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Sunday, December 15, 2002

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Third Sunday of Advent


Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Luke 1:46-50, 53-54
John 1:6-8, 19-28

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"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me." —Isaiah 61:1

To meet Christ this Christmas, we need the Holy Spirit to guide us (see Jn 16:13). Most of us have the Holy Spirit because we have been baptized and confirmed. However, the central question is: "Does the Holy Spirit have us?"

  • Do we relate to the Holy Spirit as a Person? (see Catechism, 686)
  • Does the Holy Spirit possess our lives to direct us as He wills?
  • With Mary, have we said to the Holy Spirit: "Let it be done to me according to Your word?" (see Lk 1:38)
  • Are we quenching the Spirit (1 Thes 5:19) — or are we baptized in, that is, immersed in the Holy Spirit? (Mk 1:8)
  • Are we preoccupied with the Holy Spirit?
  • Do we walk, talk, work, pray, eat, buy, love, think, and sleep in the Holy Spirit? (see Gal 5:25)
  • Have we offered our bodies to be the temples of the Spirit? (1 Cor 6:19)
  • Do we have the life in the Spirit or merely occasional moments in the Spirit?

The only true Christmas Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Are you in the Christmas Spirit? "Come, Holy Spirit!"

Prayer:  "May the God of peace Himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thes 5:23).

Promise:  "He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord." —Is 61:1-2

Praise:  Praise Abba, the risen Christ, and the Holy Spirit!

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend David L. Zink, June 12, 2002


Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 13, 2002