What is Jesus’s baptism of the Holy Spirit?

It is to possess the same Spirit of Jesus. St. John the Baptist talks about the uniqueness of Jesus’s baptism of the Holy Spirit which could change the human heart in contrast to his own baptism with water that invited people to perform external acts of repentance ( Luke 3 : 16 ).

Jesus’s baptism of the Holy Spirit goes much deeper than St. John’s baptism. It transforms the person within by giving him or her a new spirit, the Holy Spirit, to follow the example of Jesus.

This baptism of the Holy Spirit has the power to overcome the limitations of the human spirit, to remove the roots of sin, to change our attitudes, and to make us more Christ-like in our behavior. It has the power to make us more like Jesus in what we do, and in how we behave towards one another. “By this they will know you are my disciples, by your love for one another”( John 13 : 35 ).

In the Gospel, Jesus says: “unless you repent, you will perish” (Luke 13:3). But, real repentance comes from a change of heart or attitude for that will determine what you do. If your heart is in the right place, your actions will bear good fruit. If your heart is in the wrong place, your actions will produce bad fruit. If you possess the Holy Spirit, your heart will always be in the right place.

Jesus reminds us that all evil acts come from the deep recesses of the human soul, from attitudes of hatred, pride, greed, and so forth (Matthew 15:19). To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to abandon those bad attitudes we are born with in order to be reborn with the attitudes of Christ in the gospel. And, let’s not forget that Jesus has gifted us with eight blessed attitudes, called Beatitudes (The gospel of Matthew, chapter 5:1–10 ). Those who live by the beatitudes live by the Holy Spirit within them.

You cannot put new wine into old wines-skins, Jesus tells us, for the new wine will burst the old wine-skins (Mark 2:21–22). In the same way, you cannot possess the Holy Spirit (the new wine of Christ) if you cling to, rather than abandon the old spirit of selfish attitudes. You must get rid of the old in order to put on the new.

Make it your special project to let go of anything that prevents you from possessing the Holy Spirit. Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, how can you possess the kingdom of God within you? With Jesus, you are baptized into a new way of life and have been given a new spirit, the Holy Spirit, to follow his example.

LET US PRAY :

Come Holy Spirit,
Fill the hearts of your faithful.
Kindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit
So we may be re-created.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy