Fr Peter Helman

“...the Holy Spirit fell upon them ...” (Acts 11:15)

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Dear friends,

The Spirit of the living God is upon us! There is therefore now no longer any degree of separation between the life of God and ours. 

Our selves, our souls and bodies, are indeed created by God and upheld in every moment by the Father, who “gives to all things life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25). But no one can look upon the face of the Father and live. We have not the sight to peer through the veil into that place of unapproachable light where our Father dwells. The life of God is other than our own and remains hidden from us. 
 

For the sake of love, the only begotten Son of God steps through the veil. Light from light, he spans the infinite gap between time and eternity and is found in human form. God becomes one of us, is born of a human mother, lives and dies as one of us, and says, “I have called you friends” (John 15:15). But as someone wrote, “the more Jesus Christ is revealed as a man, the more distinct he is from us, for each of us is another man” (Austin Farrer, The Crown of the Year, 1952).

The Father and the Son give us the Holy Spirit so the life of God is made our life. God becomes our selves, our souls and bodies. It is no longer we who live, but it is Christ who lives in us (Gal. 2:20). The Spirit of God is love poured out into our hearts, for God is love. As we are clothed in the love of God, it is Jesus who lives and works and prays in us, for our lives are found hidden in him. 


Yours in Christ,
Peter+
On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles and Martyrs

"Joy with peace, amendment of life, time for true repentance, the grace of the Holy Spirit, perseverance in good works, a contrite and humble heart, and a happy consummation of my life, grant me, O Almighty and merciful Lord. Amen."