Open to the Holy Spirit
April 16, 2013
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
By Beth
DeCristofaro
Stephen said to the people, the elders,
and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you
always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. (Acts 7:51)
So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I
say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives
you the true bread from heaven. … Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever
comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
(John 6:32-35)
Piety
Marantha. Come Lord
Jesus, this day be resurrected again in my heart so that your light might shine
through my words and deeds. May people
see and praise the glory of God through your reflected light.
Study
On a balmy April day, 30+ years ago, I sat at
the edge of Boston College campus, the top of “heartbreak hill” and cheered on
the runners in the Boston Marathon. As I
write this, I am saddened at the horror news of a bombing. Meanwhile our congressional leaders are
fighting over who is worthy to have a share in the resources of our country – a
worth often defined by what one does. Public
debates rage gun owner rights vs. human safety.
My mom is saddened by the story of an elderly friend whose adult
children, living out of state, do not talk to her anymore.
You stiff-necked people.
It’s all too easy for me, for most of us, to fall into the trap of being
right all the time. But the bomber feels
he is right. We Americans each think our
slice of perspective is right. (And I
don’t believe that the US corners the market on attitude. Just see Syria and N. Korea as extreme
examples). Someone hurt by a loved one
is justified to hold a grudge or stay distanced out of self-protection. But are any of these stances
life-giving? Do any of them give glory
to God or reveal the Word made Flesh whose death and resurrection freed us to
know and accept the lavish love of the Creator?
Action
In what way am I stiff necked? How am I co-opting the merciful love of Jesus
from reaching others? St. Faustina heard
in her vision of Christ that God’s mercy is a gift for all, “Thus the message of divine mercy is also
implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is
precious in God´s eyes; Christ gave his life for each one; to everyone the
Father gives his Spirit and offers intimacy.”[i]
Pay attention to and review attitudes and
interactions with people in the illuminating light of mercy and love. I might not be able to stop a bombing but I
can perhaps touch, heal, soothe, and lovingly accept someone who is in deep
need of God’s presence.
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