Episode Transcript
[00:00:12] Speaker A: Welcome to the Blessed Sacrament Homilies podcast, where our mission is to help everyone recognize and experience the presence of God. We hope you are nourished and encouraged by the Word. Thank you for joining us.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: The Lord be with you and with your spirit.
[00:00:28] Speaker C: Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: Glory to you, O Lord.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, peace be with you.
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord Jesus said to them again, peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.
[00:01:23] Speaker C: The Gospel of the Lord.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:01:29] Speaker C: I am sure you have noticed over the years that I constantly strive to edify you with examples of high culture and literature and art.
Why are you sneezing?
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Snickering?
[00:01:48] Speaker C: Because today I'm going to surprise you, because I'm going to give you something from the world of art and drama that is truly rooted in high culture.
I've done it once before, a line from mash.
Now, on one particular day, Frank Burns was more than a little upset, and he said, if you do that, I will do harm to myself.
I will do myself an injury.
And then he held his breath like a little kid.
Well, I heard somewhere years ago, and
[00:02:30] Speaker B: I haven't confirmed quite yet that it
[00:02:32] Speaker C: is true, but I'm pretty sure it is. But we will experiment with Steve later in the week. I don't want you trying this, but that it is literally impossible to hold your breath until death.
It can't be done.
Because even if you were to pass out, that urge to breathe will automatically go and you'll take a breath.
It's just part of who we are. We can't do anything about it.
We need breath for life.
It sustains us.
Well.
[00:03:09] Speaker B: In the Scriptures, we have Jesus breathing
[00:03:12] Speaker C: upon the apostles and giving them the Spirit.
And it's that breath as well that is impossible for us to live without.
Because it's that breath that breathes into us not just life, but the promise and hope of eternal life.
It is that breath that allows us to take the presence of Christ and allow it to shine forth in our world.
It's that breath that allows us to be generous.
It is that breath that allows us to be merciful.
It's that breath that allows us to be compassionate and loving toward one another.
It is absolutely central to our identity as church in the same sense that our breathing here and now is essential.
And if you've ever had any moment in your life where breath was difficult, be it because of illness or disease or sometimes just gulping a bit of water, when you're swimming and you lose your breath, you know how not only frightening, but it shakes you down to your core.
Well, we need the Holy Spirit and the breath of the Spirit in an even more profound way.
And each one of us have had that breath breathed upon us.
And while we may not always notice that presence of the Spirit in us and around us, that doesn't mean that the Spirit's not there. In the same sense that most of the time when we are healthy, we don't recognize we're breathing.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: We just do it.
[00:05:02] Speaker C: The Holy Spirit can be like that, but it is truly essential for who we are, both individually, but also as a church.
