With Pentecost coming up this Sunday, now is the perfect time to look to the Holy Spirit and see how he has worked in the Church, in the lives of the saints, and in our own lives.

In anticipation of Pentecost, Fr. John Gordon, a regular Morning Air® contributor, stopped by to discuss the Holy Spirit, and how the Third Person of the Trinity helps us live out our baptismal promises and equips us to be more Christ-like.

Fr. Gordon said, “The Pentecost event was a one-day event, but there are several other events in the Acts of the Apostles in which the Holy Spirit comes upon the believers in power and wonder. And what is it that the Holy Spirit does? The Holy Spirit seems to want to make us more and more like Jesus.”

He pointed out that we can see this particularly at the Annunciation, when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the Word became flesh. Fr. Gordon said, “You can see Jesus is literally being conceived in her womb. When the Holy Spirit comes to us, Jesus is made alive within us. And the Holy Spirit seems to work in two ways to help us to be like Jesus: to grow in holiness and to help us to do what Jesus did, and to be prepared for mission.”

“I think if we are aware of that, we would be a people who would be much more attentive to the mission and much more attentive to holiness.”

But how can you know the voice of the Spirit? And how can you know what particular mission God is calling you to? Fr. Gordon and Morning Air host John Harper discussed how prayer and discernment are necessary to hear what mission the Spirit is calling you to, and how you are being called to be more like Christ.

“[Discernment] is an especially important tool in our lives because it helps us kind of navigate through the weeds of what’s coming from God, what’s coming from the devil, but also what’s coming from our own human heart and human spirit,” Fr. Gordon explained.

“And frankly, I don’t think we have enough time in our lives to fool around with things that aren’t through the power of God,” he continued. “Why would we want to be anything other than what God himself offers us? So discernment is very, very key. And it’s one of those gifts that rely upon our own experience, but also in a very profound way on God’s insight, and our openness to seeing that.”

For more on hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit and becoming more like Christ, check out this article from the archives for 3 Questions That Will Help You Discern God’s Will.

Listen to the full conversation with Fr. John Gordon below:

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