On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were
locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in
their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he
showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the
Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. 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. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and
whose sins you retain are retained.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
An old man was wondering how he could have an awareness of the presence
of the Holy Spirit in his life. He was often murmuring to himself, “I’m already
old yet I don’t feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.” This old man is not
alone in this predicament because many of us have no awareness of the presence
of the Holy Spirit.
What is the secret for us to become aware that the Holy Spirit is alive
and working in our lives? The secret to unleash the presence of the Holy Spirit
is a prayerful life. Not an intermittent prayer life but a life disposed to
daily prayer. Perhaps we can allocate five to ten minutes everyday for prayers
and meditations. Then slowly but surely the Holy Spirit will manifest its
presence within us.
In our first reading we read about the disciples and the Blessed Mother
who were together in one place. What were they doing there? They were
praying (Acts 1:14) until God the Holy Spirit blessed them with its indwelling
presence in their lives (Acts 2:1-4).
The same occurrence happened in our gospel. The disciples were in one
room because of their fear of the Jews and they were praying to Jesus. Then
suddenly Jesus appeared to them. He greeted them with peace; afterwards He
breathed on them and gave them the presence of the Holy Spirit.
If we want to have an awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit
there’s no other way for us to do but to have a regular prayerful life.
Let us strongly pray for it so that we would be blessed by its presence and
gifts such as: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude/Courage, knowledge and
Fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2).
Do you already feel the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit in your
life? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment