Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
The baptism in the Holy Spirit
… Paul … found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit.”… When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Altogether there were about twelve men. He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God. Acts 19,1-8
The doctrine of the church teaches us that, during the baptism, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the baptized giving all the gifts necessary to live his project of life, enhanced by the theological virtues of the faith, the hope and the charity. In these two years, by the baptism of Matteo, Edoardo and Paolo, the last arrived grandchildren, we experienced quite often this event. In truth, this sacrament would be linked to the faith in the Lord, so it should be the person himself to apply to be baptized. On the origins of the church it was like that, but after a short time the practice changed because, following the apostolic preaching, entire families asked to be baptized and the sacrament was also given to children and infants who were part of. In these latter, however, not yet ready to be aware of the meaning of the event, the Holy Spirit, at that time as of now, settles in because of the faith of the parents and of the godparents, who, in front of the church, commit themselves to a christian upbringing. Matteo, Edoardo and Paolo have already received all the gifts which the Holy Spirit brings with him, but it is as if these gifts were wrapped in a package and only over the years, as they will be educated in the faith, the power of the Spirit will be poured out in them, in its many forms. Even today, however, when the baptism is conferred to people who already believe in Jesus Lord, it can happen to assist to special events of joy, of prophecies and it can also happen that they speak in tongues, as stated in the today passage. The speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a very simple spiritual gift, which can occur during the baptism of an adult, who, pervaded by the Holy Spirit, being not able to express by words which make complete sense the state of blessedness in which he is in that moment, is left to the murmurs which remind us of the happy humming of the infants when they are satisfied. In the Charismatic Renewal, which recently had the merit of contributing to the awakening of gifts which were a little sleepy, this experience was practiced quite often during the prayer of effusion of the Holy Spirit.