of the tight logical moment of re-conviction, since the Holy Spirit cannot deceive and cannot deceive.

As for the second, which is the highest Charity, it works in the affective, call it the will of man, against the position of malicious envy, with broad and benevolent benevolence, where it is said in the letter to the Romans: Because love of God has been poured out into us by virtue of the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us c. 5. And the charity of God is poured into our hearts when, born from the heart not superficial, but deeply and deeply, it expands the affection and moves all the forces of the soul to the choice of all the elect, ¡Oh how long and wide of spread throughout the world the charity of the apostles, who in favor of all the elect wished to give their lives, ¡giving themselves to death! But because because of the excess of wickedness, charity was cooled in many (¿If in the time of Saint Bonaventure we are told this, how much more so in current times where charity is conspicuous by its absence? Now it is supplanted by Masonic and criminal philanthropism).

As for the third, the Holy Spirit with his insurmountable power in contrast to morbid impotence, gave invigorating capacity and consistency to all tests, in other words, he gave them sufficient intrepidity and courage, according to what is said in the Acts of the Apostles: You will receive the virtue of the Holy Spirit, as if it were strength, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.  

Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he sent the apostles to fight against the violence of tyrants and against the cunning of demons, he wanted first to equip them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit with spiritual gifts or weapons and to strengthen them with the virtue of the Holy Spirit. On this Saint Gregory comments: "The virtue of heaven was received by the Spirit, so that they would not presume to face the powers of this world without having been consolidated by the strength of the Holy Spirit"