Antoni BigCuore *
"And no one can say," Jesus is the Lord! " except under the action of the Holy Spirit ”. (1Colour, 12, 3)
Tomorrow, 31.05.2020, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. Fifty days after Easter. The practically “official” day, of the foundation of the church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Petrine Church, the ONLY continuator of the Apostles.
For the sake of information, we go back to the Old Testament, more specifically, in the Book of Exodus, chapter 23, verses 14 to 19, which deals with the main Jewish festivals, one of which the “Harvest” is considered the Jewish Pentecost.
Let's go to the text: “Three times a year you will make a pilgrimage. The first will be the Feast of Unleavened Bread, (also known as Unleavened Bread) (1) which will be celebrated like this: for seven days, as I ordered you, you will eat unleavened Bread, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, because it was in that month that you left Egypt. No one should appear empty-handed before me. The second pilgrimage will be the feast of the Messe, the feast of the first fruits of his sowing work in the fields. And third pilgrimage at the Harvest party, at the end of the year, when you collect the product of your work in the field. Three times a year, the entire male population will appear before the Lord Yahweh ”. ( 2 )
0.1. Church Guided by the Holy Spirit.
This is how the catechism of the Catholic Church says in canon 767: “After the work that the Father had entrusted to the Son to do on earth, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost to permanently sanctify the church.”
"It was then that the" church manifested itself publicly before the crowd and started spreading the Gospel with preaching ". Because it is a "call" of all men to salvation, the Church is, by its very nature, a missionary sent by Christ to all peoples to make them disciples.
"To carry out the mission, the Holy Spirit" endows and directs the church through the various hierarchical and charismatic gifts ". For this reason, the Church, enriched with the gifts of its Founder and endeavoring to faithfully observe its precepts of charity, humility and self-denial, received the mission to announce the Kingdom of Christ and God and to establish it in all peoples; of this Kingdom it constitutes the germ and the beginning on earth ”.
0.2. Mystical Body Church of Christ.
There is a lot of confusion in the minds of the people regarding the concept of the church. The most beautiful concept I think, is of the Mystical Body of Christ. The church as the Mystical Body of Christ, is incorruptible, infallible, perfect in all aspects!
0.3. Hierarchical Church
Opponents of the Catholic Church criticize it for its rigid structure. But, between us, if there are failures in every organization, imagine if there were no hierarchy? That is why it has existed for over 2,000 years! The gates of hell will not prevail against it. (Mt.16,19-20)
Pope, Cardinals, Bishops and Fathers, all united in one ideal: the Ideal of Jesus Christ, the ideal of the Kingdom of God!
0.4. Visible Church.
Church, not that of bricks and clay, but the group of people. The Assembly, made up of human persons from all walks of life, united in a SINGLE IDEAL of love for God; in short, it is the people of God on pilgrimage in this land. This is the pilgrim church, visible. Church on the way to heaven!
Conclusion: the most important of all, is to follow, in daily life, the steps of Jesus and his commandments. It is to fully assume his Discipleship and, this implies in loving as Jesus loved !.
Doing everything he left, boils down to: “LOVE GOD ABOVE EVERYTHING AND NEARBY LIKE YOURSELF !!!. This is the greatest Law. It sums up all of God's true love for us, and us for Him, and for our neighbor.
TRUE RELIGION IS LOVE! João Evangelista who best conceptualized the meaning of God: GOD IS LOVE !!! “Now, the world passes by with its concuspiciencies; but what does the will of God REMAINS ETERNALLY ”(1Jo, 2,17).
The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; and the love of the Father and the Son, who has guided the church since the great and magnificent moment of Pentecost. We confirm in the book Act of the Apostles, chapter 2, verses 1 to 4: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all gathered in the same place. Suddenly, a noise came from the sky like the blowing of a strong wind, and filled the house where they were.
"Then one appeared as tongues of fire, which spread and came to rest on each one of them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit allowed them to speak."
Read and meditate on the Bible, especially the New Testament, made up of the gospels, apostolic letters and the apocalypse.
And, most difficultly, put all this into practice. It's difficult, but not impossible!. Start slowly, setting small goals, and over time, increase it until you reach the sweet spot.
Spirituality is a long way. It is imperative that we take the first steps !. Let us not forget that Faith is a process and as such it progresses as the Disciple feeds on the nectar of the Word of God.
The Word of God is exciting, it subtly envelops us so that, when we realize it, we are already immersed in its river of living water. The Master tells us: whoever believes in Me, will see rivers of living water, gushing within themselves.
And that living water is the Holy Spirit of God !!! It is he who enlightens us in our daily decisions; that inspires us to do any job well done; that clarifies our reason and intelligence and, above all, gives us the GIFT OF DISCERNMENT!
It is worth mentioning that Mary Most Holy is the One who most identifies with the Holy Spirit, because it was through her that she begat the Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ (read in Luke 1).
And, above all, the sacramental experience. The sacraments are sensitive signs of God's grace; they are considered the foundation of the Church of Christ !. Above all, confession (reconciliation) and the Holy Eucharist.
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THE MASTER SAYS : “I AM THE LIVING BREAD DOWN FROM HEAVEN. WHO EATS THIS BREAD WILL LIVE ETERNALLY. ”
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A Holy Sunday to all, and may the Holy Spirit of God always send their blessings from heaven in profusion, protecting them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
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Antoni BigCuore. Author is Writer, Friend of Good and Communicator of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the whole planet. Access and publicize his BLOG BEM VIVER BRAZIL: http://antonibigcuore.blogspot.com (self-knowledge, homeostatic spirituality and healthy living). His philosophical and poetic link: www.recantodasletras.com.br/autores/antonibigcuore
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