Instrument of Holy Spirit

Scripture/Bible: In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." Luke 1:39-56

Reflection:  The great feast of Pentecost is over and we are back to our old grind. I do not know what impact the feast may have made to many of us.  How did we celebrate? Did the Holy Spirit have some remembrance in our life?

But primary to that, we need to ask ourselves this; does the Holy Spirit have any place in our lives. We may have been baptized in the Holy Spirit at baptism and many of us may have welcomed the great gifts of the Holy Spirit while receiving the sacrament of confirmation.  Some of us may even have a devotion to the Holy Spirit.

A right attitude towards the Holy Spirit, and allowing him room in our lives, makes us instruments of him. We cannot be overflowing vessels, like Mary, when the Holy Spirit is quenched, grieved or stagnating, as most Catholics do. (1Thes. 5:19; Eph. 4:30).

In today’s Gospel text Mary was an ideal instrument through whom the Holy Spirit overflowed with life on to Elizabeth and the John the Baptist.

The Holy Spirit is given to us so that we may have abundant life (Jn. 10:10) and also share in the very life of God (1Jn. 1:3). It is an invitation for us creatures to live as children of God by accepting Jesus as our Lord and master. (Jn. 1:12)

Finally, the Holy Spirit is given us to bear witness to Christ Jesus who makes all this possible and this witnessing is aimed at inviting others too into this fellowship with God and with one another. (1Jn. 1)

It is not a human agenda of pure fellowship with each other or building of pure human communities.

Prayer:  Eternal and faithful God, may we who are called into the fellowship of your Son Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, never cease to grow in him as Mary did. (cfr. Col. 1:9)

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us