On Sunday, the last day of Christmas, our true Love, Jesus, will give us a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit, the true Christmas Spirit. On Sunday, we will celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in fulfillment of one of Isaiah's prophecies (see Lk 4:18; Is 61:1). On that last day of Christmas, we will be given a renewal of our Baptisms and Confirmations. We will have a new Pentecost and a deeper life in the Spirit. We will end Christmas in the Spirit and begin a year of the Holy Spirit in which we will "bring glad tidings to the poor ... liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind" (Lk 4:18).
However, the Holy Spirit will not come upon us against our will. We must accept the grace to be docile to the Spirit. This means:
The question is not: "Do we have the Holy Spirit?" but "Does the Holy Spirit have us?" Come, Holy Spirit, very soon!
| PRAYER: | Father, may this Christmas season result in many thousands receiving the Holy Spirit deeply. |
| PROMISE: | "We, for our part, love because He first loved us." –1 Jn 4:19 |
| PRAISE: | Robert faced his fears and surrendered them to the Holy Spirit. |
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