The action of the Holy Spirit

In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke wrote of direct witnesses to the descent of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem: “The Holy Spirit filled them all and began to speak … as the Spirit gave them to speak” (Acts 2: 4). charged with several symbols, such as a hum, tongues of fire, the power to speak in other languages, or a dove symbol, by the Jordan River when Jesus was baptized. The descent of the Holy Spirit is a great act of God witnessed by various people who ask, are they not all that the Galileans say here? And … “(Acts 2: 7-11). This event can be understood as a kind of contradiction of the tongues at the Tower of Babel. There was a sign as a consequence of human pride, people stopped understanding, and here is the beginning of a new life characterized by the understanding, it is the beginning of a great process in history, we begin to understand the Holy Spirit as the power and strength of God, as a dynamic moment in history that sets in motion the history of the Church. in this way we see the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, but that does not mean that it was just a one-time event. The Holy Spirit began his activity, which will last until the end of time. The Holy Spirit is and will be the main initiator of the Church’s history as her inner guide to her life. We have become accustomed to speaking of the Holy Spirit in the Church in connection with the sacraments of Confirmation. Still, the Holy Scriptures and Church tradition tell us of the Holy Spirit, which cannot be bound, acts like an unfettered wind, and acts regardless of our customs, wherever and when it will. Our faith teaches us that the Holy Spirit will seize man regardless of any customs, which is not conditioned by man’s age or status.

We also need to accept as our words the words of the Lord Jesus, which after his resurrection, when he breathed on the apostles, said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22). And then he gives the feared apostle commission, power, and sends them into the world “To whomsoever ye forgive sins, they shall be forgiven; and to whom ye retain them, they shall be detained” (Jn 20:23). Jesus entrusts the apostles with the power of the Spirit and sends to the world, not as prophets of doom and despair, but as shepherds to seek lost, lost, sick sheep and to mediate the remission of sins. Jesus wants us to receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus wants us to become and feel members of God’s family, those who are endowed with His Spirit. Thus, not only receive the sacraments of baptism and confirmation but also receive the sacrament of repentance – the remission of sins. As we receive sacramental forgiveness, we profess the Holy Spirit. No religion emphasizes or proclaims as intense forgiveness as Christianity. It is also our job to bear witness to God’s forgiveness in our lives. For us, faith is not just Christmas or Easter, but the whole year we live our responsibilities and tasks. Our faith cannot and must not and cannot be confined to our homes, churches, or limited to our homeland. The Holy Spirit leads us to active faith, the activity of love, truth, justice, in all areas of social life, in science, culture, art, politics …

The Holy Spirit appeals to us to think of those who have not heard of God or who have not been sufficiently preached to the gospel. The Holy Spirit then led the apostles into the whole known world. The apostle Peter goes to Rome, the capital of the then-largest country. The apostle Andrew preaches the gospel in the Black Sea countries and later in southern Greece, where he was crucified in Paras. The apostle James, the elder brother of the apostle John – called the “sons of thunder” for his nature, dies first in his homeland, where he fearlessly proclaimed to the natives the teachings of Christ. His brother alone did not die a martyr’s death when he suffered a lot. He preached the gospel in Asia Minor, especially in Ephesus and in exile on the island of Patmos. Philip died a martyr’s death in present-day Turkey in Hierapolis, nailed to a cross and stoned to stone. James the Younger preached the gospel in Jerusalem, where he was thrown off the walls and conquered by a club. The apostle Bartholomew, a native of Cana of Galilee, went to preach the gospel to India. In Macedonia, at the behest of King Astyag, they stripped him of his body and executed him. The Apostle Thomas proclaimed Christ in Persia, today’s Iran, was a small-scale fisherman. When he has received the Holy Spirit, he not only cries out “My Lord and my God,” but in Mailapur near Madras, India, he dies stabbed. Stonemasons, surveyors, and architects have chosen him as his patron. in Ethiopia, Pontes, Persia, first a customs officer and a martyr with a spear, the apostles Simon zealot and Judas Thaddeus worked for Christ in Egypt, Arabia, Syria. It was martyred in Mesopotamia; Judas was a cousin of the Lord Jesus. They came out of a small country to proclaim the teachings of Christ to the whole world, not only to receive the Holy Spirit but also to be led by them and to witness to faith in Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Today we have a duty to witness the faith of Christ in the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, God is distant. In Christ, we would belong to the past; the gospel would be dead script, the church would be only an organization, the liturgy only memories, and the Christian life a state of slaves. The Church of Christ still lives and will live today. She is still alive and young in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit still rules the Church today through the pope, the bishops. The Church in the Holy Spirit can give what other movements, organizations, parties cannot and cannot give. In the Holy Spirit, even today, new and more workers go to the vineyard. Cardinal Newman said the Church could be seen as a stained-glass window. Only the outlines can be seen from the outside, but if we want to see the beauty of the window-stained glass, we must enter the bottom and look towards the light. He who enters the Church’s communion and looks at the people, things, and events in the Holy Spirit receives completely different values ​​about the Church.

Even today, the Holy Spirit inspires the bold paths of the apostles of the new evangelization. Even today, he accompanies those who receive him and can be guided by their gifts. Even today, the Holy Spirit is the engine of the activity and activity of the Church. The Holy Spirit, therefore, filled not only the Turks and not only the apostles with his gifts, but also today and all of us, when we do everything to witness the faith.

Look, a sect came for the young man. The young man had a deep faith, and as soon as he settled the sect, he told him, “Before you start convincing me, let me ask you one question? “Tell me, would it be wise for a driver to pump gas at a full tank at a gas station?” “No, that wouldn’t be wise,” the sectarian replied. “You see. My heart is full of the Catholic faith. Full! Refueling faith in my heart would be unwise. And therefore, I advise you to find another man, an unbeliever, who has an empty heart, has no faith in his heart, and refuel with faith. I will pray for you, that you may also be happy, that you may have true faith. “The sectar rose, thanked, and left. But I came to tell you that on the way from you, I thought with what love you received me, how you spoke nicely to me, and that is why I am leaving the sect, I will no longer be a sect, I also want to become a Christian Catholic. Thank you! ” And he embraced the young man and his man with tears in his eyes.

The Church has her witnesses, and the Holy Spirit wants to have each of us. It is right that today – on the feast of the Holy Spirit, we also want to be true witnesses of the faith. We are aware of our testimony. Let us pray for new missionary vocations. We ask for those who work in missions.” Come to the Holy Spirit.”