Today at Holy Mass the Universal Catholic Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday….”As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit”….This event is remembered each Wednesday and Sunday when we pray the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary……Think about it for a minute…Jesus was just brutally murdered…And the apostles are all in a room together, basically hiding and they are terrified!….Clearly the powers of the state and the religious authorities mean business!…And guess what?….These twelve guys are next!…So what happens…Jesus appears to them and what does he say?…”Peace be with you’…In fact he said it twice!…."Peace be with you”…And the next thing you know…These twelve guys, who are straight up terrified no longer are scared…Not only that, they go forth to boldly proclaim the message of Christ to the known world in word and deed…Put yourself in that situation for a second…If you just saw your friend brutally murdered, and now you are doing the same exact thing that resulted in him being brutally murdered…..How can you possibly do that and maintain peace of mind or for that matter be effective?…..In three words - The Holy Spirit!…..As a result of our Baptism and Confirmation we too have been given access to the Holy Spirit….Our “job” frankly is to “get out of our own way”……And allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through our life……When you step back and think about how twelve uneducated guys, who ran away from their friend in his hour of need could possibly spread the Gospel throughout the known world - When you think about that rationally and objectively, the only conclusion you can come to is, outside of divine assistance, that was not going to happen!…..But it did happen! - So there HAD to be divine assistance - Right?…..That divine assistance is the Holy Spirit….Our job - “Get out of our own way” - And let the Holy Spirit do what it does!
“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love”
There is an old saying - “The Truth is like a lion, just let it loose and it will defend itself”……What prevents us from being a conduit of the Holy Spirit? - A one word answer - FEAR!…We are afraid……And this fear clearly does not come from God - It comes from the devil - It hold us back and it also prevents the Holy Spirit, which has been given to all the baptized to do what it does - To set the world on FIRE!…..This is why I write over and over again…..God can do more with your life than you can!…Why? - Because he is God and YOU are NOT!….All we have to do is simply - “Get out of our own way” - But fear holds us back!…Just like the first twelve disciples…They were all terrified and hiding……But once Jesus breathed into them the Holy Spirit - BOOM!….These twelve guys were all of a sudden forces of nature!……How do we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our life?……Well, this begins with “clearing away” all the “things” within us that get in the way…This begins with a Sacramental Confession……Then what do we do?…..We receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…Then what do we do?….We fast each week, which sharpens our reception to grace and prayer…..Then what do we do?….We develop a daily prayer life…BOOM! - The Holy Spirit has room to work - And in order for that to happen we simply have to “Get out of our own way”!
“Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. On the faithful, who adore And confess you, evermore. In your sevenfold gift descend; Give them virtue's sure reward; Give them your salvation, Lord; Give them joys that never end. Amen”
Today in the Gospel at Mass we find the twelve apostles hiding….Remember, these were the hand picked men to bring the Gospel to the four corners of the earth….It was not until Jesus appears to them and “breathes” into their hearts the Holy Spirit that they transformed to do what needed to be done…..Always ask your self - Why not me?…What makes these twelve guys any different from you or me?….What is getting in the way?…..We can not allow fear to prevent us from being the people we were ALL born to be!……God can do more with your life than you can!…..It’s time we “Get out of our own way” - And let the Holy Spirit do what it does! - Set the World on FIRE
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