50 Ways to Get Through Easter... Person & Presence!

“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.” (John 16: 13)

Easter Day #38 & #39: Person & Presence!

My Parish hosted our Bishop last night for the Celebration of Confirmation. In the Catholic Faith, this is a recognition of the “coming of the Holy Spirit”! Just like at Pentecost, when the fire of the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples, our young people were called to accept the coming of the Spirit, and bring forth their individual giftedness, and use the Gifts of that Spirit to serve the community, and one another! Celebrations like this are long, purposeful and absolutely amazing! I get to witness the PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit, and the PERSON of Jesus Christ, as they come to bear the Truth to a new generation.

As we walk through Easter together, we too must remind ourselves that we are in the PRESENCE of God, calling us to be PERSONS of faith. To be a Christian is to be a PERSON who see themselves as part of the “WE”, and not just an “I”. To be in the PRESENCE of our Lord is the “real deal”.

Today, I am not sharing a symbol of faith with you, I am sharing a real Truth and a real PRESENCE, and I am calling you to be a real PERSON who is rooted in the PERSON of Jesus Christ. As the quote from John’s Gospel says, “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.”.

The Spirit of God is among us and around us, and truly PRESENT in our midst. To be the best PERSON you can be, is to open your eyes, ears and hearts to the reality of the power of the Holy Spirit, and act on the gifts and Truth that it bears. For just like the young people did at last night’s celebration of Confirmation, you too can be in the PRESENCE of something absolutely amazing, and dedicate your whole PERSON to acting on the power that comes with the Holy Spirit.

50 Ways to Get Through Easter... OOMPH!

“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15: 26-27)

Easter Day #37: Oomph!

When the “Advocate” comes... Not sure what JC is promising here? The “Advocate” is the Holy Spirit, who comes from God, which points all back to JC.

When the Spirit comes into your life, it provides the “OOMPH” that you need to take things to the next level! Tomorrow, my Parish celebrates Confirmation, which in my Catholic Tradition is “the coming of the Holy Spirit”. 107 teens and six adults are “confirming” that they are open to the coming of this “Advocate”, or Holy Spirit; and once they say “Amen”, that OOMPH begins to provide the kick necessary to enter into a life of trying to do what Christ has called them to do! The giftedness of the power of the Spirit, and the fruits of its actions in the world are empowered by this mysterious OOMPH that comes with a visit from God!

Example of OOMPH: The Super Hero Trilogy

Be open to the OOMPH, and don’t be concerned if you find yourself feeling like a Super Hero in the required three movies of the standard trilogy. Let’s thank George Lucas for this! In these Super Hero movie trilogies, the first movie is always about the “WOW, I’ve got super powers, and I can do good things to help people... and I get the girl!” The second movie always seems to bring the arrival of the formidable “Micky Rourke kinda bad guy” who is determined to bring down Mr. Super Hero, and his pretty girl! This of course poses the challenge to the Super Hero, “Can I see this through, or should I consider giving up?” Suddenly, out of nowhere comes the OOMPH, and Super Hero beats the bad guy! It used to be, in the single episode Super Hero Movie, that he would get the girl again; but lately, there has to be sacrifice from our Super Heroes, which will ultimately disillusion them as they enter the third movie. This part of the trilogy (a la Spiderman) results in the Super Hero dabbling with the “Dark Side”, only to rediscover his/her purpose and original identity, which guides him/her to accept (even if it is reluctantly) the super powers given them to make the world a better place!

With that, consider yourself a “Super Hero” with a lot of OOMPH coming your way. God bless you on your journey through your own “Trilogy of Life”.

50 ways to Get Through Easter... Elan VITAL!

“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized, and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength. (Acts 9: 17-19)

Easter Day #20 - Today’s word(s): élan VITAL

If we are focusing on élan, the FORCES within life and nature, then it is important to distinguish between that force, and the force of its creator. If the LIFE and NATURE are described as having an élan (force), then the creator of LIFE and NATURE, God Himself, must use THE ultimate force, which we’ll call élan VITAL!

It is that ULTIMATE force, that we can call the power of the Holy Spirit, that creates, saves and redirects the efforts of us all to share love with one another. “Saul”, the persecutor of Christians, is hit by this élan VITAL, blinded and stopped in his tracks, only to be challenged to become something greater than he ever thought he would be... “Paul” is the result!

Let THE élan VITAL enter your life this day, to make you even more than you ever thought you could be!