# Pentecost: The spirit of mercy and love
*2016-05-15*

> Bill Young shares a reflection from Pope Francis's 'Seasons of Mercy' to celebrate Pentecost Sunday and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.

## Seeing through the eyes of Christ

On this Pentecost Sunday, we reflect on how the Holy Spirit teaches us to see with the eyes of God and Christ. By allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit, we can learn to live as He lived and understand life as He understood it. When we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts, we hear the truth that God is love, that He is waiting for us, and that He is a Father who loves us truly and always forgives.

## The transformation of the heart

As we listen to the Holy Spirit, we are called to move forward on the path of love, mercy, and forgiveness. When we open ourselves to God in the inmost depths of our being, our hearts are converted to God and transformed by the Holy Spirit, becoming receptive to God's love, mercy, and the divine grace poured into our hearts.

## The call to give freely

In return for this grace, one single thing is asked of us: unreserved giving. None of us can buy salvation; it is a free gift of God that comes within us and dwells in us. As we receive freely, so we are called to give freely, as reminded in Matthew 10:8.

*Since salvation is a free gift of God's mercy, we are called to respond by giving ourselves unreservedly to others.*