The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria
was at peace.
She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to bring his peace to his people. Let us ask him to show us his consolation so that his Church may be built. What we believe is difficult to accept from a natural perspective.
Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
Only if the Holy Spirit is active and moving in the Church can this word spread as it is meant to spread.
It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
This is why signs and wonders and the spread of the Gospel are so closely associated. They both mean the Spirit is present and moving.
Peter said to him,
"Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed."
He got up at once.
We remember the words of Saint John Paul the Great, who says, "Whenever the Spirit intervenes, he leaves people astonished. He brings about events of amazing newness; he radically changes persons and history". This is certainly the case with Peter's own ministry in Acts.
Then he turned to her body and said, "Tabitha, rise up."
She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.
But the Spirit and life that mark the words of Jesus and the ministry of Peter are meant to mark the modern Church as well. Conversions don't necessarily require miracles, it is true. But they do require the Holy Spirit, and where he is present miracles invariably follow. His presence is always supernatural. It is always surprising. And it is always essential.
Do we have trouble accepting the hard teachings of Jesus? Does a lack of miracles in our own lives only compound that difficulty? If so, where do we look for the supernatural Spirit whom we desire. We should turn to the words of Jesus himself because these words words can make the life of the Spirit present to us.
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."
We may be tempted to believe that this revelation of the identity of Jesus is less miraculous than later when Peter raises Tabitha from the dead. It is no less miraculous. It is every bit is dependent on the presence of the Holy Spirit as was that miracle.
With Saint John XXIII let us pray, "Renew your wonders in our time, as though for a new Pentecost." We can see that we need this renewal. We need to be open to anything the Holy Spirit wants to do in our midst. We can no longer place him in a box based of limitation based on our own flawed expectations. We need to let him out! When we give the Holy Spirit free reign in our lives and in our Church it is we ourselves who find freedom.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
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