At
this point in the Easter season, over halfway through, we see a
transition in the readings that prepare us for and direct us towards
the mystery of Pentecost. Next Sunday, we will transfer the Thursday
feast of the ascension (40 days after Easter) to Sunday and celebrate
it together. Jesus wasn't with us forever, at least not in bodily
form. God had other ideas for us: The Father sends us the Son to give
us the Spirit. This is a short summary of God's plan of salvation.
Jesus works our redemption, but we are united to that redemption
through the gift of the Holy Spirit we have received in baptism and
maintain through the rest of the Christian life in the community of
faith.
The
Holy Spirit according to Jesus' promise, leads us to all truth. We
see this working in the first reading from the acts of the apostles.
Acts
15 is known as the first ecumenical council, the council of
Jerusalem. It is here where Christianity made a definitive separation
from Judaism. Even after this council Christians were still going to
the synagogue, but they were also praying privately together in their
houses. Soon after the temple was destroyed and the Jews drove out
the Christians from their synagogues, Christianity fully developed
its own liturgical uniqueness.
The
apostles were guided by the Holy Spirit in their decision-making.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth, and
it happens both in extraordinary ways like the councils (including
other meetings like the recent synods led by Pope Francis) as well as
in ordinary ways.
As
a Holy Spirit leads the universal church, so also he leads every
individual Christian to our ultimate goal: perfect communing with the
father and son in heaven. Sometimes this happens in extraordinary
ways, such as powerful moments of prayer or miraculous events of
God's providence that steer our lives. Most of the time, however,
this happens in ordinary events where the Holy Spirit is trying to
speak to us and lead us and guide us and direct us.
Pope
Francis said just a few days ago in a morning homily that "the
Holy Spirit has been surprising the church since the very beginning".
We must allow ourselves to be surprised by the Holy Spirit. We must
not become stagnant, lazy, or narrow-minded in our spiritual lives.
If God is going to do amazing things with us, it is only because we
have allowed those amazing things to happen by taking daily steps in
his guidance. St. Paul once told a Galatians, "if we live by
the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit." We should as Christians
pray every day that's the only spirit may be the one truly in control
in our lives.
Come
Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. Lead us to our true
home, two are true happiness, One day at a time, one moment at a
time.
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