Friday, May 18, 2012

Waiting for the Holy Spirit

The Easter Season is almost over and here I am just beginning to write again! Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. Today we--by the "we" I mean the whole Church--is praying the Novena for Pentecost. As the Acts of the Apostles tells us after Jesus ascended into heaven he instructed his followers to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He told them, "You will be clothed with power from on high." That is a reassuring promise, especially when you think that the Apostles up until that time were a rather timid bunch of fishermen and assorted other gentlemen. They were gathered in prayer "with Mary the Mother of Jesus." To be rooted in Scripture then it is good to pray with "Mary the Mother of Jesus."
Prayer is what enables us to be in the presence of God, and to gain a spiritual energy and resources that we cannot have without God. I remember a young father in Hawaii describing his little boy's comments when they would begin their family's prayers at night. The boy would reassure his daddy: "Now we've got 'the
power' Daddy!"
This month of May I have been making an effort to pray the rosary for many intentions. Of course, praying for peace in troubled areas is one of those intentions. The rosary is compared to the gospel, since it reminds us of all the major episodes in the life of Jesus. Someone once said it is like carrying the gospel in your pocket.
I pray too for all the folks whom I meet in my mission: either face-to-face or virtually.
After seeing once again the movie, Julia and Julie, which depicts a young woman who was faithful not only to cooking but to her daily blog, I resolved to get back to the keyboard once again!

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