Veni, pater pauperum, Come, father of the poor,
veni, dator munerum come, giver of gifts,
veni, lumen cordium. come, light of the heart.
The early Church Fathers loved to wonder at the greatness of God and his Transcendence – a not-so-often used word that refers to God’s unspeakable and indescribable perfection. He is majestic. He is truly “other.” He is God and we are not. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and everywhere – and yet outside of space and time! He is perfect, one, good, true, beautiful, etc. But even these high words used to describe him fall short because we human beings cannot imagine the intensity of perfection, oneness, goodness, truth, and beauty that is “God.” With the revelation of the Trinity of persons, we may have a sense that we “understand” more about Him, but in all reality, it only deepens the mystery. He is Love… and again, the. word. falls. short.
A theological phrase used in the Middle Ages reads, bonum diffusivum sui, “Goodness pours itself out.” God has, in a way, built his “way of existing” into reality – he is a God who pours himself out, and this action we call goodness. In a way, He can’t help Himself, because it is who He is, and He does so in pure freedom, without coercion or force.
He made us.
We exist in the position of one who has received a great gift and can in no way repay it. We exist. We didn’t have to, but we do. He wanted us to exist, and we therefore read, “you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made, for you would not fashion what you hate… O Ruler and Lover of souls” (Wisdom 11:24-26). And with the Psalmist, we cry out, “What return can I make to the Lord for all the goodness he has shown to me?” (Psalm 116:12)
Thankfully, he does not expect a “repayment” for that gift. Instead, he only expects us to follow him so that he can give us even more. The sheer goodness of this God is unimaginable.
And in this beautiful stanza of the Pentecost sequence, the Holy Spirit in particular is praised for his goodness. We ask him to come to us, he who is THE GIFT from the Father and the Son. The greatest gift given by God to us is God himself, the Holy Spirit, who comes only to lavish more and more gifts of grace on us.
In Psalm 145, God is described as a very happy giver of gifts. We read, “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” The Holy Spirit is truly the fulfillment of every desire of every living thing. We want life – He is life itself. We want happiness – He is the cause of all joy, and the source of Jesus’ own joy. We want peace – He is the peace of God’s inner life. We want rest – He is where the Father and Son go to rest. We want light – He is light, understanding, wisdom, and knowledge.
May the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with His generosity. Come Holy Spirit, set us on fire with your Love!