We need a new boldness to share with others. Let us reflect on the witnesses of the past. First, what was the experience of the early Church when the Spirit came on Pentecost. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They manifested the new gifts of the Spirit. They praised God. They witnessed and proclaimed the person and revelation of Jesus as Lord and Savior. They invited others to share in the same experience and encounter so that they too may be filled with the Holy Spirit. They came together for apostolic instruction, community, prayers, and the breaking of bread. They were of one mind and one heart. Signs and wonders were evident when they evangelized or evangelized after signs and wonders occurred. A people was renewed in their relationship with God. A new fire was ignited. God's people were reviewed by the coming of the Holy Spirit.

We need to pray the prayer that Pope St John XXIII asked the whole Church in preparation for II Vatican Council. We need a new boldness and freedom, a new energy and response to the grace of God.

"Renew Your wonders in our time, as though for a new Pentecost, and grant that the holy Church, preserving unanimous and continuous prayer, together with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and also under the guidance of St. Peter, may increase the reign of the Divine Savior, the reign of truth and justice, the reign of love and peace. Amen."

Return to your first love. Recall what God has done for us and what he expects of us.

Baptism in the Spirit is a grace that must be received, responded and renewed. It is not a grace that is meant to be temporary but permanent. It is not meant to be dormant or passive but alive and active directing our way of life under the protective love of our Abba, Father, yielding to the  Lordship of Jesus Christ and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. The grace of Baptism in the Spirit is a grace for mission.  That mission is to underline every aspect of our life in the present moment. That mission is to be attentive to the move of the HS and to act on it by exercising the appropriate charism of the Holy Spirit for the situation.