Bearing witness to the truth of Christ

Good News Reflection
Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
May 10, 2010

Today's Readings:
Acts 16:11-15
Ps 149:1b-6a,9b
John 15:26–16:4a
http://www.usccb.org/nab/051010.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_05_10.mp3

Bearing witness to the truth of Christ

In unity with the Holy Spirit, precisely because the Holy Spirit is dwelling within us, we are empowered to successfully give testimony about Jesus Christ. And with this enablement comes great responsibility. We cannot ignore the call to be evangelizers – not without committing the sin of omission.

So the question is not IF but HOW: How are we to do this in our daily lives and personal circumstances?

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus defines the gift of his Spirit, which gave birth to the Church on Pentecost (and which we received in baptism when we became members of the Church). He calls the gift "the Advocate." In the original Greek, this translates as "Paraclete", which comes from "parakalein", which means "to invoke" ("para" is "with" and "kalein" is "to call").

From this name we can conclude that Jesus was telling us to invoke or call upon the help of his Spirit. He wants us to know that we are capable of doing whatever the Father asks of us, despite our human limitations, if we rely on the Holy Spirit.

Notice what kind of help Jesus focuses on here. He refers to the Paraclete/Advocate as "the Spirit of truth" who testifies to others about Jesus. How? Not by emails from heaven. God's Spirit teaches the truth about Jesus to the world through me and through you in our daily encounters with others.

To what extent does your everyday life bear witness to the truth about Christ's love? Or his saving power? The more we invoke the Holy Spirit, repenting of sin and asking God to increase our holiness, the more we testify to the truth in our daily circumstances.

We need to invoke the Holy Spirit whenever we're tempted to fight with someone, so that we can turn the other cheek, or whenever we feel selfish, so that we can become generous, and whenever we need help overcoming any temptation. We grow in holiness by asking the Spirit of Holiness to teach us how to imitate Christ whenever we're unable to do so on our own.

We cannot bring others to conversion or successfully invite them back to church through our own choice of words, our own wisdom, and our own understanding of what they're seeking. It's only the Spirit of Truth who provides us with the right way to reach their hearts. And it's only the Spirit of Truth who prepares their hearts and gives them an understanding of the truth that you give them.

Whenever we testify against Christ, through decisions and behaviors that are unGodly, we must turn quickly to the Holy Spirit, repent, and ask for help.

"If you realize that I believe in the Lord, come and stay at my house," said Lydia in today's first reading. Are the people around you convinced that you believe in the Lord? They will be if you continue to grow in the Holy Spirit of Truth.

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
This work is NOT in Public Domain and may NOT be copied without permission.
You may print one copy for your own personal use.
For PERMISSION and info on how to copy this reflection for sharing, see:
http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm

Find It!Seeking a past reflection?
Click this button to register for the searchable Archive Library of the Good News Reflections. One week access is free as a special gift to subscribers of these emailed reflections.

WAS THIS FORWARDED TO YOU BY A FRIEND?
To sign up for your own subscription, go to:
http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections

Donate
Why do I need you as a partner in my daily ministry?
Please help with a donation, including non-financial support. Good News Ministries affects countless lives around the world, including in countries where people have no Catholic Mass and where Christianity is persecuted. continue...

Join the cause on facebook and help spread the message!

Note: Good News Ministries is a non-profit organization that accepts donations as support for its ministries but does not charge for anything. Catholic Digital Resources™ is Terry Modica's publishing house providing professional writing services; the income from this will eventually support the future growth and projects of Good News Ministries. Please spread the word; tell your DRE, RCIA Director, pastor, etc. about what's available for parishes at Catholic Digital Resources™.

______________________________________________________________
This is the "Good News Reflections - American Edition" mailing list.
MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION:
Change your address
Unsubscribe