Gospel: John 20:19-23
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.”
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Reflection:
Have we been in a situation where we feared for our life? The disciples
were in this predicament after Jesus died on the cross. They were running for
their lives and were being hunted by the ruling power during that time. It must
have been very difficult for them some of them might have even wore disguises
to avoid being recognized.
With low morale and fearing for their lives they still managed to
communicate and agreed to meet in a locked room. While in the room and perhaps
praying and strategizing for their next plan of action, lo and behold the Lord
Jesus appeared to them. For what reason? To give them hope and peace. And
before they separated Jesus breathed on them and gave them the abiding presence
of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes it is in the lowest point in our life that the Lord Jesus
manifests His presence to us. Perhaps this is so because this is always the
moment when we are in need of Him. This is the moment in our life that our
minds are not preoccupied by worldliness but is solely occupied by our thirst
for the Lord.
Yet the Lord comes to us not only by Himself, He comes to us bringing
with Him peace, hope and surely the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Why
the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit? Because the Lord Jesus perfectly knows
that we would be facing our own share of difficulties as we continue our journey
in this world. For example the difficulty and mental disturbance that many of
us are going through caused by this Covid-19 pandemic.
The Holy Spirit is also with us so that it can disturb our conscience
whenever we sin or are planning to sin. It can give us Wisdom, Understanding,
Counsel, Courage, Knowledge and Fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). Let us
therefore pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and let us ask Him to shower
us His many gifts.
You may ask, “Do I pray to the Holy Spirit?” Yes I do! Before I type my
reflections I always say a short prayer addressed to God the Holy Spirit and I
ask for Wisdom, right mindset and guidance. And as I type the song come Holy
Spirit is also playing softly on the side.
Do we always pray to God the Holy Spirit? Do we always ask Him to guide
and lead us? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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