The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost in order to govern the Church established by Christ and to build it up. The Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of Jesus' promises and dwells within us in a special way from the time of Pentecost (Lk 24:49; Act 2:1-4 Jn 14:16). The Holy Spirit who came in the form of a strong wind and as fiery tongues, is the life and power of the Church. Pentecost is called the second birth of the Church. Theologian Congar says, "What baptism was for Jesus, Pentecost was for the Church. That is, Pentecost was the time when the gifts and power of the Spirit filled the Church. It was the time when she consecrated herself for evangelisation, service and witnessing."

The Holy Spirit who made it possible for Mary to conceive Jesus in her womb, led the Church into the innermost core of the world through Pentecost. He who guided Jesus to accept his mandate on the banks of the Jordan, led the Church from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth as the bearer of the gospel through Pentecost. Thus the Holy Spirit initiated the great mission of making the mystery of Pentecost experienced by the whole world (Acts 2:14ff 3:11ff; 4:31; 5:41, 7:1ff 8:14-17). In the words of Congar, "It is through the Holy Spirit that the mystery of Christ is developed and fulfilled by the history of man.

We can see several miraculous events and activity of the Holy Spirit to speed up this great mandate right in the beginning of the early Church (Acts 2:4, 4:30, 8:17-17;10:44-48;11:45-17;19:1-6). The coming of the Holy Spirit was always remarkably characterised and filled with the praises of God and with prophecies. In other words, the coming of the Spirit and his gifts were confirmed by his activity. The essence of this fact is that, in order to make salvation a reality in the world, in mankind, the Holy Spirit acts as inspiration from Christ and aspiration towards Christ.
 

Just as the Spirit gave life to Adam and Eve fashioned by the heavenly Father at the beginning of the world (Gen 2:7), Pentecost makes it clear that it is the Spirit who gives life and power to the Church moulded by Christ. That is, the Church, which historically evolved in Christ, was given life and power by the Spirit in actual fact. The Church is, therefore, the handicraft of the two hands of the Father as Iraneus puts it-Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. As the role of the Holy Spirit in giving life to the Church and determining her structure and mission is invaluable, the Holy Spirit is called the Co-institutor. In other words, it was through the Holy Spirit sent by Lord Jesus that the community of the disciples evolved into the Church. They are both, therefore, complementary founders and protectors. This is clear from the words of Pope Leo XIII. "Christ is the head of the Church, the Holy Spirit her soul". Just as the head and the soul give life to the body, Christ and the Holy Spirit mould the Church into a vital, believing community.
 

Just as the Holy Spirit is the driving force of Christ's public life, he is also the operative force of the Church. He anoints individuals and communities with his gifts and charisms for the common good (1 Cor :12:7-10) and makes them dynamic workers. It is this Spirit of God who paves the way for unity in diversity in the Church and maintains it and leads it forward. Since the Holy Spirit gives vitality to and co-ordinates the various activities of the Church, they assume a unique nature and greatness. He transforms the activities of the Church by grounding them in faith, centering them in love and giving them a witness value. Thus the call of the Church to remain holy is actualised. In this manner the Spirit makes the Church active and thus renews the human race and the very universe. Thus he accomplishes the re-creative act of Christ. In other words, the Holy Spirit gives the impetus to the creative act, first begun in Christ, to go forward and also culminate in Christ.

The Holy Spirit transforms the believers spiritually and constitutes them children of God by making their hearts temples of God and by remaking their minds daily into the divine nature (Rom 8:14-16). In this way the Holy Spirit nourishes human nature, created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:7). For this purpose the Holy Spirit enables the Church to accept various forms and expressions according to the times and make the mystery of Pentecost experiential for the world . To put it shortly, the divine Spirit guides believers to enter into the depths of the divine mysteries (Jn 16:13) and nourishes their lives. The life-giving force of the Spirit fills the whole universe in various proportions (Wis 1:7; 12:1 Gen 2:7;6:3; Job 21:3; 33:4; Ez 37, Ps 104:28-70).

The Holy Spirit is thus seen to be the life force acting in everything from science and technology to the minutest particle in the universe. Nothing is far from his divine presence. The psalmist proclaims this loudly, "Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall hold me fast" (139:7-10). That is why Congar says, "All truth comes from the Holy Spirit. Where it comes from is not, therefore, a problem." As the working of the Holy Spirit is generally mysterious, all do not always realise or experience his presence. This does not negate the fact of his existence. Out of the millions of realities in this world, each man comes to know only a few of them, which fact does not cancel out their existence. The activity of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in the world need not always be evident. But he is truly the source of its power.
 

The Holy Spirit is the gift Christ gives to those who believe in him. The divine Spirit comes to dwell in the hearts of those who believe in Christ. Through the indwelling of the Spirit the hearts of the believers become the temples of God the Father (Eph 2:22). Through the Spirit , they become a spiritual dwelling consecrated to God (Pet 2:5; Phil 3). The hearts of believers are, therefore, the altar of God, their life-pulse a constant offering. Those hearts should blossom every day through sharing and loving service and thus spread their fragrance.

The Holy Spirit reigning on the hearts of the believers through baptism, remains in them as the fountain of living water (Jn 4:14; 7:37-39; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16). At the same time he guides them to the state of the children of God (Rom 8:5). To put it in another way, through the Holy Spirit the believers become the mystical body of Christ and are associated with the resurrected body. Thus a new form and status are acquired by them in their life situation. There takes place in them a glimpse into the spiritual from the worldly.The joy of the union of spiritual and temporal forces fills them. To put it in another way, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes the journey of the life of faith to eternity effortless.
 

Life in community is the outward expression of spiritual communion (1 Cor 14: 26-33; Jn 4:13; 3:24). The word of God confirms that the believers were of one heart and one soul (Acts 4:39). In order to nourish the Christian life in community the Spirit of God fills the body of the Church with various gifts (1 Cor 12:8-10). It is to be borne in mind that these various gifts are given by the Holy Spirit for the common good (1 Cor 12:7). When this noble significance of the gifts and charisms of the Spirit is forgotten, the unity of the Church is destroyed. Then internecine quarrels and partisan views arise. The awareness that the gifts and charisms of the Holy Spirit are present in different forms and in all the believers, helps to look at everyone and every thing with tolerance and to strengthen the life of fellowship.

Community is a gift but it constantly requires a mandate. The greatest duty we have is, to pray in the presence of the Father for this unity (Jn 17:11), in imitation of Christ our Master. At the same time we should follow Jesus by sharing what we have and our very selves with others. Acknowledge that no one is a slave to another, but a friend and a brother. Remember the words of Jesus, "You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends , because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father" (Jn 15:14-15)

"...Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:24).

"...The Lord God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you" (Gen 3:9)? "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel'" (Gen 4:9)?

"He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul Saul, why do you persecute me?'" (Acts 9:4). These are the questions God is asking each one of us individually, calling him or her by name. When we look at the holy face of God and respond to them, unity becomes a reality today.