CHANGED HEARTS: THE GREATEST MIRACLE

SABBATH

May 20, 2010. A few weeks before the opening of the school year 2010- 2011, I joined the Oasis of Love Charismatic Community in a Mass for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. They conducted a two-day “Life in the Spirit Seminar” for the teachers and the staff of the Holy Child Catholic School in Tondo, Manila. It was a humid day and the air conditioning units were of little help. There were around 150 participants and 50 facilitators. Just before I celebrated the Eucharist, one of the facilitators candidly shared to the coordinators the apparent lack of attention and restlessness of the participants. The actual moment of praying over for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is usually melodramatic, with all the outpouring of emotions. The condition of the seminar room and the time constraint to finish the activity made me decide to scrap an earlier plan to have the participants  prayed over individually. Even then, the invocation to the Holy Spirit and the praising in tongues that followed were truly inspiring. As the saying goes: “The Holy Spirit blows where it wills.” As I reminded myself, the true measure of success of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit was not just that morning but what happens with the lives of the participants days and years after. Jesus stresses in the Gospel: Wonder works and mighty deeds by God are not for the satisfaction of the curious. The miracle of Jonah led to a concrete and lasting fruit: the conversion of the king and the citizens of Nineveh. The wise teachings of Solomon were not just for the listening pleasure of the Queen of Sheba. Rather, the wisdom of Solomon made the Queen of Sheba a believer. As I went home that night, I prayed, “Jesus, thank You for making me an instrument for the baptism in the Spirit of the participants. They are now Yours. Let them feel Your transforming touch in their lives.”Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP Reflection Question: What concrete fruits do you look for in your works of evangelization? What particular things do you tend to regard as measures of success in your ministry and apostolate in Church? Lord, keep me humble in my work of evangelization and apostolate. Help me to always remember that I am a mere instrument in Your hands. St. Theneva, pray for us.