Thursday in the Seventh Week of Easter

We pray through the seventh week of Easter, offering our day to Jesus through Mary and asking God to help us grow in holiness. We read St Cyril of Alexandria on why Christ’s Ascension makes room for the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts, transform our lives, and strengthen us against fear and temptation.  
• opening invocation and doxology  
• Morning Offering uniting joys and sufferings to the Mass  
• St Cyril on sharing in the divine nature through the Holy Spirit  
• why Christ’s departure makes the Advocate’s coming possible  
• Scripture images of transformation in Saul and in St Paul’s teaching  
• the disciples’ courage as evidence of the Spirit’s power  
• prayer for spiritual gifts and a will conformed to God  
• closing devotions to the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Guadalupe  
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com.  
The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store.  
More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.

Transcript

Opening And Invocation

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Thursday, in the seventh week of Easter. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Morning Offering Through Mary

SPEAKER_00 0:27

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

St Cyril On The Holy Spirit

SPEAKER_00 0:49

From a commentary on the Gospel of John by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop. After Christ had completed his mission on earth, it still remained necessary for us to become sharers in the divine nature of the Word. We had to give up our own life and be so transformed that we would begin to live an entirely new kind of life that would be pleasing to God. This was something we could only do by sharing in the Holy Spirit. It was most fitting that the sending of the Spirit and His descent upon us should take place after the departure of Christ our Savior. As long as Christ was with them in the flesh, it must have seemed to believers that they possessed every blessing in him. But when the time came for him to ascend to his heavenly Father, it was necessary for him to be united through his Spirit to those who worshipped him, and to dwell in our hearts through faith. Only by his own presence within us, in this way, could he give us confidence to cry out, Abba, Father, make it easy for us to grow in holiness and through our possession of the all-powerful Spirit, fortify us invincibly against the wiles of the devil and the assaults of men. It can easily be shown from examples both in the Old Testament and the New, that the Spirit changes those in whom He comes to dwell. He so transforms them that they begin to live a completely new kind of life. Saul was told by the prophet Samuel, the Spirit of the Lord will take possession of you, and you shall be changed into another man. St. Paul writes, As we behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, that glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us all into his own likeness, from one degree of glory to another. Does this not show that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell and alters the whole pattern of their lives? With the Spirit within them, it is quite natural for people who have been absorbed by the things of this world to become entirely otherworldly in outlook, and for cowards to become men of great courage. There can be no doubt that this is what happened to the disciples. The strength they received from the Spirit enabled them to hold firmly to the love of Christ, facing the violence of their persecutors unafraid. Very true, then was our Savior saying that it was to their advantage for him to return to heaven. His return was the time appointed for the descent of the Holy Spirit. If I do not go, the Advocate will never come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will teach you all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will tell you all that he hears from me, and will proclaim to you the things to come. When he comes, he will teach you all truth.

Prayer For Spiritual Gifts

SPEAKER_00 4:10

May your spirit, O Lord, we pray, imbue us powerfully with spiritual gifts, that he may give us a mind pleasing to you and graciously conform us to your will, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Devotions And Closing Blessing

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Let us praise the Lord and give him thanks. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Join Cristuros And Get The App

SPEAKER_00 4:58

If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristuros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristuros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristuros can be found at theCristuros.org.