"do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven": 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Holy Spirit is humble, having subjected Himself in Christ as the Divine Servant of His Body the Church for our salvation.

In his new encyclical letter,Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis opens for us the mystery of faith through the symbol of light which Christ used to describe Himself His mission as Savior: "I am the Light of the World." The common path of faith in the Church is made possible by the shared light of Jesus Christ. The Suffering servanthood of Christ as universal Savior continues through the indwelling Holy Spirit in the Church today, that Person of the Trinity which makes possible any sharing in Christ's light of grace.

The sacramental life, prepared for by the proclamation of the Word, which are the two principal building blocks of Catholic liturgy, are the works of the Spirit in the Church, the place of faith. In order to make possible the work of the Spirit in this way Christ the Lord instituted the sacramental ministry of priesthood so that the Body of Christ would be built up in that same Spirit for the salvation of the world. We are called to humbly receive this gift and to humbly offer this gift to others, having received so that we may in turn give as does the Lord.

Pope Francis continually urges us to find rejoicing not in looking inward but rather in going out to the margins of faith, seeking others as Christ urges us in His love, to build up His Body. We cannot do this on our own, but only in Christ. The Spirit is subjected to the ministry of priests so that celebrating the Eucharist and giving the Body of Christ to His people, they may then go out, taking Him by graced prayer and service, to others. In this way, we learn not to rejoice that the Holy Spirit is subjected to us in the life of Christ but that our names are written in heaven.

We look forward, in the journey of Faith, to the Kingdom of heaven, faith's goal. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Thank you for reading my post.

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