The Effects of the Holy Spirit

April 21, 2020
Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:7–8

Do you sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? In this passage, Jesus offers an image of how the Holy Spirit works in us. He analogizes the Holy Spirit to the wind. We can hear the wind blowing but cannot see it. We do, however, perceive the effects of the wind. For example, when you see a tree swaying, you know that the wind is blowing.

So it is with the Holy Spirit in our lives. Though we may not be able to tangibly perceive where the Holy Spirit comes from, we will be able to see the effects of the Spirit. When we perceive a new strength within us, or an increase in virtues, or an ability to forgive, etc., we are aware of the fact that the Holy Spirit is present, leading us, transforming us and guiding us.

Additionally, we do not know where the wind goes once it passes. So it is with the Holy Spirit. If our lives are under the power and care of the Holy Spirit, we do not know where we will be led. The Holy Spirit leads us in the moment but does not typically reveal our whole future. We must be content to be led by the daily gentle presence of God, allowing ourselves to be moved here and there. This requires much trust and abandonment.

Reflect, today, upon the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Look for the effects of the Holy Spirit to discern whether or not you are being truly led by God. Allow yourself to be led and moved by the Breath of God and anticipate great things in your life.

St Anselm (1033 – 1109)

Anselm was born in Aosta, in northern Italy, and became a monk of Bec in Normandy, where he taught theology and devoted himself to the spiritual life. After some years as abbot, he succeeded his master Lanfranc as archbishop of Canterbury. His bitter disputes with the kings of England over the independence of the Church resulted in his twice being exiled. He died at Canterbury on 21 April 1109. He is remembered for his theological learning and writings, and for organising and reforming church life in England.

Come Holy Spirit, renew within me the grace of my Baptism and lead me each and every day in accord with Your divine will. I abandon myself to Your glorious care and trust in the promptings of Your presence in my life. Jesus, I trust in You.

Born Again

April 20, 2020

Monday of the Second Week of Easter

“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” John 3:5

Are you born again? This is a common question among many of the evangelical Christians. But it’s a question that we should ask ourselves also. So are you? And what does that exactly mean?

Hopefully each one of us answers that question with a wholehearted “Yes!” Scripture is clear that we must receive a new birth in Christ. The old self must die and the new self must be reborn. This is what it means to become a Christian. We take on a new life in Christ.

Being born again happens by water and the Holy Spirit. It happens in baptism. When we are baptized we enter into the waters and die with Christ. As we rise from the waters, we are reborn in Him. This means that baptism does something truly amazing in us. It means that, as a result of our baptism, we are adopted into the very life of the Most Holy Trinity. Baptism, for most of us, happened when we were infants. It’s one of those things we do not think about very often. But we should.

Baptism is a sacrament that has an ongoing and eternal effect in our lives. It implants an indelible character upon our souls. This “character” is a constant source of grace in our lives. It is like a well of grace that never goes dry. From this well we are constantly nourished and renewed to live out the dignity we are called to live. We are given from this well the grace we need to live as sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven.

Reflect, today, upon your own Baptism. Easter is a time more than any when we are called to renew this Sacrament. Holy water is a good way to do just that. Perhaps the next time you are at church it would be good to consciously remind yourself of your baptism, and the dignity and grace you have been given through this sacrament, by making a sign of the cross on your forehead with holy water. Baptism has made you into a new creation. Seek to both understand and live that new life you have been given during this Easter season.

Heavenly Father, I renew today my baptism. I forever renounce sin and profess my faith in Christ Jesus Your Son. Give me the grace I need to live out the dignity to which I have been called. Jesus, I trust in You.

Divine Mercy Sunday

19th April 2020

The Feast of Divine Mercy is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Saint John Paul II, who established this feast in 2000 when canonizing Faustina Kowalska, encouraged the Church to grow in this devotion.

Sister Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) received the mission to spread devotion to Divine Mercy, fostering trust in God and mercy towards our neighbour. In her Diary she records Jesus’ request for a special feast of Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet” (Diary, 699).

The devotion to Divine Mercy spread rapidly after the beatification (18 April 1993) and canonization (30 April 2000) of Sister Faustina, and the pilgrimages of Pope John Paul II to Lagiewniki (1997 and 2002).

During the canonization ceremony in 2000, Saint John Paul II said: “It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called “Divine Mercy Sunday” (Homily, 30 April 2000). Both Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have recommended this devotion.

