The prophet Ezekiel, about 600 years before Christ, taught that God would one day cleanse his people with “clean water” and put his “spirit within them” and that God’s redeemed people would receive “a new heart…and a new spirit.”
In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus teaches that those promises are being fulfilled through the spiritual rebirth available through Him. In Baptism, each of us has experienced a spiritual rebirth. Yet, the Christian life requires constant rebirth and renewal. Our rebirth isn’t just a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, we are to have an openness to the change God wants for us, constantly growing in the virtues of fortitude, temperance, prudence, and justice, constantly growing in patience, and generosity, and joy.
This rebirth brings a new relationship with God’s Spirit. Yet this relationship can be challenging for us. “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Our Christian life, the new life of Christ entails an openness to God’s Spirit. But, that spirit can’t be controlled by us, just like the wind can’t be controlled. It can propel us, it can empower us, but it can’t be controlled by us; in the spiritual life, we aren’t the ones in charge.
In the Acts of the Apostles we get a glimpse into the life of the early Church, what attentiveness to the Holy Spirit looks like—we read how the Holy Spirit was guiding and empowering this community. “The community of believers was of one heart and mind.” That’s the work of the Holy Spirit, to make believers of one mind and heart—God’s thoughts and God’s love guided and unified this community. And one of the marks of this love and unity was that no one claimed their possessions as their own.
That is certainly not to say that they had adopted Communism as their form of government. They weren’t compelled by some Communist Dictator—forced to own nothing. Yet, they had this profound willingness to sacrifice for each other, and use their own goods for the good of the other because they really loved each other—so much so that if anyone had a need, each one considered themselves responsible to meet that need.
Here’s the challenge for us today: Is your love for the people in this parish community so profound that you are willing to sacrifice everything for them? If not, why not? Are we here at St. Clare of one mind and one heart with the universal Church, with the Bishop, with the Pope, with the Holy Spirit? If not, why not? What needs to change in us? We are called to new life, and attentiveness to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
May each of us consider how the Holy Spirit is propelling and empowering us to greater generosity and patience and faith for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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