The Cost of Discipleship

Bishop Hermann of the Archdiocese of St. Louis had an article in the St. Louis Review about Pentecost. The gist of the article is that Pentecost is about the apostles being filled with the Holy Spirit, after they had been completely broken down so that they are no longer interested in their own personal goals. Pentecost is the culmination of Jesus purging the apostles of their selfishness.

This presentation of Pentecost troubles me. It directly challenges us to give ourselves completely over to Christ. This is tough! Our culture builds up images and concepts that are deceptively self-serving. Breaking through these misconceptions is difficult.

Bishop Herman challenged his readers to say the following prayer everyday:

Lord, I don't like myself as I am. I want to give my life over to You. I want You to be the Lord of my life. I want to surrender my life totally to You so that You can do with me as You will. Lord, as I had over my life into Your hands, I ask that You forgive me all of my sins and fill me with the fullness of the Holy Spirit!

I think I'm going to say the prayer daily. I'm scared about giving over complete control, but that's why I'm here!