MEDITATION OF THE DAY
Fulfilling What Had Been Said
When the Creator of the universe conceived the magnificent plan of gathering up all things in Christ and restoring human nature to its original condition, he promised that along with all his other gifts he would once more give us the Holy Spirit. This was the only way for us to regain secure possession of God’s blessings. By God’s decree the time for this descent of the Spirit upon us was to concur with the coming of Christ. God gave his word that in those days—by which he meant the days of our Savior—he would pour out his Spirit upon the whole human race. So it was that when the time for this great act of generosity arrived and brought God’s only Son into our midst in human flesh, a man born of a woman as holy scripture says, God the Father began at once again to give the Spirit….
Christ our Savior himself tried to show the people of Israel through many marvelous deeds that although for our sake he had become a man according to the divine dispensation, he was still God as he had always been. To help them to realize this he did things that were beyond the power of any human being—God alone could perform such miracles. He raised the dead from their graves when they were already in a state of corruption; like the Creator, he made the blind see the light of day; he rebuked unclean spirits with authority; he cured lepers by a word of command; and there were other things he did that were marvelous beyond description. Therefore, if I am not acting as my Father would, he said to them, do not believe in me. But if I am, even if you do not believe in me, accept the evidence of my deeds.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria
Saint Cyril of Alexandria († 444) was an eminent figure of ancient Christian literature and a valiant defender of the faith. [From Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. © 1994, Augustinian Heritage Institute, Villanova, PA. Used with permission.]
