Pentecost
Tonight as the day winds down I am sitting here on my laptop trying to write something profound, memorable, about Pentecost. You see writing is a strange beast the harder you try to control it the more it rebels against you; the less you try to control it the more is cooperates. Writing viewed in this light is a microcosm of the spiritual life. The more you try to control your life on your own the less you are successful, the less you try to control your life on your own the more you are successful. It is this type of letting go which is at the heart of our relationship with Christ. (I still suck at this)
I remember when I first began writing my blog over a month ago I had this idealistic view of writing. I believed that I would be able to write effortlessly, prolifically, and without too much effort. But as I have been writing more the more I have begun to realize that writing is hard work; it takes persistence, dedication, and discipline. I guess this reality is the same for any worthwhile endeavor in the world. Now regarding Pentecost...
Jesus says in the scriptures,
"And behold I send the promise of my father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed from power on high." Luke 24:48
So how do these words apply to my life? It is simple, Jesus is renewing his call to me about sending the holy spirit into my life. I remember last year during Pentecost weekend I was in the midst of completing a Life in the Spirit Seminar. I had been to 4 previous ones, but this LIS struck me in a profound way. On the eve of Pentecost during the baptism of the spirit as the entire group was praying and praising the Lord we were encouraged to ask God for specific gifts. I remember in the past I had chosen gifts such as, tongues, prophecy, courage, etc. But during this particular LIS I felt the Lord put it on my heart to ask for the gift of evangelization. I remembered as I was being prayed over by the prayer teams I felt this overwhelming peace, this electricity which seemed to flow through my entire body, a certain type of greater awakening to God's call in my life. Ever since I came to the faith it has always been my desire to preach, to evangelize, to spread the word of Christ, to each person that I met. I can't say that I have been always successful, but I can say with reasonable certainty, that this past year I have been much more bold in proclaiming my faith. So how did this happen? It is simple through the Holy Spirit. Without this power from "above" I would just be some fledgling, scared, gutless, guy, who would perpetually hide his faith, in the convenient quiet of his 11x13 room. The Holy Spirit took me out my comfortable mediocrity, and replaced it instead with a burning zeal to proclaim Christ to all the world.
As I was reflecting upon these things today it was comforting to see how in just one year the Lord had totally changed my life. In the span of one year, I got married, became a provider while a student,fought my mental illness on a daily basis, finished school, co lead a Eucharistic adoration group, and even began a blog. All of these things would have been impossible if I had not received "power from above". So as this Pentecost winds down I am grateful for the miracles that Christ has already blessed me with and I am excited for the many more miracles that he has in store for me this upcoming year. It is my humble prayer that all of you open your hearts to receive this power "from on high" If we all do this collectively than the whole world will be set ablaze by the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit.
I remember when I first began writing my blog over a month ago I had this idealistic view of writing. I believed that I would be able to write effortlessly, prolifically, and without too much effort. But as I have been writing more the more I have begun to realize that writing is hard work; it takes persistence, dedication, and discipline. I guess this reality is the same for any worthwhile endeavor in the world. Now regarding Pentecost...
Jesus says in the scriptures,
"And behold I send the promise of my father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed from power on high." Luke 24:48
So how do these words apply to my life? It is simple, Jesus is renewing his call to me about sending the holy spirit into my life. I remember last year during Pentecost weekend I was in the midst of completing a Life in the Spirit Seminar. I had been to 4 previous ones, but this LIS struck me in a profound way. On the eve of Pentecost during the baptism of the spirit as the entire group was praying and praising the Lord we were encouraged to ask God for specific gifts. I remember in the past I had chosen gifts such as, tongues, prophecy, courage, etc. But during this particular LIS I felt the Lord put it on my heart to ask for the gift of evangelization. I remembered as I was being prayed over by the prayer teams I felt this overwhelming peace, this electricity which seemed to flow through my entire body, a certain type of greater awakening to God's call in my life. Ever since I came to the faith it has always been my desire to preach, to evangelize, to spread the word of Christ, to each person that I met. I can't say that I have been always successful, but I can say with reasonable certainty, that this past year I have been much more bold in proclaiming my faith. So how did this happen? It is simple through the Holy Spirit. Without this power from "above" I would just be some fledgling, scared, gutless, guy, who would perpetually hide his faith, in the convenient quiet of his 11x13 room. The Holy Spirit took me out my comfortable mediocrity, and replaced it instead with a burning zeal to proclaim Christ to all the world.
As I was reflecting upon these things today it was comforting to see how in just one year the Lord had totally changed my life. In the span of one year, I got married, became a provider while a student,fought my mental illness on a daily basis, finished school, co lead a Eucharistic adoration group, and even began a blog. All of these things would have been impossible if I had not received "power from above". So as this Pentecost winds down I am grateful for the miracles that Christ has already blessed me with and I am excited for the many more miracles that he has in store for me this upcoming year. It is my humble prayer that all of you open your hearts to receive this power "from on high" If we all do this collectively than the whole world will be set ablaze by the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit.
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