Friday, June 13, 2025
Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua
My brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Welcome to Week 24 of BMW, Be My Witnesses. Last week, we prayed for the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Today, we hope to learn a bit about what the power of the Spirit is so that we might exercise that power for the common good.
Learn: The Power of the Holy Spirit
Saint Paul makes a great claim in the eighth chapter of his Letter to the Romans: “the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (8:26-27). The power of the Spirit, first of all, helps us to pray.
This may seem a weak power, but it is a reminder that the Spirit is not an impersonal force. Rather, the Spirit is a person who dwells within us and works with us as we are, empowering us rather than taking over. This is why Paul can call our bodies, temples of the Holy Spirit, such that we no longer belong to ourselves but to God (I Cor 6:19-20). We must be open to let ourselves belong to God and do his will. The power of the Spirit is, first of all, creative.
Think of the Spirit hovering over creation and also hovering over Mary at the message of Gabriel. When we invite this pray-moving Spirit into our lives, we are given a power to be creative as well. Again, Saint Paul tells us that the Spirit operating “in the inner self” gives us a deep knowledge of the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19). The creative power of the Spirit is the power of love, a love which pours forth an abundance of life.
In essence, when Jesus tells his disciples that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit, he lets them know that, as a result, “you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Notice, this is neither a command nor a request. It is a fact. We will be witnesses due to the power of the Spirit dwelling in and working in and with us. We will not simply be preachers of the Gospel. We will be that Gospel.
Sisters and brothers, the power of the Spirit in our lives is a power to speak boldly with courage but always in love and about love, the love of the Father for all of us in Christ Jesus. This boldness is manifest in our being fully aligned with Jesus in his suffering, death, and resurrection, all of which is that manifestation of divine love.
The Challenge
For our challenge of this week, I invite all of us review the first part of the section on the Holy Spirit in the Catechism, articles 683 through 701. Click here to read. If you wish to go farther in the text, go ahead. Come, Holy Spirit!
Until next week, may God Bless you.
I am sincerely yours in Christ,
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Below is a video version of this week's Be My Witnesses. Please do share with family and friends. Thank you. God bless you.