Are you saying that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in anyone who dos’nt follow the teachings of the Catholic Church?
Wow, that’s right! In fact, the gifts of the Holy Spirit only dwell within those who have had the hands of the Apostles, or those who have been appointed by them (the bishops in communion with the Church, all of whom can trace their lineage to the Apostles and Christ Jesus).
Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had *
only *been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus
Acts 8:14-16, emphasis added
And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied
Acts 19:6
That quotation from Acts 8:14-16 is particularly important, because we see that the Holy Spirit only enters the faithful who have had
hands laid upon them. Who has the authority to do such things? The Apostles were the first bishops, and they chose successors to protect the deposit of faith; make no mistake then, that this is the very same sacrament of confirmation.
Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God, instruction about baptisms and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
Hebrews 6:1-2
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them
Acts 6:5-6
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.
Acts 13:1-3
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the
imposition of hands of the presbyterate [a *bishop in our language].
1 Timothy 4:14
I charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to keep these rules without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism.
Do not lay hands too readily on anyone, and do not share in another’s sins. Keep yourself pure.
1 Timothy 5:21-22
Uh oh, it looks like we have something here with these two pieces of Scripture! “What is it”, you ask? First, proof that all these things are
necessary for the Christian, as actual matters of the faith (as per the quotation from Hebrews). But also, just as importantly, proof from the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is only conferred upon those whom the Apostles laid hands upon, with the intention that this practice was to continue for all Christians!
All these pieces of Scripture seem to indicate that
only by the laying of hands by those who were chosen will a Christian be filled with the Holy Spirit.
To know who or how people are chosen,
look at the quote from 1 Timothy 5:21-22. He was no Apostle, yet he was
chosen by St. Paul to continue on what the Apostles had been charged by Christ to do. And when the time was right, Timothy chose someone else to continue on the legacy.
So, to answer your question, you can’t be filled with the Holy Spirit unless you have hands laid upon you by a bishop. And as Catholics, we lay claim to such succession that Protestants could never even hope for.
I sincerely pray that you actually read this, because thusfar you swiftly ignore much of the treasure that people have written.
