Besermenji
Annunciation - Luke 1: 26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth to the virgin Mary who was betrothed to Joseph
Gabriel greeted her, however, she was confused. The angel told her to not be afraid for God has
chosen her to conceive His son Jesus. He will grow up to be a ruler whose kingdom will have no
end. Mary did not understand how this would be possible. Gabriel replied that the Holy Spirit
would come upon her and cloud her with the Highest power. Therefore, the child should be
called holy, the Son of God. Nothing is impossible for God, for even her relative bared a child at
an old age. Mary ultimately agrees to conceive the Son of God.
Conception: Matthew 1: 18-25
Prior to living with Joseph, Mary was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph decided
to quietly divorce her to prevent her from being shamed. His intentions changed subsequently to
being visited by the angel of the Lord. In a dream the angel told Joseph to take Mary into his
home as his wife, for through the Holy Spirit she bears a child. She will fulfill the prophet and
name the child Jesus; he will save people from their sins. When Joseph woke from his dream he
did as he was told and took Mary as his wife.
Baptism by John: Matthew 3;13-17
John was to baptize Jesus at the Jordan, however, was hesitant to do so. He believed that Jesus
should be baptizing him, not the other way around. Jesus allowed him and replied that they
should “fulfill all righteousness”. After his baptism, Jesus rose from the water and the heaven
were opened for Him. He saw the Spirit of God in the form of a dove coming down upon him. A
voice spoke from the heavens saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Luke 3: 21-22
After everyone including Jesus was baptized, Jesus was praying to the open heavens. The Holy
Spirit came down in the form of a dove and a voice spoke from the heavens, “You are my
beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Paschal Mystery
Christ and the Holy Spirit are inseparable companions; in each aspect of Jesus’ life, the Holy
Spirit was present. Even at the moment of His death, it is a presupposition that the Holy Spirit
suffered as a member of the Holy Trinity. It is understood that if one Person of the Holy Trinity
suffers, the whole Trinity is present in His passion. Passion and death are ineffable mystery of
love, therefore, God’s expression of love for sinful humanity makes him vulnerable in Jesus. In
sacrificing his only Son, God exposes that His loving plan anticipates our merits and exceeds all
our affairs. The death of Jesus is a mystery of love in which the divine Trinity is involved. The
father takes absolute initiative, the Son shares the Father’s love as well as plan, and the Holy
Spirit is the Person-Love in whom the love of the Father and the Son converge. In the Bible, a
passage described the sacrifice, suggesting that Jesus offered himself through the “eternal Spirit”
Besermenji
refers to the Holy Spirit. In this passage, the Holy Spirit was self-giving of the Son of Man to
convert the suffering into redemptive love. Jesus’ death leads to His resurrection. It is the
fulfillment of the incarnation that takes place by the works of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the
Holy Spirit is poured by Jesus on the church, and given to his disciples. Through the Holy Spirit
Christ lives in us. The Spirit of Jesus gives humanity the grace to have identical attitudes as
Christ and to love as He loved. By communicating his Spirit to us, Christ enters our life and it
becomes a continual Passover, a constant passing from death to life.