How strange it is that our faith often has so little impact on our lives. On Easter Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ Jesus. Yet the fire, the passion of this day is often reduced to a lukewarm assent and then life as usual. We can live in such a way as to make our faith a lie. The Fire of the Holy Spirit is not the dying flame of an ember, but the very fire of God’s love, yet we can yawn. It is hard to ‘really’ believe in a world that is so torn by strife and hatred, by the lust for money and power and the false promises of our many addictions and sins. The loud demanding noise of the world can easily drown out the voice of the Holy Spirit that seeks to draw us into deeper joy and healing.
Existence in this world is one long ‘Holy Week’ for mankind. Yet Christ is raised and in this we are called to ponder and to live out its implications.
In the immediacy of our world, with its suffering and evil, there is also the work of the Holy Spirit that works in silence and secret. The Resurrection is calling us all to ‘see’ with the eyes of Christ Jesus, to look deeper and live more fully. Not in lives of dissipation that is disguised as ‘fun’, or ‘multitasking’. The faster we run, the busier we are the more empty we will become.
May the light of Christ Jesus capture all of us, enlarge our hearts and allow all of us to see what is truly necessary, the one thing necessary.
Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO
Holy Spirit Monastery
