Embedded Files
It’s Day 103!!
Today we will learn about THE SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH IN THE LAST DAYS
Today is the Age of the Church
We are starting with PENTECOST
Paragraph 731 says, “On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit…”
WHICH IS REMARKABLE!!
Paragraph 732 says, “On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him.”
WHICH IS INCREDIBLE!!
What does that mean?
What Jesus makes POSSIBLE the Holy Spirit makes ACTUAL
Here is Jesus in His Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven
Here is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
So ALL OF THE GRACES won for us by Jesus Christ are now ACTUAL
They are now IN OUR LIVES
These are what we call THE LAST DAYS aka THE TIME OF THE CHURCH
Where the Kingdom is already INHERITED
The Kingdom is HERE
BUT…
It is not yet fully here
It is ALREADY and NOT YET
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD’S GIFT
First is LOVE
Paragraph 733 says, “‘God is Love’ and love is his first gift, containing all others.”
The first EFFECT of the gift of love is FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS
WHICH IS REMARKABLE!!
Paragraph 735 says, “[God], then, gives us the ‘pledge’ or ‘first fruits’ of our inheritance: the very life of the Holy Trinity, which is to love ‘God [has] loved us.’”
MAN!!
JUST INCREDIBLE!!
And here is Fr. Mike’s recap of everything he just said 😀
Let’s say a prayer!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we love you and we give you praise and thanks. Thank you so much for making us yours, for calling us to be your sons and daughters, and for giving us access to your heart, Father. Because you have given us, through Christ Jesus and in the Holy Spirit, access to your Fatherly heart. So we thank you. Help us to approach you with confidence, approach you with humility, and approach you as you are. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen”
There we have it!!
SO POWERFUL!!
IT IS INCREDIBLE!!
There are two main sections
The section on PENTECOST is first, 2 paragraphs
Paragraph 731 says, “On this day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit…”
WHICH IS REMARKABLE!!
There is something about the MYSTERY of Christ’s Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven
THIS PASCHAL MYSTERY…
That is left UNFULFILLED without the coming of the Holy Spirit
BUT…
With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit…
Paragraph 731 continues, “...manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person…”
OH MY GOODNESS!!
To our SHOCK and AMAZEMENT there is a THIRD PERSON OF THE TRINITY
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON!!
Paragraph 731 continues, “...of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.”
TO US!!
TO YOU!!
TO ME!!
WHICH IS INCREDIBLE!!
Paragraph 732 says, “On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by CHrist has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity.”
WHICH IS REMARKABLE!!
The gift of the Holy Spirit RESTORES US
When the Holy Spirit has been given there is the MASSIVE REVELATION OF WHO GOD ACTUALLY IS
FATHER
SON
HOLY SPIRIT
ONE GOD
THREE DIVINE PERSONS
BUT…
These gifts of the Holy Spirit, given beginning at Pentecost, and continuing to be given
The first gift is the LOVE OF GOD
Paragraph 733 says, “‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.’”
Paragraph 734 says, “Because we are dead or at least wounded through sin, the first effect of the gift of love is the forgiveness of our sins.”
WHICH MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!!
It’s one thing to be loved and to know you are loved
BUT…
To actually EXPERIENCE the restoration that love can give…
Sometimes when we think of love we think of AFFECTION with an A
That is a real part of love
BUT…
The one thing about God’s love is that it is EFFECTIVE with an E
IT DOES SOMETHING!!
We are loved by God and it has been poured into our hearts
AND…
IT IS EFFECTIVE
How is it EFFECTIVE?
THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS!!
Paragraph 734 continues, “The communion of the Holy Spirit in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.”
Remember that we human beings are made in God’s IMAGE AND LIKENESS
While we retain the IMAGE of God because of Original Sin in some mysterious way we have lost the LIKENESS
That likeness is the GLORY
That likeness is the RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE GOD
That likeness is BEING CLOTHED IN GLORY
That likeness is BEING IN RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD
Paragraph 734 continues, “The communion of the Holy Spirit in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.”
WHICH IS JUST REMARKABLE!!
We may have never thought of that in the past until we read it
We LOST this
Now we have been GIVEN THIS
We didn’t even know that we MISSED it
We didn’t even know that we DID NOT HAVE it
So we praise God for the fact that through the Holy Spirit in the Church, the Lord has restored that LIKENESS
Paragraph 735 says, “He, then, gives us the ‘pledge’ or ‘first fruits’ of our inheritance: the very life of the Holy Trinity, which is to love as ‘God [has] loved us.’ This love (the ‘charity’ of 1 Cor 13) is the source of the new life in Christ, made possible because we have received ‘power’ from the Holy Spirit.”
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven He said, “You will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”
Power to do what?
The Apostles received power to perform miracles, drive out demons, and heal in Christ’s name
BUT…
They also received power to WALK AS CHRIST WALKED
They also received power to LOVE AS CHRIST LOVES
THAT POWER IS YOURS TOO!!
IN FACT…
What does Jesus say in Acts Ch 1?
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses.”
So it’s the power to TRULY WITNESS
Not just the power to tell people about Jesus, which is an incredible power
BUT…
The power to GIVE WITNESS
The power to BEAR WITNESS
The way we LIVE
The way we LOVE
The way we TREAT PEOPLE
The way we FORGIVE OTHERS
THAT is the power to bear witness
THAT is the power to give witness to Jesus Himself and to give witness to what He has done in our lives
WHICH IS AMAZING!!
Pope Paul VI wrote “Evangelii Nuntiandi” which means Evangelization in the Modern World
He says, “Modern man will not listen to teachers, but will listen to witnesses.”
We are so inundated by voices and opinions that modern man will not listen to just another teacher
We have to be WITNESSES
We have to NOT JUST SAY what we believe
We have to LIVE what we believe
Pope Paul VI continues, “And if modern man does listen to teachers, it is only because they have first been witnesses.”
The power of God’s love that has actually changed our hearts to live as He lived
To love as He loved
That has been poured into our hearts
WHICH IS AMAZING!!
Paragraph 736 says, “‘We live by the Spirit’; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we ‘walk by the Spirit.’”
That is the call for all of our lives
Every single one of us struggles to live what we believe
Our call is to LIVE WHAT WE BELIEVE
That is not just our call
It’s also our desire
Our desire is not just to do what Jesus tells us to do
We are not just called to that
We WANT to live that fullness of life
We WANT to live with the fruits of the Spirit
We WANT to live with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control
SO WE HAVE TO PRAY!!
We know that it is only by the POWER given by the Holy Spirit that we can do that
That’s why they are called FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
If we walk by the Spirit, we live by the Spirit, and we will have those FRUITS of the Spirit
Fr. Mike is praying for YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
On our own, we cannot do this
BUT…
WE ARE NOT ON OUR OWN!!
WHICH IS AMAZING!!
Not only do we have the Lord and He has given us the Holy Spirit through the Church and in the Church
WE ALSO HAVE EACH OTHER!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
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