“Receive the Holy Spirit,” the risen Christ offers us today. Receiving isn’t always as easy as it first appears. We have to be ready to receive. We have to want to receive. We have to admit we need what is being offered. We have to realize we are empty. This is hard for self-sufficient folks to accept.

Thomas Merton in Thoughts in Solitude reminds us that: “Every breath we draw is a gift of God’s love; every moment of existence is a grace.” Breath, ruach in Hebrew, wind, spirit, . . . as you inhale, be aware of the grace of God filling you this moment. Let the unconditional love of God suffuse every cell in your body until you are aglow with Divine Presence. When we are able to receive Christ’s offering of the Holy Spirit, we find that we can come to know God’s peace, the peace that the risen Christ proclaimed to those frightened disciples that first Easter evening,--perhaps not in the circumstances of our lives which may not change, but underneath where we discover the “everlasting arms” upholding us through whatever comes our way.

On Easter Sunday, in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, one of my late mother’s daily devotional books, I read and share with you: “When I appeared to My disciples after the resurrection, it was Peace that I communicated first of all. I knew this was their deepest need: to calm their fears and clear their minds. I also speak Peace to you, for I know your anxious thoughts. Listen to Me! Tune out other voices, so that you can hear me more clearly. I designed you to dwell in Peace all day, every day. Draw near to Me; receive My Peace.”

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