Thunder Under the Dome. March 11,2013

If you look at the attached photo if the interior of St. Peter's basilica, you will see a small light at the very center if the photo under the massive canopy. It us the famous stained glass window of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. It hovers over the altar of Confession, the "confession" of St. Peter that Jesus is the "Christ , the Son of the Living God."

As I take the photo , I can hear loud rumbles if thunder. Sometimes the Spirit breaths in a gentle breeze; sometimes in a "thundering" wind. The Spirit seems to be speaking in the form of thunder. Maybe he is trying to awaken us all to the powerful Presence of the Father calling us.

I just went to confession to a kind priest from Poland who spoke fluent English. Believe me, he understood everything I told him. He mentioned the power of humility to draw us into God's limitless love. God is relentlessly searching for us and when the Spirit, Christ's Spirit, which is the communion of Father and Son, becomes the center of our hearts, our worlds can shake and thunder.

It is still thundering as the communion bells gently chime indicating the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. The whispered prayers of priest and people rise up in the Holy Spirit...they rise up in Eucharistic Sacrifice as Christ draws us into the Father's Presence. This is all happening as hundreds of tourists wander , gazing upward, whispering to a neighbor taking endless photos. They are understandably oblivious to the miracle taking place at the altar underneath the beautiful image of the Holy Spirit.

No wonder it is thundering!
Come Holy Spirit
Breath on us Your People
May we hear your Thunderous Love
May you breath on the Conclave
May the one chosen be bold
Give him courage to shake things up a bit
Causing Thunder as he "throws the Fire of Spirit" by the witness of his actions

Buen camino. Padre