Jesus no longer walks the face of the earth. Now we have the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, sent by God the Father and the Son (Jn 16:7). The Spirit proves us wrong about sin (Jn 16:8). For example, the Spirit worked through St. John the Baptist to convict Herod and Herodias of their sin of adultery. Sadly, they did not accept the Spirit's correction, murdered John, and turned their backs on the Lord's prophetic message. The chosen people of Jeremiah's time likewise refused God's correction through prophet after prophet (see e.g. Jer 26:11), and their idolatry eventually destroyed their nation and resulted in being exiled into Babylon.
Occasionally, someone accepts the Holy Spirit's precious correction, which leads them to eternal life and protects them from damnation. For example, on one occasion the princes and the people who heard the prophetic warnings from Jeremiah said: "This man does not deserve death; it is in the name of the Lord, our God, that he speaks to us" (Jer 26:16). Will you repeatedly accept the Holy Spirit's corrections so as to be made holy by the Spirit of holiness? If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts (see Ps 95:7-8).
| PRAYER: | Father, burn away sin from my life no matter what it takes. |
| PROMISE: | "The Lord hears the poor, and His own who are in bonds He spurns not." –Ps 69:34 |
| PRAISE: | Alice has built her life around Jesus and has received Him daily in the Eucharist for forty years. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College