Thou in toil art comfort sweet Pleasant coolness in the heat, Solace in the midst of woe.

But the most consistent image for the Spirit in the Scriptures comes from images of power – the power of God in creation (see Gen 1:2) and in recreation in the annunciation to Mary of the conception of Jesus (see Luke 1:35). The violent gust of wind mentioned in the first reading is an image of that power as is the image of fire linked to tongues. This latter is probably a reversal of the Tower of Babel (see first reading, Evening Mass) and an image of the ability given to the disciples to communicate the message of Christ's death and resurrection to all peoples: “True Easter faith is the work of the Spirit, for believing in Christ's resurrection doesn't mean affirming a historical fact and saying ‘Oh really?' It means being seized by the life-giving Spirit and experiencing ‘the powers of the world to come' in our own living and dying” (J. Moltmann, Source: the Holy Spirit and the Theology of Life , London: SCM, 1997, p. 16).

At the recent General Chapter the Provincial, Gearoid Manning, in his homily at the Mass of the Holy Spirit prior to the elections, gave an image of the Spirit which also has a lot of bite in it! He said that in the Celtic Church an image used for the Spirit was that of wild goose. He stressed the bite bit but also the fact that the wild geese are a wonderful example of the power of what working together in unity can do: one goose will lead the flying formation for awhile, then drop back into the flock to rest while another takes over the lead. This acting in unison is emphasised in the second reading: “… there is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit…”

 My own favourite image comes from the word used in St. John's Last Discourse: the Paraclete . The word basically means, “to call alongside”. It is often translated as “Advocate”: we are all familiar with the lawyers at the Tribunals trotting alongside their clients laden down with books and dossiers. This image invites us to call on the Spirit to be our helper in times of difficulty (see second reading, Vigil Mass). Paraclete is also often translated as “Comforter” in the sense of God consoling the people in times of difficulty (see Isa 40) and Jesus speaking of his mission in terms of the prophetic words of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me and sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken…” (Lk 4:18,19; see alternate first reading, Vigil Mass). But this kind of comforting has to be seen more in terms of upbuilding than as a “comforter” or “dummy” given to a baby! The best way to translate Paraclete in the sense implied would be trainer . An athlete in training for the Olympics at the moment does not get comfort from his or her trainer in the form of cups of tea and sweets but is beaten into shape by ever more difficult training regimes. So we can see prayer and the trials of life as the training of the Spirit, bringing us into better shape for the preaching which is our heritage. Sr