The story is told about a little boy who wanted to bring inside the house his new bike, but his mother said “no,” telling him that the Holy Spirit will be watching his bike outside, so no need to worry! That night, the boy started his prayer: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son … amen.” The mom said: “Where is the Holy Spirit?” The little boy said: “Oh, He is outside, watching my bike.”
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Today is Pentecost, the descent, the coming of the Holy Spirit, bringing so much power, comfort, guidance, and protection upon us! Yes, the Holy Spirit has been given unto us, but the problem is that for many of us, He is outside, not quite inside us!
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In today’s Gospel (John 20: 19-23), we hear how the disciples locked their doors for fear of the Jews. But Jesus Himself came to them and stood in their midst and said to them: “Peace be with you.” May we not lock our doors and keep out the Holy Spirit from our hearts. Without the Holy Spirit, we become fearful, sinful, and sorrowful.
The presence of the Lord removed the fears and gave joy to the disciples. Let us not forget to invite the Lord into our hearts to make us experience His loving and assuring presence, and allow Him to show us the “big picture,” and help us just believe, trust, and surrender (BTS!), and experience hope and joy again as we encounter problems, difficulties, disappointments, and failures as we journey on.
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“Come Holy Spirit!” The Holy Spirit is at work “outside” us, in creation, in world events, renewing the face of the earth. Truly, and surely, the Spirit is moving and working in our midst. But we also must ask Him to work inside us, renew, invigorate, and guide us in our hearts. Pentecost must go on in each one of us. This happens insofar as we allow ourselves to be truly open to and in tune with the stirrings of the Holy Spirit.
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A personal Pentecost happens every time we earnestly pray “Come Holy Spirit!” We must pray this more often. We have a gift, a guide, a comforter, a protector! But we often keep Him outside us, and we forget to lean on someone who is there to really help and empower us. Why? Because we often lean on our own understanding and rely on our own power and resources. Why? Maybe because of our ignorance or because of our arrogance.
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There are so many unused “apps” in our smartphones. And the most unused “app” in our Christian life is “CHS.com,” Come Holy Spirit! With the Holy Spirit, doors open, hearts soften, darkness disappears, vices are overcome, relationships are restored, and joy and hope happen! Pentecost is here and now. All that we need are the humility and openness to make it happen.
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May we allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify our thoughts, words, and deeds. Without the Holy Spirit, our thoughts are vain, our words are shallow, and our deeds are empty. The thing is that we have a tremendous source of power and sanctity, but we still continue to rely on our power and understanding.
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Come Holy Spirit and help us to acknowledge your presence in our lives; accept your power in our lives; abide in your love in our lives. Triple A!
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One thing I have realized is that I need to carry the Lord’s presence more and more. It is when I carry God’s presence that I experience true peace, freedom, and discipleship. When I carry myself, I experience fatigue, stress, limitation, and pride. Yes, He must increase, I must decrease. Mea culpa, mea culpa! We need a personal Pentecost every day, and we need Pentecost now in our world that is so full of selfishness and pride. Come Holy Spirit!
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A moment with the Lord.Come Holy Spirit! Come Holy Spirit. Amen.
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momentswithfrjerry@gmail.com