Filled With The Holy Spirit

"And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak...." (Acts 2:4). Strong wind, tongues of fire, diverse people hearing Peter speaking in their own languages, three thousand new believers "baptized and added to the Church." (Acts 2: 41). What a way to begin! Now, two thousand years later, we ask this same Spirit to "renew the face of the earth." (Ps 104:30). Renewal of the face of the earth means first the renewal of our individual "faces", our beings, our souls, our hearts. We began this current phase of renewal on Ash Wednesday and sought then to dwell on some aspect of our lives that we could "work on", change, improve...whatever...and then boosted by Easter, have for the past 50 days, been reflecting on how the resurrection of Jesus has affected, can affect our behaviors. We have prayed for the Holy Spirit in a special way for the past nine days, and now we culminate this process with a huge celebration of Pentecost.
What does it mean to be "filled with the Holy Spirit"? It would seem to mean allowing God's grace and initiative, God's gifts given in the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, to take hold and become part of our way of acting. From these flow the "fruits" of the Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity. How our lives would be different, how the world would be different and "renewed" if we all lived this way! Think of how Peter, whose faith had paled and allowed him to sink while walking on the waters, and whose loyalty had grown so thin it became denial, bursts open the doors and preaches boldly to the multitude gathered by the sound of the great wind. The Holy Spirit enabled him to do this. The Holy Spirit is REAL. The Holy Spirit can make US new! Come, Holy Spirit. Fill me, transform me.
Bro. Rene