Ok, I promise this will be the last time I speak of my retreat, ha!  It is funny how God works in our lives.  Before I entered the retreat, I had a plan!  I brought twenty books with me.  I was going to start researching and writing a book I’ve been meaning to write for 5 years, that the Lord put on my heart during COVID.  But the shutdown didn’t last as long as I needed to write a book, so I literally have 1 page written.  So this goal has been bugging me and bugging me for 5 years, so much so that I thought I could get great headway on it in one week’s time.

As soon as I arrived, I could sense the Lord telling me to put that aside.  As I tried to read different books, none of them resonated with my heart.  Until I grabbed a small book called, “Coming to Life: Being Baptized in the Holy Spirit,” by Fr. Robert DeGrandis.  I felt the Lord saying, “I want you to come to life again!”  I surrendered and began praying with the book.  What a gift it is to better understand the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives!

In the second chapter, Fr. DeGrandis writes on the Grace of the Spirit…receiving the gift of salvation.  In it he writes that while we may receive the Sacrament of Baptism as infants, we must make our own statement of agreement to belong to Christ.  By relying on the Holy Spirit received at Baptism, we can be drawn into deeper conversion and transformation over the years.  He then closes with a prayer that echoes the Psalm for this weekend, what our hearts ache for, especially in this season of Advent….

Lord Jesus, I praise You and thank You for the gift of salvation.  I thank You that Your life and Your nature are within me.  Thank You for the grace that enables me to respond from my heart, “I belong to You.”  I come to You now, Lord, and ask for a deeper conversion and a deeper surrender to the management of Your Spirit.  Give to me a teachable spirit.  Lord Jesus, I am a sinner, and You are the Savior.  I need a Savior.  I need my life to be daily submitted to the work of Your Spirit.  Come, Lord Jesus–melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.  Melt away my self-will, my stubbornness, my desire to be served instead of serve.  Mold me into the image of You.  I want to reflect Your miraculous nature and enter into my spiritual heritage.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.  Use me to bring Your life and healing to others.  Lord, give me the heart of a servant. Amen.

Lord, Come and Save Us,
Fr. Jeremy