1 John 4:19—5:4, Psalm 72, Luke 4:14-22
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/nab/010809.shtml
WAITING FOR THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; therefore He has anointed Me." —Luke
4:18
Sometimes our hearts just break. We wish we could wipe out starvation, set
all the captives free, reconcile every broken marriage, and evangelize the
world within twenty-four hours. However, before we try to do anything and
everything, we must wait for the fulfillment of the Father's promise, the
release of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).
The Christmas season will end Sunday with the celebration of the baptism
of Jesus. When the Spirit descended on Jesus at His baptism, He began His
public ministry (Mt 3:16ff). We too can receive the stirring up of the
Spirit at the close of this Christmas season. Then we can begin
ministering "glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives,
recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners" (Lk 4:18).
Jesus didn't move into ministry nor was the Church born until the Spirit
was poured out. We desperately need to end Christmas with the release of
the Spirit. In the next three days, we should grow thirstier for the
Spirit (Jn 7:37), and go to Confession. Then we should wait and pray in
the upper room for Power from on high, the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
Prayer: "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and kindle
in them the fire of Your love."
Promise: "Everyone begotten of God conquers the world, and the power that
has conquered the world is this faith of ours." —1 Jn 5:4
Praise: Gloria forgave the drunk driver that crashed into her car.
(For a related teaching, order our leaflet "Praying for a New Pentecost"
or our audio tapes AV 92A-1, AV 92A-3, AV 92B-1 or our video series of two
tapes that starts with V-92A.)
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Rescript: In accord with the "Code of Canon Law", I hereby grant my
permission to publish "One Bread, One Body" covering the period from
December 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009
†Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of
Cincinnati, June 17, 2008
The rescript is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be
free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have
granted ecclesial permission agree with the contents, opinions, or
statements expressed.
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