Friday, April 21: “Spirit of Fire”
Luke 3: 16: “John answered and said to them all, As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming Who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’”
Between His Gospel and the Book of Acts, St. Luke mentions the Holy Spirit almost seventy times. Obviously He is considered central to the faith; He is no mere appendage to Christianity. The Holy Spirit is the very breath of God, Whose purpose is not just to consume the culture of death (v. 17), but to impart life into our humanity, and to sanctify our every act and thought to be fit for the service of God. It is the Holy Spirit Who makes this Culture of Life possible; without Him, divine life is not to be found, in the Church or anywhere else.
