Hold Fast to Your Faith
The Breath of Life
Photo by Paul Bulai on Unsplash
“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus appears to His disciples, who are hidden away behind locked doors, in fear for their lives after witnessing the crucifixion of the Lord. Jesus shows them His wounds, still visible in His resurrected and glorified body, so they will know this is no mere vision but the Lord himself; Jesus has conquered death itself.
Jesus gives them a simple, powerful message. He gives them the gift of peace; they will no longer have to live in fear, but peace will reign in the hearts of all who believe, even in the face of persecution and death. Death has no more power over those who believe and follow Jesus.
Jesus sends them to bring this good news to the world, empowering them to accomplish this mission with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Just as God created the heavens and the earth with the breath of His mouth, Jesus creates the world anew by breathing the Holy Spirit upon His Church. This gift remains with the Church throughout all time, guiding and leading her, for the benefit of all the faithful.
There is yet another gift bestowed on the Church in this short scene from John’s Gospel. In the excitement of hearing about flames, wind, and speaking in tongues, we sometimes forget about the gravity of this simple yet miraculous gift. The Church is empowered to forgive sin. And this is, after all, the very reason that Jesus died – to take away the sin of the world. The Church is also given the ability to discern which sins should be forgiven, and which should be retained. When we confess our sins in the sacrament of reconciliation and receive absolution from the priest, the very breath of life reaches us and we are recreated, renewed, and brought back from death to life.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew… Wash the stains of guilt away
Give them your salvation, Lord; Give them joys that never end.
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About the Author
Born and raised in a faithful Catholic family, I wandered far from my faith for nearly two decades. Through the infinite mercy of Christ and His Church, I found my way back home to the Catholic Church in the early 90s, and began a path of rediscovery of the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith, eventually earning a Bachelor's degree in Christian Tradition. A stay-at-home Mom for many years, my Church ministries grew to include teaching Catechism and First Eucharist classes, writing and facilitating retreats for healing after abortion, and becoming active in pro-life work with our local 40 Days for Life campaign in the Tri-Cities, Washington as an organizer, participant, speaker, and writer. My desire to share the greatest gift of my life, Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and His Divine Mercy, has found expression in my writing. My articles have been published locally in the Tri-City Herald's Spiritual Life and editorial columns; in the Carmelite Digest; Celebrate Life magazine; and recently in the National Catholic Register.
Links to these articles and more can be found on my blog at http://www.catholicethics.blogspot.com/. My Catholic Ethics page is on Facebook at:https://www.facebook.com/CatholicEthics.
