May 22 - One Bread, One Body
May 22, Sixth Sunday of Easter
Cycle C Readings:
1) Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8
2) Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
John 14:23-29
Two More Weeks
"It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too." — Acts 15:28
Two more weeks and we reach one of the most important events in our lives, Pentecost. Jesus continues to say: “This much have I told you while I was still with you; the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you” (Jn 14:25-26).
We need the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, what Jesus has told us will not become real in our lives. We will then become “distressed or fearful” (Jn 14:27). Without the Spirit, we will “make a pretense of religion but negate its power” (2 Tm 3:5), foster doubt rather than faith, and promote disunity in the Body of Christ. We receive the Spirit or stay locked by fear in the upper room (Jn 20:19, 26). We receive the Spirit or see our life’s work amount to nothing, for “flesh begets flesh, Spirit begets spirit” (Jn 3:6).
The word “spirit” also means “breath.” We need the Holy Spirit as much or even more than we need our life’s breath. Begin to wait and pray (Acts 1:4), to pray and thirst (Lk 11:13), to thirst and believe (Jn 7:37), to believe and obey (Acts 5:32). Jesus “breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (Jn 20:22).
Prayer: Father, renew my Confirmation. Fill me with the Spirit in a way beyond anything I have ever imagined (Eph 3:20).
Promise: The angel “carried me away in spirit to the top of a very high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.” —Rv 21:10
Praise: “It is the will of Him Who sent Me that I should lose nothing of what He has given Me; rather, that I should raise it up on the last day” (Jn 6:39). Risen Jesus, thank You for Your mercy.
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, 2022 through May 31, 2022.
†Most Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio August 3, 2021.
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.