THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH Come, Holy Spirit, and renew our lives

Acts 2:1-4: When Pentecost day came round, they had all met 2 together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were 3 sitting; and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these 4 separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves.

e. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, they build up the first Christian communities, the Apostolic Church.

It was also through the preaching of the Apostles that people were converted, have been baptized and received new life in Christ (Acts 2:38, 41) What do they do? They spent their time in learning from the Apostles, taking part in the fellowship and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers (Acts 2:41). St. Paul describes the people of this New Covenant as a letter of Christ, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of human hearts (2 Cor 3:3) . It is the Spirit gift of God who is love (1 Jn 4:8, 16) the first gift which contain all the others, and which has been poured out into our hearts (Rm 56:5, CCC733) that until now continues to work in the Church. In summary, a. the Spirit is the one giving life ( 1Pt. 2:9; AG<15) Acts 15:28) b. the Spirit unifies ( PCPII, 428/Ag,4; 1 Cor 12:8-11) c. the Spirit moves to ministry: - agent of evangelization - continues and brings the work of Christ to perfection - precedes, accompanies and fructifies the work of the Church - impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel - causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood in the depths of consciences - shows His presence, power and activity not only in the Church but in the signs of the times that mark the contemporary world (PCPII,212-15) - Vatican II declares that the Spirit inspires in the hearts of the faithful same spirit of mission which impelled Christ Himself (AG 4). Thus, the Church is

OBJETIVE: To prepare ourselves in order to welcome the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit has a mission: to renew our lives and the life of the whole Church. He will guide us to the truth life: Jesus Christ. A. The Spirits Activity in the Church

Pentecost: In St. Luke`s Acts, the Church is inaugurated with the spectacular outpouring of the Holy Spirit. All were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). All people are called to be witnesses of the life of Christ. Thus, this event too, can be described as the birth of Christian communities (Acts 2:38). Background: What happened in this time? The coming of the Spirit to the Apostles has the following fruits: a. Each one of them was change inwardly as they felt the Spirit the same spirit of Jesus. b. They became stronger in the faith - in Christ Paschal Mystery c. They understood more what is to be an apostle of Christ. They became what they should be. The apostle has received that call and identity and it was also what they shared. d. They became more vibrant in sharing their experiences; they became more inspired to continue the work of Christ.

kept focused on its primary mission of preaching the Word of God, making her own words of the Apostle Paul Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel. (1 Cor 9:16; LG 17). The Spirit also moves the Church to renewal and purification Guided by the Spirit, the Church ceaselessly exhorts her children to purification and renewal so that the sign of Christ may shine more brightly over the face of the Church (GS 43)

the Spirit inspires true Christian life

C. Two Basic Life Orientations ( Rm 8:4-6) a. live according to the flesh, turned against God and toward sin and death. b. Live according to the Spirit of Christ, toward life and peace.

St. Paul contrasts the two orientations: But as always, the Spirits work is never a substitute for our human endeavor. Rather the Spirit inspires and empowers us with new, unsuspected strengths to grapple with the ever new problems and challenges of daily life. Besides, He often creates and opens up for us surprising new possibilities for fuller and deeper human life, both personal and communal. B. The Activity of the Spirit in Christians The natural man does not accept what is taught by the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness and he cannot understand it, because it has to be judged spiritually. The spiritual man, on the other hand can appraise everything. (1 Cor 2:14) St Paul assures the early Christians: You are not in the flesh; your are in the spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you (Rm 8:9) And exhorts: since we live by the Spirit, let us follow the spirits lead. (AGl 5:25) Note: To the Christian converts: they no longer are merely natural, material individuals, weak and tied down to earthly things. Rather they are under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who is the strength and power of God working in and among them. The Spirit reveals the spiritual dimension within everything material, including our bodies since He is creatively active in everything that exists. Only through the Holy Spirit is all matter sanctified by Gods grace. Apart from the Holy Spirit, been spiritual things become carnal and dead in sin.

The Holy spirit joins us to Christ. First, the Risen Christ is present within us and among us today in His Spirit. Second, the Spirit is the inner source of our life of faith by which we accept Jesus, (1Cor. 12:3/PCPII 64, 68). This means that we can come to know, recognize and experience Jesus only because the Holy Spirit makes it possible. Thus, these are some details that the Spirit does within us and among us.

the Spirit adopts us the Spirit empowers us to love the Spirit empowers us to bear witness the Spirit empowers us to know the truth the Spirit draws us into community, unity and service