Notes for today's sermon:
At the dawn of Creation the Spirit hovered over chaos waiting for the Father to speak, He created man so that man can see the glory of Cod.
The Spirit speaks through the prophets so mankind can hear the voice of God.
The Spirit overshadows the Blessed Virgin, and God becomes Man so that man may see the face of God.
After the suffering and death of Christ, it is through the Power of the Holy Spirit that God raises him on high.
It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that the fearful Apostles are given courage to burst out of the barred and sealed upper room to go and proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the people gathered in Jerusalem.
By his power they suffer persecution, by his power within a generation the Church is dotted throughout the Mediterranean.
By his power the early Christians receive the courage to witness to Christ, laying down their lives amidst torture an barbarity of the Roman Empire.
When peace comes to the Church, it is through his power earnest young men and women flood into the deserts to become hermits, monks and nuns intent on a life of prayer.
Through his power Christians evangelise Gaul, Britain, Ireland and the dark lands of Northern Europe.
Through his Power men like Francis and Dominic and their followers tramp the roads of Europe proclaiming the love of God.
Through his Power faith grows and develops building the great cathedrals and monasteries which build European culture.
Through his Power faith spreads to the Americas, to sub Saharan Africa, to Asia.
It is the same Spirit that gives courage to inspire the martyrs to be faithful even to death, to inspire those young priests to come to England to suffer the most brutal of deaths, "just" to offer the Sublime Sacrifice of the Mass.
The same Spirit that gave the 20th century such remarkable men and women as Theresa of Calcutta, Damian of Malacca, those countless martyrs in Mexico, Spain, Africa, under the Nazis, under the Communists in Eastern Europe, in China, in practically every part of the world.
It is the same Spirit which draws you here today, that led you to pray this morning, that will keep you faithful until death, that sustains your marriages, that enables you to live chastely, that draws you to feed the hungry, to visit the imprisoned, to forgive and to seek forgiveness, to grow in holiness and eventually to see God face to face.
It is this same Spirit that gives us courage, he is "not the Spirit of timidity" but the Spirit of courage.
Let us pray to receive the Spirit of courage to complete the work of Christ's salvation.
1 comment:
More than ever the 'Catholic Voice' needs Courage to speak up against the evils that are befalling our world on account of man's disobedience to the Word of God.
Please Holy Spirit - enkindle in us the fire of your love and give us the words and wisdom to speak out in Truth wherever and whenever we find ourselves in situations which require us to witness to our Faith. Whether at home in the midst of family, in the office, on a building site or factory among our fellow workers, in the pub with our mates especially if we hear the Holy Name of Our lord profaned in any way.
Timidity is NOT for our times. We need a good dose of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Courage, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord.
These must become the guiding tenets of our lives as Catholics and ultimately through us the guiding principles of our societies and our world. Nothing else works and that's well proven!
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