SAINT JOHN EUDES, PRIEST (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Breathe into these slain that they may come to life. 

Have you ever heard of a sport called freediving? A swimmer dives into the open water without an oxygen tank and so must hold his breath for long periods of time. When he surfaces, he is gasping for air because he desperately needs the oxygen to breathe.

In today’s first reading, we see the need for a different kind of oxygen—the breath of the Holy Spirit. The prophet Ezekiel, speaking to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, depicts the desolation and loss of hope they are experiencing through the image of dry, lifeless bones (37:4). But God says he wants to breathe his spirit into them so that they come back to life (37:5). And what is that spirit or breath? The Holy Spirit!

Did you know that the Hebrew word for breath, wind, and spirit is the same? It’s ruach. Like oxygen, the breath of God is fundamental to our existence. We see this in the opening verses of Scripture, when the Spirit of God hovers over the waters (Genesis 1:2). In the New Testament, after Jesus rises from the dead, he breathes the Spirit into his disciples and sends them out to proclaim the gospel (John 20:21-22). With the Holy Spirit working through them, the disciples evangelized and spread the good news around the world.

We have all received the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation. He lives in you, but maybe you aren’t experiencing his presence right now. You may be feeling like those dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision, “lost” and “cut off” from God (37:11). Or maybe you are struggling with disappointment or weariness and feel as if you’re running out of air. If so, know that he is always there, ready to revive and refresh you again and again.

And you don’t even have to wait until you’re completely depleted! Every day—every moment of every day—you can ask the Spirit to come and fill you with his life-giving power and grace.

As you pray today, take a deep, deep breath. Imagine that the Holy Spirit is filling you in the same way that air is filling your lungs. Keep asking him to fill you. We all need the breath of God. We can’t survive without it, and it is his delight to fill us.

“Holy Spirit, come and fill me today!”

Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 107:2-9
Matthew 22:34-40