Reflection for Wednesday December 24, Fourth Week of Advent; Luke 1:67-79

Gospel: Luke 1:67-79

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

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Reflection:

When do you feel that you are full of the Holy Spirit? It’s when you make prayer part of your daily life. You pray not once a day, not twice a day, not thrice a day, not four times a day, not even five times a day. You pray more than the sum total of the numbers that was mentioned.

Many of us do not pray often everyday because we think that it takes time to pray, no it doesn’t take time to pray. We can even pray even for a few seconds because the efficacy of our prayer is not measured by its length it’s measured by our focus and intensity.  

In our gospel we have the father of John named Zechariah. He is not only a priest he is also a holy man and as such he is a prayerful man; he prays with focus and passion. Because of his prayerful life it was already automatic for Zechariah to be filled with God the Holy Spirit.

The canticle of Zechariah was not only his own making it was also largely influenced by God the Holy Spirit whom he was always in-touch with thru his prayerful life. It was the Holy Spirit who empowered Zechariah to compose his canticle or song of praise for God.

Do you have an effective and passion filled prayer life? Do you feel in a very special way the presence of God the Holy Spirit in your life? - Marino J. Dasmarinas