Monday
of the Seventh Week of Easter
(Acts
19:1-8; John 16:19-23)
With Pentecost
less than a week away, the Church supplies Mass readings that focus on the Holy
Spirit. In today’s reading from Acts,
the Spirit’s effect on believers is visually described.
The
disciples of John the Baptist heard of the coming Messiah but were baptized
according to John’s rite of repentance. Only
being able to recognize their sins, they experienced difficulty reforming their
lives. Paul arrives to help them. He likely gives them instructions regarding
the Spirit before he baptizes in the name of Jesus. Immediately they show the Spirit’s effects by
living in a new way. They speak in
tongues, praise the Lord, and hold forth prophetically about the good they must
do.
The Holy
Spirit is inviting us to pray these days that we may more energetically live
what we believe. He will come to show us
how to bring about peace through selfless love.