Come, Holy Spirit

~~~ Pentecost Sunday ~~~

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 104 ~~~
~~~1 Corinthians 12:3B-7, 12-13 ~~~ John 20:19-23

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

The third person of the Trinity descends upon us today.
God the Father, creator of all, is the God of the Old Testament.
God the Father sent his Son, Jesus, to live with us.
The Son came to teach us how to live in love.
Jesus sends down the Spirit to keep us inspired.

Today we celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is like a powerful wind and a tongue of fire.
The Spirit comes as the great communicator.
The Spirit transcends all languages...
all locked doors...all closed hearts and minds.

The gift of the Holy Spirit sparks us
 to reach beyond our normal boundaries.
The Holy Spirit transforms us to see with new eyes.
The Holy Spirit breaks the chains of fear.

The Holy Spirit comes into our souls with peaceful power.

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.

There is no doubt, you have been given the gift of the Spirit.

It is for you to accept or ignore your specific gift.

How the Spirit manifests itself in your life
is unique to your soul.

Let the Holy Spirit move you
 to use your gifts.

Blessings in allowing the Holy Spirit
to manifest your gifts in your life.

O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours...

The Spirit in me honors the Spirit in you.
Peace be with you.

He Breathed on Them

~~~Pentecost Sunday ~~~

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 104 ~~~

~~~ 1 Corinthians 12:3B-7, 12-13 ~~~

~~~ John 20:19-23 ~~~

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

And from your celestial home

Shed a ray of light divine!

Jesus entered into the upper room passing through the locked doors.

He calmed their hearts and souls with words of peace.

And then he did something most unusual...

...he breathed on them and said to them,

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

At that very moment the breath of Jesus...

given to him form God the Father

was passed on to us.

We received the Spirit, the same Spirit 

given in the upper room thousands of years ago.

The breath of Jesus became

 the conduit for the Spirit to come down upon us.

The wind and the fire give evidence of the force of the Spirit.

If you take away their breath, they perish

and return to their dust.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the earth.

Once we no longer have the breath of God to sustain us we perish.

Does that come at the hour of our death?

It is the breath of God that keeps us alive...the spirit supplies 

each breath we take.

With each breath we are being created again.

Without this life giving breath there is no possible

 way for the face of the earth to be renewed.

It is through us that the Spirit carries 

out the Divine plan for renewal of the earth.

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit

is given for some benefit.

Our gifts are brought to full fruition

 through the wind and fiery power of the Spirit. 

Let the Spirit into your life...

Let the Spirit rule in your heart...

Let the fire of Passion carry you from one day to the next.

It is both awe-inspiring and humbling

 to step back and give witness to the workings of the Spirit.

It gives me goose bumps when I recall 

the many times I have been blessed to recognize the presence of the Spirit.

The Spirit orchestrates all things good in the appropriate time.

The Spirit leaves no details to chance;

everything is put together with precision...dare I say perfection.

...we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

There is only one Spirit.

Jesus breathed it into you and into me.

There is nothing you can do to stop the power of the Spirit.

Give them joys

 that never end. Amen.

Peace from Jesus, giver of the Spirit.

Wind Fire Spirit Presence

~~~ Pentecost Sunday ~~~

 

~~Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11~~Psalm 104~~1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13~~John 20:19-23~~

 

And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

For fifty days we have been eagerly awaiting the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was not born in the closed locked room that day.

The Holy Spirit was officially sent down to us as promised by Jesus.

 

While Jesus was hear on Earth he was the presence of God.

After his Ascension into heaven,

it was necessary for the Holy Spirit to become an integral part of our world.

Once the force of the Holy Spirit became known

it is also evident that God would never leave us alone.

 

When the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at the time of his baptism,

it was perceived as a peaceful dove.

There was no powerful wind blowing.

There were no tongues of fire.

It was the Father validating the public life of Jesus.

I believe, Jesus was guided in his ministry through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was doing all that the Father had sent him to do,

but it is hard to believe that the Holy Spirit was not involved as well.

 

Jesus did not need to have the Holy Spirit descend as a powerful being.

 

Those who were huddled together in the upper room that day,

they absolutely needed to see, hear, and feel the power of the Spirit.

There was no doubt that the Spirit had descended upon them.

 

They saw the Spirit coming from the sky.

They heard the sound of the strong wind.

They felt the wind swirling around them passing through the entire house.