Also, this Sunday is called “in Albis”, in accordance with an old tradition. On this day, neophytes of the Easter Vigil were still wearing their white garment, the symbol of the light which the Lord gave them in Baptism. Later, they would take off the white garment but would have to introduce into their daily lives the new brightness communicated to them. They were to diligently keep alight the delicate flame of truth and good which the Lord had kindled within them, in order to bring to this world a gleam of God’s splendour and goodness.

The Holy Father, St. John Paul II, wanted this Sunday to be celebrated as the Feast of Divine Mercy: in the word “mercy”, he summed up and interpreted anew for our time the whole mystery of Redemption. He had lived under two dictatorial regimes, and in his contact with poverty, neediness and violence he had a profound experience of the powers of darkness which also threaten the world of our time. But he had an equally strong experience of the presence of God who opposed all these forces with his power, which is totally different and divine: with the power of mercy. It is mercy that puts an end to evil. In it is expressed God’s special nature – his holiness, the power of truth and love.

We heard the same thing in today’s Gospel: The Lord breathes upon his disciples. He grants them his Spirit – the Holy Spirit: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven…”.

The Spirit of Jesus Christ is the power of forgiveness. He is the power of Divine Mercy. He makes it possible to start all over again – ever anew. The friendship of Jesus Christ is the friendship of the One who makes us people who forgive, the One who also forgives us, raises us ceaselessly from our weakness and in this very way educates us, instils in us an awareness of the inner duty of love, of the duty to respond with our faithfulness to his trust.

In the Gospel passage for today we also heard the story of the Apostle Thomas’ encounter with the Risen Lord: the Apostle is permitted to touch his wounds and thereby recognizes him – over and above the human identity of Jesus of Nazareth, Thomas recognizes him in his true and deepest identity: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20: 28).

The Lord took his wounds with him to eternity. He is a wounded God; he let himself be injured through his love for us. His wounds are a sign for us that he understands and allows himself to be wounded out of love for us.

These wounds of his: how tangible they are to us in the history of our time! Indeed, time and again he allows himself to be wounded for our sake. What certainty of his mercy, what consolation do his wounds mean for us! And what security they give us regarding his identity: “My Lord and my God!”. And what a duty they are for us, the duty to allow ourselves in turn to be wounded for him!

God’s mercy accompanies us daily. To be able to perceive his mercy it suffices to have a heart that is alert. We are excessively inclined to notice only the daily effort that has been imposed upon us as children of Adam. If, however, we open our hearts, then as well as immersing ourselves in them we can be constantly aware of how good God is to us; how he thinks of us precisely in little things, thus helping us to achieve important ones.

Softening Your Heart

April 18, 2020
Saturday of the Octave of Easter

But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. Mark 16:14

Why did the Apostles fail to believe Jesus had risen from the dead?
They had seen so many amazing miracles first hand from Jesus. They lived with Him day in and day out for three years. They heard Him preach and teach with perfect authority and grace. And now, after He rose from the dead, their hearts were hardened and they did not immediately believe. Jesus had to appear to them and offer this proof to their own eyes.

This struggle that the Apostles went through is one that is all too common. It’s the struggle of a hardness of heart. They wanted to believe, but they couldn’t let themselves freely embrace the Resurrection with true faith until they had some proof. Little did they know that all the proof they needed was already within them.

So often we are invited by Jesus to have faith and believe in Him and to accept many things as a matter of faith. The gift of faith is like a small flame within our hearts that we carelessly expose to the winds. This carelessness allows the flame of faith to be extinguished before it can grow.

The goal of our Christian walk is to let that flame of faith become the blazing fire that God wants. And it’s possible! It’s entirely possible to let that flame become so all-consuming that nothing can put it out. Are you willing to do what you need to so as to let that flame glow brightly? And how do we do this?

The path to this blazing fire of faith within has to do with the way we handle that spark which is already there. We have to care for and nurture that small flame. We have to treat the beginnings of our faith with great care. We must guard it and feed it so that it grows. This is done, in part, by avoiding carelessness in our life of prayer.

Prayer is the key to letting God grow within. He is there, speaking to us and calling us to believe. Every time we doubt, or harden our heart, we expose that tiny flame to the elements. But every time we intensely focus upon that flame, we enable it to grow and take hold. Praying, listening, seeking, loving and believing are the ways to the faith God wants to bestow upon us. And if the Apostles would have just let that gift of faith, planted deep within, grow by a softening of their hearts, they would have quickly and easily believed that Jesus was alive without having a need to see Him with their own eyes.

