MOVEMENTS OF THE SPIRIT - One Bread, One Body, 1/7/2010

Thursday, January 7, 2010, St. Raymond of Penyafort

1 John 4:19—5:4, Psalm 72:1-2, 14-15, 17, Luke 4:14-22
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/nab/010710.shtml

MOVEMENTS OF THE SPIRIT

"Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee." —Luke 4:14

Jesus inaugurated His public ministry by proclaiming: "The Spirit of the
Lord is upon Me" (Lk 4:18). In the Spirit, Jesus preached, prophesied,
taught, healed, and delivered many people from the evil one. He called us,
His followers, to do the same. He even promised that we would do greater
works than He did (Jn 14:12).

Many Christians in our secular humanistic culture doubt whether they can
have such power in the Spirit. They don't see great conversions, healings,
and deliverances. Their experiences, or lack of experiences, seem to prove
the Bible wrong. Yet what if our experiences, not the Bible, are wrong and
woefully limited?

Before Jesus manifested such great power in the Spirit, the Spirit had
already performed two other works in His life. At the River Jordan, the
Spirit descended on Jesus (Mk 1:10) and cried out in His heart, "Abba"
("Father") (Gal 4:6). Then, affirmed as the beloved, favored Son of God,
Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit (Lk 4:1). To receive the
power of the Spirit, we must first go with the Spirit into the waters of
our own "Jordan River" to receive our baptism or renew it. Then, we must
go into the desert. There we will know deeply the Father's personal love
for us. Then we will receive the power of the Spirit to be like Jesus.
This Sunday, on the celebration of the Baptism of Jesus, receive the first
movement of the Spirit.

Prayer: Father, in a deeper way give me the Holy Spirit, the only true
Christmas Spirit.

Promise: "We, for our part, love because He first loved us." —1 Jn 4:19

Praise: At age twenty, St. Raymond taught Christ-centered philosophy for
free at Barcelona, Spain.

(For a related teaching, order our tape "Power in the Spirit" on audio AV
64-1 or video V-64.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

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, 2009 through January 31, 2010
†Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of
Cincinnati, June 4, 2009

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

You can find One Bread, One Body archives, the letter to readers, OBOB
eBook edition, and an online donation form at
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2010 Presentation Ministries

To add your e-mail address to this list go to
http://www.presentationministries.com/general/emailList.asp

To remove your e-mail address from this list go to
http://www.presentationministries.com/general/emailList.asp?mode=r