John 20:19-23 “Receive the Holy Spirit” The Holy Spirit is also symbolized by Breath of Life as also symbolized by the power of the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 16: 15-20 Ascension Sunday
May 15, 2021
Matthew 28:16-20 Three Divine Persons Considered As One And Not Separate From One Another. One God in 3 Divine Persons.
May 29, 2021
Pentecost
Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3-7
John 20:19-23
A. Text/Context
• Today, we are celebrating the Feast of the Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles
• In the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is represented by the sign of the dove because of its calmness, peacefulness, and gentleness
• The Holy Spirit is symbolized in the form of a dove when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan
• In the Acts of the Apostles about the year 30 to 31 A.D., during the Feast of the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is represented by tongues of fire and the disciples began to speak in different languages and all who heard them understood
• At that time, the need of the new Church is the worldwide mission to proclaim the gospel to all peoples
• It was an awesome miracle and thousands were converted to Christianity on that day
• In the gospel of John today, the one we heard just a few moments back, the Holy Spirit is represented by the breath of life which Jesus gave to the disciples
• Jesus breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit, and so the Holy Spirit is also symbolized by a breath of life as also symbolized by power of the forgiveness of sins
• And so the Holy Spirit means a new life in God, a life of God because of the forgiveness of sins
• When the disciples received the Holy Spirit it was a fulfillment of the promise of Jesus in order to accompany us until the end of time
• The Holy Spirit is our guide even if we are all alone, we will not be lost
• Now the crucial question is this? How do we know in the very ordinary rhythm of our life the presence of the Holy Spirit among us? How does the Holy Spirit operate and work in our daily life?
• The members of the charismatic movement know very well the actions of the Holy Spirit in their lives because it feels so alive
• We must remember that the Holy Spirit both works in a very lively way and in a very subtle way in all of us
• The Holy Spirit works in all religions of the world and the actions of the Holy Spirit depend according to our own needs
• And every time that the Holy Spirit is received, it brings with Him the many gifts of God to all of us for our own good
• This is the charisma, the gift that God gives to us all. The truth is that as baptized Christians, we already received the Holy Spirit during the day of our baptism
• Through baptism, we become children of God and members of the Church. The fullness of the Spirit came when we received Him again during our confirmation
B. Human Situation
• As Catholics, we are baptized during infancy and we received the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Baptism
• This is where the role of the parents is of utmost importance in the discovery of the gifts that the Holy Spirit brings to the baptized
• We slowly discover the many gifts that God gave us through the Holy Spirit as we grow in the Christian faith throughout the years, where in the field of life shall we become experts in a certain field
• But the most important is that these gifts must be shared to the others who need it
• The Christians discern from the gifts of the Holy Spirit as the Catholic Church defines it
• There are seven: in the Hebrew text of Isaiah we have the gift of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, and fear of God. The Septuagint and the Vulgate added piety
• You do not need to memorize them because every person has a unique gift that God has given him
• Among the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit as the Church has enumerated, we discern the more specific one as we discover it as we grow through the years
• These are the ways in which the Spirit of God is manifested in human beings
• The seven gifts are interpreted as graces given to Christians through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
• Why some people would just naturally understand music so fast when nobody even taught them?
• Why do others are so good in mathematics, so skillful in painting, so good in sports, so eloquent in speaking and many other talents?
• There are also people who have gifts in understanding the elements of a higher plane
• They can detect the presence of a bad spirit, they can foretell or they can read what will happen in the future by reading the present times
• So that is why the disciples speak in different languages, they become very courageous if they knew that they will soon be killed
• There are also people who are never afraid to talk even if it cost their own lives
• That is the gift of the HS, we become courageous, strong in faith and in character
C. Challenge
• The gifts of the Spirit are given to us by God, our natural intelligence, our capacities, our capabilities, and our talents
• So if they all come from God therefore, they are not really ours and it is just right that we return them back to Him by utilizing them and by sharing them to others
• The gifts must be used for the good of ourselves and for the good of others
• This is the challenge that the Feast of the Pentecost is giving us, that we must recognize and be grateful of the gifts because they come from God, and therefore we must stand ready to give them back to Him
• Let us share our resources, let us share our talents, and let us share our expertise because the others do not have the same gifts that we have
• If other people become recipients of our charity, they also in turn will also share them to more people
• This is the very essence of the gifts, it must be shared. What good will it be for a man if he is so good in public speaking when he will only bend the truth to make it crooked?
• What good will it be for a woman who is so beautiful and intelligent when she would only satisfy her own vanity?
• What good will it be for Christians who preach about love and forgiveness when they refuse even just to hand a morsel to a hungry beggar
• Aside from the challenge of sharing our gifts, God is also calling us to develop the gifts that we have and put them into good use. Let it be that our gifts would multiply so that more people would benefit from them
• A gift discovered, a gift developed, a gift multiplied, and a gift shared to others is our way of giving back to God what we have
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John 20 verse 19-23
1 Comment
Thank you father for sharing the message.