Reflect, today, upon the fact that we do not see the Resurrected Christ in a physical way, but we do have the same ability as the Apostles to know and love Him. What are you doing every day to let this love and knowledge of Christ grow? What are you doing in your own faith life to let this flame become a blazing and all-consuming fire? Recommit yourself this day to prayer, and watch your faith in Christ grow brightly!

Lord, I love You and I believe in You. Help me to fan the flame of faith planted in my heart into a blazing and all-consuming fire. Help me to know and love You so that this knowledge and love transform me. Purify my soul by this fire and free me from any hardness of heart. Jesus, I trust in You.

Incredulous with Joy!

April 16, 2020
Thursday of the Octave of Easter

While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. Luke 24:41–43

“Incredulous for joy!” What a great description of the disciples’ reaction to Jesus! To be “incredulous” means that the disciples were not sure what to believe. They were hesitant to believe in what they were seeing. There was Jesus, whom they saw crucified, standing before them with the wounds in His hands and feet. He was talking to them and asked for something to eat. They were in a bit of shock, disbelief and uncertainty.

But the description says that they were incredulous “for joy!” It’s as if they were waiting to explode with joy, they wanted to experience joy in what they were seeing, but something was holding them back. It all seemed to be too good. Was it true? Could it be that Jesus really conquered death and was once again back with them?

This reaction of the disciples reveals an experience that we all have at times when invited by God to enter into His glory and grace. So often, when God invites us closer to Himself, when He invites us to experience the joy of His Resurrection, we react with hesitancy. We can find it hard to actually let ourselves experience the reality of the Resurrection in our lives.

This can happen for many reasons. Discouragement is one cause for our hesitancy to fully embrace the Resurrection. The disciples were deeply discouraged at the death of Jesus. And now that He had risen, and was standing there before them, they were hesitant to let go of that discouragement they let take hold.

So also, we can easily let the weight of the world, our sin, or the sins of others get to us. We can get angry or upset and find ourselves brewing over the apparent problems we face. Taking joy in the Resurrection means we turn our eyes away from those things and look intently at the realities God wants us to focus on. It does no good to become discouraged with the many problems that come our way. Instead, our Lord is regularly calling us to look beyond them to something greater. He is calling us to look to His victory! Looking at His victory is freeing and produces an incredible faith in our lives. And that faith in the Risen Lord will have the effect of a wonderful joy that God wants us to have.

Reflect, today, upon your own reaction to the reality of the Resurrection of our Lord. Spend some time today gazing upon the Risen Lord. Look at His victory. Look at His glory. Look at Him who calls you to a deep faith. With your eyes fixed on Him, all else that tempts you to discouragement simply fades away.

Lord, I do want to gaze upon You. I want to see Your splendor and glory. I want to see You risen from the dead and take great joy and delight in this reality. Help me, dear Lord, to experience the incredible joy that comes from knowing You, our Resurrected Lord. Jesus, I trust in You.

15th April 2020

Wednesday of the Octave of Easter

Recognizing Jesus in Your Daily Life

“Were not our hearts filled with ardent yearning when He was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures?”

Why was it difficult for the disciples to recognize the risen Lord? Jesus’ death scattered his disciples and shattered their hopes and dreams. They had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. They saw the cross as defeat and could not comprehend the empty tomb until the Lord Jesus appeared to them and gave them understanding.

Today we are reassured by the Gospel that Jesus is alive and continues to be the center around which the disciples’ community is built. The gathering of the community, the dialog with brothers and sisters who share the same faith, the reading of the Word of God, the love shared and expressed through fraternity and service, is precisely the ecclesial context in which the disciples can encounter the Resurrected.

The disciples filled with grief, couldn’t even imagine that that stranger was in fact their Master, now resurrected. But they felt «an ardent yearning» in their hearts (cf. Lk 24:32), when He talked, «explaining» the Scriptures. The light of the Word softened their hearts and «their eyes were opened» (Lk 24:31).

The story of the disciples of Emmaus is useful as a guide to us in the long journey through a path of doubts, afflictions and sometimes even bitter disillusionments; the Divine traveler continues to be our companion who introduces us, by explaining the Scriptures, to the comprehension of God’s mysteries. Upon the fulfillment of this encounter the light of the Word is followed by the light that emerges from the «Bread of Life», through which Christ fulfills perfectly His promise that He would be with us «always, until the end of the age» (Mt 28:20).

The Holy Father Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explains that «The proclamation of the Lord’s Resurrection lightens up the dark regions of the world in which we live».

