"receive the holy spirit" (jn 20:22)
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; therefore He has anointed Me." —Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus, and He wants to lavish the Spirit on us (Ti 3:6) in an unrationed way (Jn 3:34). However, to receive the Spirit and grow in the Spirit, we must repent. At the first Christian Pentecost, Peter proclaimed: "You must repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, that your sins may be forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38, our transl).
The people of Jesus' home town, Nazareth, missed the opportunity to receive the Spirit by refusing to repent of not accepting Him (see Lk 4:24ff). The Corinthians had received every gift of the Spirit (1 Cor 1:7), but they did not grow in the Spirit because they refused to continue to repent more and more deeply. They remained infants in Christ (1 Cor 3:1). Life in the Spirit, and continued, deeper life in the Spirit are based on deeper repentance.
When preparing for the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, Pope John Paul II proclaimed: "The Church cannot prepare for the new millennium 'in any other way than in the Holy Spirit' " (Towards The New Millennium, 44, emphasis his). Repent and receive the Holy Spirit in a life-changing and world-renewing way. Then let the Holy Spirit convict you of sin (Jn 16:8), lead you to deeper repentance, and fill you as never before.
Prayer: Father, make me a disciple of the Holy Spirit.
Promise: "My message and my preaching had none of the persuasive force of 'wise' argumentation, but the convincing power of the Spirit." —1 Cor 2:4
Praise: Belinda had a tubal ligation. Years later, she repented and expressed it by adopting a baby girl.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our booklet, Praying for a New Pentecost, or on audio AV 92A-1, AV 92A-3, AV 92B-1 or our two video series starting with V-92A. We also offer a leaflet, The Pentecost Novena, or on audio AV 103-1 or video V-103.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 19, 2014
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.