Jesus Appears to His Disciples
This short gospel ends with a powerful gift given to us by Jesus in his last few days on Earth. “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
One of the biggest blessings we have received from God is the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are able to live purely through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit can be such an obscure entity to understand. But the Holy Spirit is what keeps you connected to God and it is our duty to kindle that connection with every passing day. If you ever feel disconnected from God or away from your Faith, the first step is to rekindle your connection with the Holy Spirit in you – at least this is what I have found whenever I find myself straying away.
In troubling days, the Holy Spirit is your light. Remember that. In the sacrament of penance, we are forgiven our sins through the action of the Holy Spirit. We believe that mercy founds hope and change in our soul. Christ assures us that his power will never leave us, so we have no reason to give up after a few bad incidents in our life. Rather, the Holy Spirit’s goal moves us from mercy to transformation into Christ, permitting us spiritually to carry and reveal his wounds to an unbelieving world.
Through the Spirit, Jesus will always strengthen our faith, enable us to witness, and help us proclaim a powerful gospel.
In order to kindle our connection to the Holy Spirit, we must be forgivers. After Jesus gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit, he said that we have the power to forgive those who trespass against us. If we truly want to live purely, we must learn to forgive others and live in peace.
These deeds are easier said than done. But I ask you, my brothers and sisters, to ignite a heart of gratitude and forgiveness and maintain it as a discipline. I will be doing the same.
