Baptism in the Holy Spirit:

This phrase appears in Acts and is fulfilled at Pentecost. It refers to being filled with the Spirit for transformation and mission.

Mark 1:8, “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit,”

• Acts 1:5 – “John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
• Acts 2:4 – “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…”
• Acts 9:17 – Paul receives the Holy Spirit after his conversion
• Acts 8:14–17 – Believers in Samaria receive the Holy Spirit through prayer and laying on of hands

This baptism empowers believers to live boldly, walk in spiritual gifts, and deepen their relationship with God.

We receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit at Baptism and Confirmation. However, like unopened gifts, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to activate them in our hearts. it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we experience God’s love in profound life-changing ways. Jesus wamts to be our best friend and to help us get through our everyday challenges but we have to open our hearts every day and let the Holy Spirit in.

For Catholics this is not to be confused with the sacrament of Confirmation. Some have called it the renewal of the sacrament of Confirmation or the release of the graces of this sacrament and the sacrament of Baptism. Those who have had this experience can identify a moment in their lives when they accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and asked to be filled in a new way with the Holy Spirit. A usual way this happens is through the laying on of hands by members of a prayer group as the person formally asks Jesus to baptize them in the Holy Spirit. Others report that it happened in private prayer or sometimes during the course of the Eucharist. Some manifestations usually follow this experience like praying in tongues, new joy, and a desire to give spontaneous praise to God and witness to others about Jesus has done in them. It also awakens a desire to be with others who have had the same experience and share God’s Word together. In most cases a person intentionally asks for it

A program centered in the kerygma called Life in the Spirit Seminar is a formal, structured introduction to Baptism in the Holy Spirit and is offered in Catholic churches throughout the world. It is also readily available online. Many Catholics begin to seek this when they sense a need for “more” in their lives, finding that their current experience of Catholic life is not enough for them.