Lord, thank You for loving me so much that You are always with me. Help me to see You and to recognize Your gentle and still voice. Give me the eyes of faith to see You present in the Most Holy Eucharist, and help me to discern Your presence in every ordinary event of my day. I love You, dear Lord. Jesus, I trust in You.

Monday 13th April 2020, Easter Monday in the Octave of Easter.

Fake news threatened the truth of the Resurrection.

“You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.” (Matthew 28: 13).

Many people today are familiar with the term “fake news.” These are deliberate falsehood, misinformation and lies sown by the opposition to destroy the truth. The chief priests and elders confronted with the news of the Resurrection of Jesus, bribed the soldiers to lie and sow disinformation that the Body of Christ was stolen by His disciples.

Jesus said that the good seed was sowed by the Sower during the day but the Enemy came at night and sowed tares. Pope Benedict XVI said that one of the great threats to Christianity is the existential threat to truth. Never before in human history has man been confronted by untruth and falsehood from every quarter.

Although the Church has Sacred Scriptures, Sacred Tradition and Magisterium which work together as deposit of faith and source of truth, the Church is still buffeted by flood of disinformation and fake news constantly even from inside the Church. Every Christian is bound to know the faith in other to bear witness to the truth. Not just to bear witness to the truth but very importantly to protect himself from falsehood. Many Catholics leave the Church because they “discovered scripture and the truth” somewhere.

Do not believe them when you hear “His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.”

Lord, I do believe. I believe You rose victorious over sin and death. Allow me, especially during this Octave of Easter, to enter into the great mystery of Your Resurrection. Help me to understand and experience this overwhelming glory in my life. I adore You with a profound love, dear Lord. Help me to worship You with all my might. Jesus, I trust in You.

12th April 2020

Easter Sunday

This is the Day of the Easter Joy!

And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Matthew 28:2–6b

What an experience that must have been! Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb early in the morning to pay tribute to our Lord’s sacred body. They brought the oils and perfumes that they planned on placing on his beaten and bruised body. They came to offer Him their last act of love. But as the women arrived, the earth quaked and the angel of God appeared to them.

As they left, Scripture says they then left the tomb quickly, “fearful yet overjoyed.” All they could think about was telling the other disciples of their encounter when another incredible joy befell them. Jesus Himself met them on the way. In their amazement, the women fell at His feet and did Him homage. Not the homage they planned on doing to a dead body, but the homage due to a risen Savior. They worshipped Him. Jesus then spoke: “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Mt. 28:10).

It was true. All they had hoped for came true. They saw Jesus arrested. They saw Him beaten. They saw Him falsely accused. They saw Him sentenced to death. And they saw Him die. Now for the miracle of miracles, they saw their Savior alive. Every hope that they had came true. Everything came to fruition in that moment. All that was lost was restored a hundredfold.

The Resurrection of Christ is not simply an event that took place long ago. It’s an event that continues to take place when we patiently walk with our Lord through the trials, crosses and sufferings of life, with hope and trust in His power to do all good things. Evil always loses in the end when we remain steadfast in our hope in Him.

As we celebrate the reality of the Resurrection of Christ, ponder the promise He has spoken to you. If you have surrendered all to Him and died to the world of sin, keep your eyes now on the Resurrection. Have hope in Him and in His power to breathe new life into your heaviest cross.

Sometimes we have hope in our own ideas of the Resurrection. We ask for some hope to come true because we think it is what we need. But the Resurrection of Christ should teach us that His plan for new life for each one of us is far superior than what we could ever imagine. Do you believe that? Do you maintain your hope in Christ even when all seems lost?

Reflect, today, upon the unfathomable plan that God has for your life. Know that if you remain faithful until the end, our Lord will bring forth greater joys in your life than you could ever think possible. It may not happen according to your schedule or your wishes, but it will happen in accord with His perfect divine will. Do not doubt. Do not be afraid. Have hope and trust, and anticipate the moments when the power of the Resurrection brings forth the greatest joys you could ever imagine.

My Resurrected Lord, I trust You with all my mind, heart, soul and strength. I believe that You are faithful to perfection and that Your fidelity will never fail. Give me hope when I need it the most and help me to keep my eyes on the glory that awaits. You have conquered all evil. May I always trust in You!

HAPPY EASTER !!

11th April 2020

Holy Saturday

The Lord descends into hell

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

GOOD FRIDAY

From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

The power of Christ’s blood

If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. Sacrifice a lamb without blemish, commanded Moses, and sprinkle its blood on your doors. If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.

If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.

There flowed from his side water and blood. Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolized baptism and the holy eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit, and from the holy eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam. Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh! As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.

Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.