On Pentecost, after praying for nine days (see Acts 1:14), we "receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn 20:22). In fact, we are "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4). Better than that, we are baptized in the Spirit (Acts 1:5), that is, we are immersed in the Spirit. We not only drink the waters of the Spirit but, in a spiritual sense, we are under and stay under these waters.
Living under the waters of the Spirit is a new life. Naturally, when we go under water, we can't breathe, but, supernaturally, being under the waters of the Spirit is the only way we can breathe fully. However, we are tempted to come up out of the waters of the Spirit for another whiff of the polluted air of the world and the flesh. "The flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh" (Gal 5:17). However, we must resist these temptations and stay immersed in the Holy Spirit. "When men have fled a polluted world by recognizing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are caught up and overcome in pollution once more, their last condition is worse than their first" (2 Pt 2:20).
On this Pentecost, take the plunge and live under the baptismal waters of the Holy Spirit.
| PRAYER: | Holy Spirit, fill me, surround me, and submerge me. |
| PROMISE: | "No one can say: 'Jesus is Lord,' except in the Holy Spirit." –1 Cor 12:3 |
| PRAISE: | Praise You, Abba, for sending the Holy Spirit. Praise You, risen Jesus, for baptizing us in the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8). Praise You, Holy Spirit, for filling the whole world and renewing the face of the earth! (Ps 104:30) |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College