And Jesus Said to his “Receive the Holy Spirit”
Salvation History is basically divided into three stages.
Before Jesus, the Ministry of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Before the fullness of time, before God the Father sent Jesus.
our understanding of God and what God expected from us was fragmentary we didn’t get the whole picture.
With the coming of Jesus that all changed.
Jesus was the perfect revelation of the God the Father.
Jesus taught us about God’s love and to call God our Father.
He taught us how to live like brothers and sisters and
He taught us hope and forgive and accept forgiveness
With God’s self revelation in Jesus we knew clearly what love expected of us.
And with his death on the cross Jesus paid the price for our sins
But with his death and Resurrection Jesus time on earth was over.
He had given us the us the gift of faith and now it was ours to live and pass on.
But as He ascended into Heaven He did not leave us alone…
He promised to send the Holy Spirit to be with us always,
He promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us, protect us, encourage us, give us hope, when we were afraid always calling us back when we were afraid.
Effects of the Spirit on the apostles were clear.
After Pentecost this group of men who were afraid to leave the upper room after the crucifixion and had even doubted at the Ascension as they watched it, burst out into the world filled with the Holy Spirit eager to share all that Jesus taught them.
Their faith was so strong that they almost all of them would follow Jesus to the cross and give their life rather than renounce their faith.
The Holy Spirit is so powerful.
It changed them and gave them the courage they needed to do the right thing even in the most difficult of times.
Anyone who has studied Church history can see how radical changes which no one expected have helped the Church over and over again.
Over the centuries it has been the Holy Spirit to send us just the right Saint or the right reformer at the right time just when the Church needed them.
In times of turmoil or confusion both in the world and in the Church the Holy Spirit has guided and protected the Church over and over again.
There is not a doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit chose Pope Francis because he was the exact person we needed at this moment in the life of the Church.
The Holy Spirit, the living presence of God is both powerful and loving.
And Like The Holy Spirit guides and protects the church
The Holy Spirit guides, protects and challenges us each one of us.
Have you ever wondered how you knew what to say at just the right moment.
Have you ever found unexpected comfort at a difficult moment in your life.
Have you ever found the courage to forgive someone you never wanted to forgive or love someone you didn’t really want to love ?
We need to recognize and accept that many of these moments are due to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
We need to allow Him to shape and mold not only our actions but also our intentions our values.
We need to accept the Spirits gifts and follow the road he puts before us because it is the best possible road for us to follow.
You know even when we are being tempted, we know deep in our hearts that a life with guided by the Holy Spirit is the best possible life for each of us us and for those we love.
The world would be such a better place if we allowed the presence of the Spirit in our lives
On this feast of the Holy Spirit let our prayer be
Come Holy Spirit fill our hearts and enkindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your spirit and we shall be created and you will renew the face of the earth.
Amen
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