When
the Lord told his disciples to go and teach all nations and baptize
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
he conferred on them the power of giving men new life in God.
He
had promised through the prophets that in these last days he would
pour out his Spirit on his servants and handmaids, and that they
would prophesy. So when the Son of God became the Son of Man, the
Spirit also descended upon him, becoming accustomed in this way to
dwelling with the human race, to living in men and to inhabiting
God’s creation. The Spirit accomplished the Father’s will in men
who had grown old in sin, and gave them new life in Christ.
Luke
says that the Spirit came down on the disciples at Pentecost, after
the Lord’s ascension, with power to open the gates of life to all
nations and to make known to them the new covenant. So it was that
men of every language joined in singing one song of praise to God,
and scattered tribes, restored to unity by the Spirit, were offered
to the Father as the first-fruits of all the nations.
– Saint
Irenaeus of Lyons
Saint
Irenaeus of Lyons’ patronage:
archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama.
