May 19, 2024 - One Bread, One Body
May 19, Pentecost
Cycle B Readings:
1) Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34
2) 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13 or Galatians 5:16-25
John 20:19-23 or John 15:26-27; 16:12-1
Submarine
“It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized.” —1 Corinthians 12:13
On Pentecost, after praying for nine days, we “receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:22). In fact, we are “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). Better than that, we are baptized in the Spirit (Acts 1:5), that is, we are immersed in the Spirit. We not only drink the waters of the Spirit but, in a spiritual sense, we are under and stay under these waters.
Living under the waters of the Spirit is a new life. Naturally, when we go under water, we can’t breathe, but, supernaturally, being under the waters of the Spirit is the only way we can breathe fully. However, we are tempted to come up out of the waters of the Spirit for another whiff of the polluted air of the world and the flesh. “The flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh” (Gal 5:17). We must resist these temptations and stay immersed in the Holy Spirit. “When men have fled a polluted world by recognizing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are caught up and overcome in pollution once more, their last condition is worse than their first” (2 Pt 2:20).
On this Pentecost, take the plunge and live under the baptismal waters of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, fill me, surround me, and submerge me.
Promise: “No one can say: ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except in the Holy Spirit.” —1 Cor 12:3
Praise: raise You, Abba, for sending the Holy Spirit. Praise You, risen Jesus, for baptizing us in the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8). Praise You, Holy Spirit, for filling the whole world and renewing the face of the earth! (Ps 104:30)
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Imprimatur ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from April 1, 2024, through May 31, 2024. †Most Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 22, 2023."
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.