Session 3: New Life in the Spirit Opening Prayer:

In the Scriptures, by the Spirit, may we see the Saviour’s face,
Hear his word and heed his calling, know his will and grow in grace. Amen

Jesus and Mary were filled with the Spirit

Tonight we have reached the third of our seminars and the focus now is turning to New Life in the Spirit. I want to begin by saying that Jesus and Mary were filled with the Spirit. Although Jesus was the sinless Son of God, and Mary was the sinless Mother of God, they both received an infilling of the Spirit: Jesus after being baptised in the Jordan, and Mary at Pentecost. As both were all-holy already, the question arises, what did their in-filling add to them? I consider that the answer in both cases is that it was an empowerment to evangelise effectively. As Jesus explained,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor” (Lk 4:18).