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In Today's gospel Jesus
reminds us of the importance of the Holy Spirit in his mission and in
our mission as well. It is the Spirit, the other Advocate, who
guarantees the presence of Christ among his disciples until the end of
time. From the moment of our baptism Jesus lives within us by the power
of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit teaches us how to live in Christ.
The Spirit reminds us of all that the Lord has taught us. The Spirit
empowers us to be Christ in the world.
Between the Feasts of the Resurrection and the Pentecost we are reminded
of the powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the early church.
One of the favorite pastimes of the early church was to gather in
prayer. When the community came together for prayer the building shook
with power. There was great rejoicing in the Spirit. There was no doubt
in the hearts of believers that Jesus and his Spirit were with them.
We are gifted with that same powerful Spirit in our everyday living of
the gospel. In our private and in our public prayer we have the
opportunity to tap into that power of the Holy Spirit. All of this takes
time. Is it worthwhile to make more time in our lives for private
prayer. It is most often in the stillness of our hearts that the Spirit
speaks to us, encourages us, helps us to overcome our fears and
anxieties.
When we gather for public worship, do we realize what we are doing? Do
we understand that we need time to prepare ourselves for this sacred
duty. Running out of the house at the last minute and racing into church
to beat the priest and servers, leaves us completely distracted. Do we
think we have done some great favor for God because we “bothered” to
come? In the same way, dashing out of church after communion suggests
that we have missed the point of what we have just been through.
Each of us belongs to the Body of Christ. When we gather as a
congregation we are a more perfect expression of the Body of Christ than
we can ever be alone. The most perfect expression will take place in
heaven, when we are all gathered together in God's kingdom.
In the meantime, this is the best we get: brothers and sisters in
Christ, gathered together in the Spirit, to worship the Father in Jesus'
name. Here is our power and our greatness. This is what Jesus
meant when he said, "I will not leave you orphans...”
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