The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
'How can this happen?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
REFLECTION
"'You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit
"How can this happen?" This was Nicodemus' question to Jesus. Nicodemus was an educated man, a scholar of the Law. Jesus explains that his question needs a heavenly answer.
Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and testify to Him will be reborn in the Spirit.
Many of us may have the same question that Nicodemus had. How can we be born of the Spirit?
Nicodemus had to wait til Jesus died and was risen from the dead. So that the Holy Spirit could come. We can live in the Spirit after Baptism, but how?
Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833) was a humble monk who lived in the Holy Spirit. A book entitled On Acquisition of the Holy Spirit by St. Seraphim of Sarov and Sergei Nilus is about Sergei's interview with St. Seraphim. The interview was about how St. Seraphim lived in the Holy Spirit. Seraphim explained how those seeking the Holy Spirit can find him through "making the most of our time on Earth collecting blessings through good works done for Christ's sake" and through prayer both will give us the grace of the All Holy Spirit."
In prayer, we should ask God for the gift of living in His Will. Our Christian goal in life should be to do everything in God's Will.
Let us pray to receive the graces of the Holy Spirit. Here is the prayer by St. Augustine calling the Holy Spirit to live in us.
Comments