which desire consumes you?
"I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God bestowed when my hands were laid on you. The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly Spirit, but rather One that makes us strong, loving, and wise." —2 Timothy 1:6-7
This is the long-awaited year of the Great Jubilee, a year of miraculous international justice and freedom. For the graces of the Great Jubilee to be fully received, we must stir into flame the gift of the Holy Spirit (2 Tm 1:6-7). In this way, the Spirit will renew the face of the earth (Ps 104:30).
Most of us reading this are baptized and confirmed. Therefore, we already have the Holy Spirit living in us. This indwelling of the Spirit should make us ever more desirous to receive the Spirit in new and deeper ways. However, we could react to our present life in the Spirit by quenching any further desire for the Spirit (see 1 Thes 5:19). Thus, our attitude towards our Baptisms and Confirmations would be something like a vaccination, which makes us immune to the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Do you want a deeper life in the Spirit more than you want anything else? Do you want the Spirit fully blazing in your life more than you want to breathe? Would you pray in an upper room for nine days to receive the Spirit more powerfully? Would you suffer to receive and to give the Spirit in Pentecost after Pentecost? Pray to have a strong, consuming desire for the fullness of the Spirit.
Prayer: Jesus, be Lord of my desires.
Promise: "Those sown on good soil are the ones who listen to the word, take it to heart, and yield at thirty- and sixty- and a hundredfold." —Mk 4:20
Praise: St. Titus was a powerful evangelistic missionary team member. Through Titus' encouragement, God gave St. Paul the strength and reinforcement to evangelize Macedonia (see 2 Cor 7:5-7).
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, July 21, 1999
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 29, 1999