Last Sunday was the feast of Pentecost, the end of the Easter season. It is the time when we celebrate the fulfilment of God’s promise to send the Holy Spirit to be present among us, so that we may be witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

We speak often of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but is not one of the greatest gifts that the Holy Spirit comes to remind us of all that Jesus said to us? That was the promise Jesus made to his friends in John 14. He also calls the Holy Spirit the Comforter, the one who stands by our side to defend us when we need support.

When we look at the story of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles, we see how, at first, the Holy Spirit disturbs and causes confusion among those who are present. It shakes them out of their usual ideas of what is and is not possible. But then come harmony, peace, and joy. They are able to understand one another. The Holy Spirit always leads us into community.

How can we pray to the Holy Spirit? The very ancient prayer of the Veni Sancte Spiritus, which we sang on Sunday and during evening prayer this week, can help us greatly. We pray: “In labour, give us rest… in tears, give us solace. Water what is parched, heal what is wounded. Give us joy that never ends.”

As you leave Taizé, could you read this prayer? Perhaps one of its verses will be important for you and carry you over the coming time.

And so we can understand that the Holy Spirit is truly there to nourish us and to lead us more and more deeply into the mystery of God’s love, by guiding us in the footsteps of Jesus.