ACTS 4:32-37

The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the Apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas (which is translated "son of encouragement"), a Levite, a Cypriot by birth, sold a piece of property that he owned, then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.

JOHN 3:7B-15

Jesus said to Nicodemus: "‘You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus answered and said to him, "How can this happen?" Jesus answered and said to him, "You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

Perhaps most of us have gone through a “Nicodemus time”— a time of questioning. We ask questions like: How can I be transformed? How can I find new meaning in life? Jesus’ response to Nicodemus and to us is: “You must be born from above.” We desire to change, grow and become closer to our God. But this is a gift; it is the presence of the Spirit. We can only be open to the Presence of the Holy Spirit and request a new hear t.

The same is true of a community. We gather together with our lives of faith of love, of questions, of limitations. We live, love, serve, and struggle together, trying to be faithful to God and to one another. We have to go through life experiences together to really be committed to one another. We need to learn, to read the presence of the Holy Spirit among us to give us life.

We know the effects of the Spirit in communities, in times of peace and joy, in times of personal and communal struggle. We grow in intimacy and commitment when we can support one another in our hard times, whether it’s a death, job loss or grief within the family or conflict within the community itself.

Let us reflect on the communities to which we belong. Where or how do we see the presence of the Holy Spirit? Ask for the gift to be attentive to the presence and gifts of the Holy Spirit in our own lives and in our communities.

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Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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