“Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained…
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (JN 20:21-29)
For those of us who believe, even though we were not there and didn’t see, we also have the power to forgive sins and explain to our neighbors that sin does not have to be the issue and to help them accept God’s forgiveness, so they can move on to more important issues in their lives without guilt.
What does receiving the Holy Spirit look or feel like? In our Pentecostal Churches they commonly practice baptism in the Spirit to interested members. People commonly cry, and feel release of forgiveness of sin. It can be a very emotional experience and with the initiation of the gifts of the Spirit the impetus of positive and significant changes in their lives. They walk lighter on the face of the earth and smile more.
They seem to dance to a tune that they share with the mystical body of Christ. Which is recognition of a radical interdependence of the one with the all with an unconditionally loving God at the core.
We are a community of laymen and laywomen who, with vowed Passionists, seek to share in the charism of St. Paul of the Cross through prayer, ongoing spiritual formation, and proclamation of the message of Christ Crucified.
