St. Paul, in I Corinthians 3:16, writes that the Holy Spirit dwells within each of us. When Jesus was about to undergo his suffering and death, he promised the apostles, disciples and us that God would give us a gift quite remarkable. With Jesus gone, the Holy Spirit would become a part of all of us. He would be with us each day.If we truly believed this reality, this doctrine of our Church and the belief of most Christians, wouldn't our lives, our world be somewhat different ... almost radically different?
We live in a dog-eat-dog world. Competition exists: from the day your first sibling entered your life or, if you are an only child, the day your parents told you were better than the kid next door or your one of your cousins. This has made all of us consciously or unconsciously a people of judges. Directly and indirectly that competition has made us punish those who do not win, who are not on top.
Listen to conversations you hear during the next three weeks. No doubt most of them will contain a reference to another person's weaknesses, failures, infidelities, and so on. Please note if you can find a conversation where praise and admiration are heaped upon another person. Even some praise fails in many remarks: "She's wonderful but ...." "He'd make a good whatever, but ...."
If this failure to attribute magnificence to one another abounds so plentifully, is it not a sign that the Holy Spirit's indwelling in us is just talk by Church leaders and a few others? If we truly believed the Holy Spirit was within us, wouldn't we have a hard time choosing between a Jesus physically present and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us?
"Come, Holy Spirit. Fill our hearts with your love."
