Good morning good people. May the Risen Lord give you peace and happiness.
It is 7th May 2024. We reflect on Acts 16:22-34 and John 16:5-11.
How we worship God during difficulties can lead others to Him.
In our Christian living, we all face the spiritual realities of sin, judgment, and righteousness. To portray Jesus as our Saviour, we need to believe and do things that lead others to believe in Him.
In the first reading, we read about the imprisonment of St. Paul and Silas. There was an opportunity for them to run away from prison when the earthquake shook the entire prison and freed the inmates from the shackles. Yet the prison inmates decided to stay back and this moved the heart of the prison guard to believe and accept Jesus as the Saviour for himself and his entire household.
When we are praising and worshiping in situations, however painful it could be, it would evoke the spirit in the others.
The “yes” of St. Paul and his companion manifested in their lives attracted others to come closer to God. So no matter who ill-treats and abuses us, let us continue to do good and praise God.
When the Spirit of Truth appears during the time of prayer and praise, He will lead them to the fullest truth.
In the Gospel, Jesus explains the reason for which He had to return to the Father.
It is the Spirit of God who comes when Jesus goes back to the Father to show us all where did we go wrong with regarding to sin, judgement, and righteousness.
Personal conversion is not possible without the help of the Holy Spirit.
Sin is always wrong to undermine the power of Jesus.
Sin is ugly and makes one dirty by refusing to believe Jesus as the Son of God and Saviour. The Holy Spirit would make us understand what sin has done to us personally and at large. When the Holy Spirit enters us, He explains and exposes the sin in us and in the world, not to condemn but be to make us in communion with Christ more deeply.
It is the same Spirit of truth that would clarify our minds to understand judgment as the eternal condemnation pronounced by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, and His righteousness is proven by ascending to the Father.
Personal conversion is not possible without the help of the Holy Spirit.
May God help us to lead people away from sin and to make them meet Christ Jesus in our personal and spiritual lives.
May you have a good day.
God bless you.
Fr. Peter Fernando, OFMCap.
Director, Office of Family Ministry, Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA).Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.♣Website:https://reflectionsofpeter.org/.♣Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/samarpet
St. Mary’s Catholic Church Dubai belongs to the Vicariate of Southern Arabia Arabia (AVOSA). Please follow this LINK to learn more about AVOSA: https://avosa.org/vicariate
To follow AVOSA’s Ordo, the annual calendar containing abbreviated directions for each day’s Mass and Divine Office, please follow this LINK: https://avosa.org/ordo