Transformation Through the Holy Spirit

God knows that we would not be able to live the kind of life he had calls us to live by our own strength and ability. He knew that we would need a supernatural source of strength, that they would need the strength and power of God himself. John 14:16-17: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. So he promised to his disciples the very Spirit of God, and on Pentecost that Spirit came down upon them, and to remain with all of us forever. The lives of the disciples were radically transformed by the Holy Spirit: they were able to preach the Gospel of Jesus in boldness and power, their words were accompanied by signs and wonders, they drew together to live in new communities, united in one mind and one heart. All of the readings since Easter talk about this transformation.

We can rediscover the power that Jesus gives his people through the Holy Spirit. We can discover the power to live together in love and peace, and to worship God with new and abundant praise. Above all, we can discover a deeper and more personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our very own Lord and Savior.

God always works in partnership with our will and our faith. We hold the key that opens the doors to the rooms of our life behind which lie those things that hold us back spiritually and hamper our walk with God. When we unlock the doors and give God access, we allow Him to do those things that will enable us to walk like Jesus did. We need to turn the lights on in the closets of our lives that need to be opened and cleaned out – we need to come out of the closet.

We want to live Spirit-filled lives and be willing to die to everything that is not of God. When we obey the leading of the Holy Spirit we can live daily according to what God wants. Transformation is a life-long process that requires spiritual nurturing. We need to feed on God’s word and on the Eucharist, need to be constantly in prayer and in fellowship with other believers.

“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come”(2 Cor. 5:17). The transforming agent is the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to live the Christian life (Acts 1:8; Romans, chapter 8). The Holy Spirit is ever-present to transform us into who Gods wants us to be – however we must be willing to let it happen. We can then receive a fuller measure of the Fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Generosity, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Peace, Patience, Self-Control, Kindness. (Gal.5: 22-23)