Reflections
“Lord, send out your Spirit.”
“If you take away their breath, they perish; when you send forth your spirit, they are created.” Animated by the Spirit, the divine Breath, we who are His creatures sing of the glory of our Creator.
“When you send forth your Spirit, you renew the face of the earth.” God is the source of all natural life.
So also the Holy Spirit is the source of all supernatural life.
We are nothing without the divine Breath, “When you
take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust.”
It is this same creative Breath which came down on the
disciples in that locked room that St Luke speaks of in
this Sunday's 1st reading. (Acts 2:1-4)
The Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to go forth
and proclaim the Gospel boldly to men of all nations,
speaking different tongues.
We too are called to be baptized in the Spirit, and
to receive the divine Breath of the Lord. Having been
baptized in the Spirit, we are a new creation, and are
called to glorify the Lord in what we do. In this way,
as the Psalm says, “May the Lord be glad in his works.”
Fortunately, for us too, the Spirit is manifested in
each of us for some benefit, as St. Paul reminds us
in our 2nd reading. (1 Corinthians 12:7)
All we have to do is accept Christ and believe in Him.
Then we too will have the gift of life.
Without the breath of God, we are nothing. Just as
the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples at Pentecost,
so too are we empowered by our Creator. The presence
of the Holy Spirit within us is how we share in the divinity
of Christ.
Without the breath of the Holy Spirit, we have no spiritual life.
But thanks to God's gift, we are a new creation, and we are
baptized into Christ. And that alone gives us reason
to praise God. As our psalmist says, “Pleasing to him be
my theme; I will be glad in the Lord.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our Psalm reminds us that we are dependent on the Lord for our
very breath. Tell about what makes you aware of the 'divine Breath' in your life.
2. Our Sunday Psalm Response is, 'Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.' Is the Holy Spirit doing a work in you? Are you a 'new creation?' Speak about your baptism in the Holy Spirit.
"If you take away their breath they will perish; when
ReplyDeleteyou send forth your Spirit they are created"..this really resonates with me. When we're filled with God's breath of the Holy Spirit, it renews us, breathes life into us, feeding our spiritual hunger, satisfying our need for it.
"Bless the Lord oh my soul, Bless His Holy Name" are words that should be cherished by all of us in praise of our Lord. I love hearing it sung when it's put to music.
When we praise God, we have His protection, we maintain the sovereignty of God.
Our Mother used to say to us "When God is with us, who can be against us"? So true... I look at Psalm 104 as an uplifting Psalm of praise for God and all of his creation. He breathes life into us and without the breath of life, we all die, back to dust. Even before that, without the
Breath of God, we are mere shells...
This Psalm to me manifests a wonderful hymn of praise for the glory of our Creator!