The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. It is the same Spirit that led Jesus into the desert, and it is the same spirit that Jesus sent on Pentecost to help us follow in His footsteps.

The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost offers an inspiring remedy to the problems and divisiveness of our times for the Holy Spirit is the harbinger of Unity and Peace. This is something everyone wants. But unity and peace will elude us unless we are united and are at peace within ourselves. This is the work of the Holy Spirit : to bring about Unity and Peace.

1. The gift of unity.

The Holy Spirit returns us to the spiritual roots of our unity as children of God. Scripture states: “there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in every one” (1 Corinthians 12:6). God is bigger than all of us. He created us and wants to work through us to achieve His will on earth. If we stay with Him, remain in Him, we will all find a purposeful unity in His scheme of things.

Put God and His approval first in your life, and everything else will fall into place ( Matthew 6 : 33 ).

Unity among Christians, says St. Paul, is like the unity of different parts of the body : “the body has many members, but all the members, many though they are, are one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Everything we do must be done with a view to promoting the common good, the good of the whole, rather than hindering it’s progress by acts of divisiveness. What a wonderful message is this! When one of us does well, we all do well. When one of us hurts, we all hurt. No man is an Island : we are all part of the whole and of each other. Like the parts of the body, we are all interconnected through the one spirit.

This message is clear : foster unity with one another the way you maintain the unity and health of your own body.

The source of our unity is the Holy Spirit, of course, who unites us together. Scripture explains:: “all of us have been given to drink of the one spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). Our spiritual unity in the Holy Spirit, who goes where He wills, enables us to grow harmoniously despite differences in personality, roles and functions. All human progress can give glory to God and benefit humankind when it is cultivated responsibly by people who are united in the Holy Spirit and in their love for one another.

Show your unity in the Spirit by your love for others.

2. The gift of Peace.

Peace is also a gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift flows from unity so you experience harmony and calmness of soul in spite of the turmoil around you. The common denominator among people of Peace is that they can live in the moment without being bothered by regrets over the past or anxiety about the future. Those who are at peace can enjoy the grace of the moment where only peace can blossom. Is it any wonder that Jesus greeted His followers on that first Pentecost with the words : ” Peace be with you ” ( Gospel of John 20 : 21 ). Everyone needs to cultivate the gift of peace in their present situation, wherever they are, and in spite of anything life throws at them.

The Lord understood that where there is a peaceful spirit, life flourishes. Neighbor turns to neighbor, doors open and people gather together to talk freely and share their experiences together in love. Peace comes at a high price, however, as St. Paul explains in his letter to the Galatians ( Galatians 1 : 1-10 ). A peaceful spirit was essential to the settlement of difficulties and disputes in the early Church, and each person had to be prepared to extract the poison of whatever snakes or scorpions threatened the existence of peace within oneself. The same holds true today. We need to prepare ourselves to become true vessels of Peace.

Do not confuse peace with passivity. Perhaps people make this mistake because violence, the opposite of peace, is so aggressive. In the end, violence accomplishes nothing but hurt and destruction. If you want to achieve peace around you, use peaceful means. Begin with yourself by letting the Spirit of Peace take hold of your life.

Today, we commemorate that first Pentecost or outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. Before they received the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were a frightened bunch, cowering together in a room for fear of the Jewish leaders, the Romans, and the restless society in which they lived. But, after they received the Holy Spirit, these same people became fearless witnesses to Jesus, the Prince of Unity and Peace.

If the Holy Spirit could turn a frightened bunch, like the early Apostles, into fearless witnesses of Unity and Peace, He can do it also for you.

Unity and Peace! How we yearn for these qualities today! They cannot be achieved without effort and fearlessness, and they need to be waged with the same intensity that the enemy wages war and division if we are to heal our broken world.

The Holy Spirit continues to transform the lives of all those who are willing to accept His gifts of Unity and Peace.

May these gifts accompany you all the days of your mortal life.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy