Daily Meditation: Thursday, July 18, 2013

Powers of the spirit - we must never make money from them

07/18/2013

It is recounted in the Acts of the Apostles that a certain Simon, called ‘the magician’, amazed to see the apostles Peter and John bring the Holy Spirit down into people by placing their hands on them, offered them money in exchange for this power. And Peter indignantly refused and said, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money.’ Those who want to obtain the powers of the spirit should know they cannot be obtained with money, but only through the work they do on themselves, the efforts and sacrifices they make. As for those who have succeeded in obtaining the powers of the spirit, they must not try to sell them or use them to obtain material advantages. The best example of this is the episode in the Gospels where Jesus replies to the devil, who has come to tempt him in the desert. After fasting for forty days, Jesus was hungry, and the devil suggested he change the stones into bread, then that he throw himself from the top of the temple, as the angels would protect him. Finally he promised to give him all the kingdoms on earth if he bowed down before him. But Jesus closed his ears to the devil’s proposals and sent him away.