Tuesday April 29 Gospel: John 3:7-15

“Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can this happen?” Jesus an swered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

Introductory Prayer: Holy Spirit, I offer myself to you today to be your messenger and your spokesman. Bring me your many gifts and make me a more faithful witness to your truth.

Petition: Help me Lord to be faithful to all the promptings of your Spirit

The Spirit of Wisdom. All wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit to whom it belongs. How else could St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast we celebrate today, have convinced Pope Gregory XI to return the papa-cy to Rome?

The Holy Spirit told her what to say. “Remember your promise,” she whispered into his ear. Pope Gregory knew what she was referring to, a secret promise he had made to God to return the papacy to Rome.

Within less than a year the papal court returned to the tu multuous and dangerous city ending its 70 year exile in southern France.

Morning Meditation

The wind blows where it wills and we hear the sound it makes. The secret to understanding that sound is listening to it. “Lis tening” to the ancient peoples of the Bible meant not only “hearing” but “acting.” Every time we hear the sound of the Spirit stirring in our hearts we should act on it. Failure to act means failure to listen. This leads to spiritual deafness. We no longer hear his voice and we start to ask why God doesn't inspire us or work through us.

“Why am I not as inspired as someone like St. Catherine?” God gives us the same opportunity to hear and understand as he gives the saints. If I listen — that is, act — each time I hear his voice, then I will hear more and more.

How will you believe? “If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” It's so easy to do our own will, but listening also means being attentive to what God thinks is important.

There are so many cares that fill our lives; many of them are legitimate, and God wants us to attend to them. Yet without the guidance of his Spirit, these cares are doomed to our faulty administration.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). Without the Holy Spirit acting in our spiritual, family, and even professional lives, we accomplish very little, if anything at all.

Dialogue with Christ. Lord Jesus, you did not want to abandon us so you promised us the gift of your Spirit to give us counsel, wisdom and strength. I know that I have not always made good use of this gift.

I promise to come closer to you through this gift and to remain with you forever.

Resolution. Today I will not be deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit. I will seek to follow up on every inspiration he gives me.

This meditation was taken from

the daily meditations available

at www.regnumchristi.org.