Description
We generally tend to disregard Peter’s opening words to the crowd that first Pentecost morning, to our own peril. His denial of drunkenness within the wake of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit must stop us in our tracks. What was once going on here? How did the apostles experience the Holy Spirit? What was once he teaching them? How was once he empowering them? What does this scene within the streets of Jerusalem mean for us these days?
Father Raniero Cantalamessa offers pastoral advice and leads the reader through passages of Scripture and the Fathers of the Church to remind us of the incalculable power of the Spirit to be had to us. This spiritual “intoxication” is an infilling—through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and the action of God—that purifies us of sin, renews the heart and enlightens the mind. As St. Augustine said of the Spirit, “He found you empty and he filled you…I like this sort of intoxication. The Spirit of God is both drink and light.”