Jn 16:5-11 Come Holy Spirit“I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you…And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness.”
Come Holy Spirit and fill our hearts with your son’s heart. Enlighten our hearts with Christ’s sacred heart. Unite this world with your word and bring your children into the fullness of the faith. Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
The days are fast approaching. The moment is at hand. The Good Shepherd will soon fill the hearts of his faithful flock. He will not leave them orphans. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Lord’s heart, will come and guide the Apostles feet and enflame their tongues. The Holy Spirit will protect them from condemnation. They will serve the Lord with the angels and all the Saints, now and forever. They will receive their just reward: Paradise! They will shame those who shame God. How? With their love and humility. He will do the same for us if we serve the same for Him.
“Brothers and sisters: Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.” (Rom 12:9-16)
Gloria Bentivegna of New York City, a devout Roman Catholic, would occasionally play the “Lotto Tree”. Her atheist son, Sal, age 28, told her to, “ask your God for a million dollars.” Of course Gloria, following the Catholic faith, and staying true to her faith, refused to ask God for such a thing. So Sal, jokingly and sarcastically prayed out aloud saying, “God, I don’t know if you’re real or not but if you are there, please let my mother win a million dollars.” Then he added, “If Jesus wants me to believe in him, that’s what he’ll do.”
The following day Gloria bought a Lottery ticket from her Church’s charity auction. As she unscratched the card, Sal was left stunned, speechless, and breathless when she won a million dollars! Realizing that the odds of his mother winning were, well, one-in-a-million (better odds than those for life on earth), Salvatore has come to his senses through reason and become a believer! “I cannot shrug off that Jesus had a hand in it.”
Walter Beals from Asheville, North Carolina, wrote “How nice. Across the globe, starving children with genuine, honest, desperate prayers, and God decides to use his power to ironically answer the mock prayers of some privileged, glutinous, supposed atheist – in order to win that atheists devotion.” Of course, Walter is being sarcastic too. His heart has not yet been moved to understand what the Holy Spirit has revealed to most of us. The Lord provides the miracles we cannot do. He expects us to provide the miracles that we can do. We can easily put an end to poverty and war if we would live the Commandments, and with just the first two: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself! How simple! He later wrote, “Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer” – author unknown. Really? The Church is so balanced in its approach. She would say that we need both. To end poverty we need to put our hands to work. To end war we should put them together and not clasp at anything other than prayer.
Life is so less complicated with Christ Jesus our Lord!