They then saw something more vivid than imaginable...

tongues of fire...detached individual flames.

These burning spear of fire rested above their own heads.

This fire did not burn or consume them.

Imagine how speechless and awe struck they all must have been at the same time.

This experience added the huge emotional component.

 

Our brain tends to remember best those events heavily laden in emotions.

This event would forever be remembered;

it was indelibly recorded

in their brains.

 

Even as we read it today we can picture in our mind what it might have been like that day.

We may not be able to capture the emotions first hand, but we can

identify with the sensory details.

 

 

The coming of the Holy Spirit made it possible for all peoples

to hear God's message of love.

They each heard in their native tongue;

which astounded both the speakers and their audience.

 

Perhaps the real message here is that the

 peace and love from God is not language specific.

 

Jesus made visible the attributes of God in flesh and blood.

The Holy Spirit makes possible the essence of

Jesus to remain with us.

The Spirit continues to work in and through us here on Earth today.

The Spirit is the living God among us.

The Spirit bring a whole array of gifts for us to use.

 

The Peace of God is with us until the end of the ages.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come Holy Spirit, Renew the Face of the Earth!

Acts 2:1-11~~~Psalm 104~~~Cor. 12:3b-7,12-13~~~John 20:19-23

The Holy Spirit (he) will glorify me (Jesus) because he will take
what is mine and declare it to you.

Whatever comes to us from the Holy Spirit comes from the Father,

because they are all one in the same.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of us, your faithful,

and kindle in us the fire of your love.

The Spirit comes as tongues of fire, the breath of Jesus, and strong driving wind.

The Spirit comes with the unseen

power of God the Father and the undying love of the Son.

The Spirit brings spiritual gifts to each individual for some benefit.

Do you know your gifts?

Are you using your gifts to benefit someone else? 

Are you denying your gifts?

Are you misusing your gifts?

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

If we live in the Spirit we too bear the fruit of the Spirit...

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience,

Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness,

Gentleness, and Self-Control.

Even though we are many we are one body, just as a body is one

though it has many parts. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.

We were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Locked doors cannot keep the Holy Spirit from entering, but a closed locked heart
can deflect the realization of the gifts of the Spirit.
May the embers in the bottom of your heart be fanned into vibrant
flames for the Lord today. We are anointed in the Spirit today and sent forth...
We cannot stay behind closed locked doors.

Come Holy Spirit renew the face of the earth.
Instill in our hearts the desire to make visible the fruit of your Spirit.
Always giving credit to the one who sends down the Spirit.

Though many we are one body in Christ and we come to do your will.
Receive the Holy Spirit...
Peace be with you!

Every Breath You Take

~~~ Acts 17: 15, 22- 18: 1~~~ Psalm 148 ~~~ John 16: 12-15 ~~~

Today the reading form the Acts of the Apostles

gives one of the most beautiful verses...

"For 'In him we live and move and have our being'..."

How can you read those few words and not rejoice?

How can you read those words and not be filled with gratitude?

He sustains us each and every day through his love for us.

I am truly sad for those who try to deny God in their lives.

I am sad for those who want to condemn even God

 instead of giving him praise and thanksgiving

for their very breath.

He, our Lord and God gives life to each and every living thing.

He created us in his image, 'we are the offspring of God'.

As Pentecost approaches let us be aware of the Wonder and Awe of God.

Wonder and Awe is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

More on those in future posts.

Also in Acts today a word of caution...

"We would like to hear you on this some other time"

it might not be such a wise decision to put God on the side until later.

When the Holy Spirit is acting in your life and stirring up your heart

it is time to listen.

It may also be time to take action.

We do have a patient and polite God...

I would invite you to think twice before asking him

to wait until 'some other time'.

Do not put of until tomorrow what God is asking of you today.

He may only make the offer one time...Who knows?

Be open to the Holy Spirit...sent by the Father to be with us

after the Son returned to him.

The Father just keeps on giving us priceless gifts...

first his Son and then the Holy Spirit.

"For 'In him we live and move and have our being'..."

What more could we possibly ask of him?

"Everything that the Father has is mine;

for this reason I told you that he will take

from what is mine and declare it to you."

We humbly stand before the Lord unworthy as we are

to receive his many gifts.

To him we give praise and glory.

Let each breath you take be a reminder that we do indeed

live and move and have our being

in Him.