Four weeks ago today we celebrated the Easter Vigil with its elements of the new fire, the baptismal water, the welcome of new catechumens to our family of faith, and the sharing of the Lord’s Body and Blood in the Easter feast. Joy and hope, renewal and possibility are the hallmarks of this Easter season. Perhaps today offers the chance to do an “instant replay” of our personal and family activities of this past month.

How have I accepted the risen life that Jesus brings? Do others find Easter “joy and hope, renewal and possibility” in my daily interactions? How has Jesus’ invitation to new life stretched my heart and influenced my relationships?

In just three weeks we will celebrate the great feast of Pentecostthe sending of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and homes, to the Church and to our waiting world. What gifts of the Holy Spirit do I especially need this Pentecost 2016?

In what ways might I invite the Holy Spirit to breathe new life and love into my relationships, into our home, into the daily “world” where I live and work and interact?  Come, Holy Spirit!

—The Jesuit Prayer Team