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Message of the Day
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He (or she) who searches for Divine Reality with all his heart and soul and finds it, becomes aware that, before he began to seek God, God was seeking him, in order to draw him into the joy of fellowship with Him, into the peace of His Presence; even as a child who has strayed, when he is safely back in his mother’s arms, realizes that she had been searching for him, with deep maternal love, before
he had begun to think about her.
- Sadhu Sundar Singh
(God is seeking you. What is your response?)
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Readings of the Day
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Acts 17:15, 22—18:1; Ps 148:1-2,
11-12, 13, 14
Jn 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of
truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is
mine
and declare it to
you." USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To a God Unknown.’ Now, what you are thus worshiping in ignorance I intend to make known to you.” —Acts
17:23
Jesus says in today’s Gospel that He is sending the Holy Spirit to take God’s riches revealed in Jesus and announce them to us (Jn 16:14). Jesus came to make God known to us. Let’s spend our lives getting to know God, and then helping others to know God. . . We must not be like the Athenians,
who came to the altar to worship a god they didn’t know, and worshiped “just in case” this unknown god had power to improve their lives. We cannot merely put in our time at the altar in case God might bless us (see Mk 7:6-7). Let us rather spend our lives growing in a relationship of love with our God, Who wants the earth to “be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea” (Is 11:9). During the next week, we pray the Pentecost Novena in preparation to receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. God has sent the Spirit so we can know Him. “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22). Prayer: Father, “I wish to know Christ” (Phil 3:10), the Holy Spirit, and You. Fill me with an insatiable hunger and thirst to know You more deeply every
day. Promise: “When He comes, however, being the Spirit of Truth He will guide you to all truth.” —Jn 16:13 Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Three, Gift of the Spirit Chapter 4: Transformative
Gifts - Selected quotes
There is another mystery here, and it is that even among the most willing and fervent souls, we do not find equal manifestation of the gifts. The Spirit grows them differently in depth and proportion in each of us. Knowing this can help one to be less
inclined to compare him/herself with another: e.g., who seems to be more wise, or more pious. God has made each of us different and unique; who we are is good, and the way the gifts develop in us is what is good for us. As long as we are open to the Spirit and are doing what we feel moved to do by the Spirit to grow in Her gifts, that is all that can be expected. Even this certainty isn’t always possible, of course, and so we must be assured that our offering of self to God is
acceptable, and that if God wants more of us, it will be made known.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit give us a good way to recognize Christian character. They describe the kind of intelligence and willingness that the Spirit produces in people who are being transformed in Christ. Our growth in these gifts enables us to become more and more like Christ—not only through word and
action, but at the level of being. It is as though a new kind of sap is running through the branches that we are on his vine, and we grow new leaves and bear more fruit accordingly. Most amazing!
Take a few moments now to consider the seven gifts of the Spirit. How do you experience them in your life? You might compare their manifestation during an earlier part in life with where you are now
to get a perspective on this. Which of the gifts seems strongest in you? Weakest? What helps them to grow?
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