Sunday, April 22, 2018, Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:8-12, 1 John 3:1-2, Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28-29, John 10:11-18
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042218.cfm
FILL UP
"Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke up." -Acts 4:8
At the first Christian Pentecost, "all were filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4). After Peter and John were released from prison, the first Christian community gathered to pray, and "the place where they were gathered shook as they prayed. They were filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 4:31). Stephen, the first deacon and the first martyr, was "a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5). Barnabas "was a good man filled with the Holy Spirit and faith" (Acts 11:24). The Lord commands us: "Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5:18).
We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit because we may have:
* rationed our reception of the Spirit due to sin, fear, or ignorance (cf Jn 3:34),
* quenched (1 Thes 5:19) or grieved the Spirit (Eph 4:30) through sin and selfishness, or
* had our capacity to receive the Spirit enlarged by the Spirit working in us. Thus, we have more room to receive the Spirit in greater ways, for the Spirit has changed us from petty, narrow, self-centered people to big-hearted, great-souled men and women of God with kingdom-vision.
Consequently, "receive the Holy Spirit" in fullness (Jn 20:22). "Stir into flame the gift of God" that you have received. "The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but rather One That makes us strong, loving, and wise" (2 Tm 1:6, 7). Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Father, may I never limit the Spirit's presence and power in my life.
Promise: "See what love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called children of God! Yet that is what we are." -1 Jn 3:1
Praise: Praise our risen, eucharistic Lord and Savior! Glory, power, and might be to Him forever and ever.
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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 April 1, 2018 through May 31, 2018
?Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 12, 2017
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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