Miracles Done Through Us

The Beginning of St. Luke’s Gospel tells us what he is about. He is going to take the stories of Jesus and present them in an orderly way. As we read through Luke’s Gospel this year, you will notice that the lineup of stories is not the same as in Mark or Matthew. In Luke, the stories are arranged to get Jesus closer and closer to Jerusalem, where the final act of redemption will take place. Neither Matthew nor Mark has that deliberate story line (John is a whole different Gospel all together). For Luke, Jerusalem is the place where the definitive gift of the Holy Spirit is poured out through the death and resurrection of Jesus, a Spirit that enables the disciples to go out into all the world with the good news of Jesus. The Spirit that was poured out on Jesus and the disciples is given to us as well. [Connect! Uniting Word & World]

We need to let the power of the Holy Spirit fill us, and be ready to have miracles done through us. Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus performed miracles because he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The same is true of us. Jesus promised the same Spirit to his disciples” “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth… He lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). To this very day the Holy Spirit is available to all believers who sincerely ask Him to dwell in their hearts.  If we fail to receive, and then to use, His power and His gifts, we are left with nothing but our natural abilities, and we will be unable to be used as instruments in His freeing miracles.   Miracles occur every day through weak human instruments, although they may be less spectacular than the ones Jesus performed. People whose minds are ravaged by fear and hatred can be miraculously filled with peace and kindness.   Those whose hearts are crippled with bitterness and anger can be made gentle and peaceful.   Perhaps others, whose relationships with their spouses are strained, can be   miraculously resurrected by love and faithfulness.  These are true miracles, performed by the power of God, through the Holy Spirit, often making use of human instruments.  Let us be ready to become Spirit-filled instruments of Christ’s saving freedom. [Fr. Tony Homilies]

Liturgy to Come

This week, we celebrate several saints from the early church.

Monday the 25^th is the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle, and it is a feast day. As you may remember, Precious Blood was a stational church for the “Year of Saint Paul” which was celebrated last year. An icon of St. Paul now hangs in our church.

Tuesday the 26^th is the memorial of Timothy and Titus.

Thursday we celebrate the memorial of the great scholastic, St. Thomas Aquinas. The theological teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas shaped Catholic teaching. Aquinas is known for his great devotion to the Eucharist. We have inherited the gems Tantum Ergo for Benedictio and Pange Lingua for Holy Thursday from him.

[Jill Maria Murdy, Connect!]