Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

In Acts 19:1-8 Paul continues on his journey and upon finding some of the disciples in Ephesus ask them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They replied, "We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."John had baptized them with a baptism of repentance, telling them to believe in the one who was to come after him, Jesus. When Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. When we are Baptized the following words are spoken " I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.". We are now cleansed of Original Sin, and receive sanctifying grace, and the life of God within our souls. As the disciples had done before us , we now begin our journey as Christians . We will study about our Faith and observe others as they practice the teachings of God. In our daily lives we will be guided by our God to do his will and know that he is always with us.

The Gospel of John 16: 29-33 " Now you are taking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God." The disciples now have a better understanding of the things Jesus has spoken to them. In our own daily lives, we will be challenged by family issues, work, school, immigration, the poor, the homeless, the homebound. As Christians we need to ask ourselves, what path do you wish to take in doing Gods work? After some prayer and reflection you will be guided by the Holy Spirit to continue to do God’s work here on earth.

Babs Newman