In Season and Out of Season

Guest (Male): Behold I stand at the door and knock. This is In Season and Out of Season, a Bible teaching ministry with Father Tom DiLorenzo.

Father Tom DiLorenzo: Good day! It's Father Tom, and I'm glad to be with you today. You know what I'm thinking? In 1984, we embarked to get on WEZE. I had maybe $7,000 that I had received because I was preaching the gospel, and I knew that the money wasn't mine. I just kept it, and something opened up in WEZE, and I used those $7,000 to be on radio.

I was going to be on for three months. So I figured three months is better than nothing. I'll preach Jesus and the power of the Holy Ghost. I'll preach the blood of the Lamb and the resurrection of Jesus himself. I'll call upon the Holy Spirit. Pentecost come! Come, O Spirit of God, in a mighty and awesome way because without the Holy Ghost, we ain't got nothing. We have absolutely zilch.

The Holy Spirit is the one who draws us into the heart of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the one that gives us the unction to say, "Jesus Christ is Lord." The Holy Spirit is the one who heals the sick as we pray in the name of Jesus. Oh, we need a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said it. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Do you have the power?

I'll say it another way. It says you shall receive dunamos. That's power, Greek dunamos. You shall receive dynamite when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and throughout all the ends of the earth. When's the last time you were a witness to people, telling them about Jesus?

The only way people are going to be converted, they have to hear that there's another way of life that we can choose, and it's the way of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I are called to witness to the person of Jesus. How do I witness? I let people know what God has done in my life. God has called me out of darkness into his wonderful light.

I let people know that in 1968, in front of the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord spoke to me. Oh, he spoke to me a word I will never forget. I've told you the word and I'll say it again. There were wildflowers in front of the Holy Sacrament, and the Lord showed me what these wildflowers were doing. They were giving glory to God.

Jesus interrupted me. I love to be interrupted by Jesus. He said to me, "Tom, do you see these flowers, how much glory they give me?" I wasn't a priest. I said, "Yes, Lord, I saw what the flowers were doing. They were giving glory to God." "You see these flowers, how much glory they give me? How much more glory can you give me? You're a human being." I said, "Much, Lord."

With that, I said to Jesus, "You can have my life." Guess what? He took it. Then I said something else. I said to the Lord Jesus, "If I ever take it back, let me suffer like a dog." You want to know what? That second part of the prayer also came true. When I wanted to take it back because things were difficult and things were hard, I started to suffer like a dog. That brought me back to Jesus and to the crucified, risen Savior.

Who am I that I should be on the radio today, telling you that you're loved by Jesus Christ? Who am I? Do you know my mother's maiden name was DiLorenzo? So I am Father Tom DiLorenzo DiLorenzo. Who am I? The only thing I have is Jesus. That's who I am in Christ. Without Jesus, I'm an empty shell.

My Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely who I have and, more than that, who has me. I want to tell people about the great awesome presence of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ said, "It is better for you that I go away. For if I go away, I will send the helper, the Holy Spirit." He ascended into heaven, and the apostles gathered in the Upper Room for nine days, a novena.

On the day of Pentecost, Pentecost was the experience to the Jews of the giving of the law. On the day that they were celebrating the given of the law, they were in one accord with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and there was a rushing mighty wind that filled the whole place. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance.

I got that gift too. It's not a gift that I flaunt. It's a gift of prayer. I pray in other languages by the grace of God. When I have people in front of me and I don't know how to pray, I use that prayer that's not of English. It's in tongues. I use it because I might not know what they need, but the Holy Spirit knows what they need.

That gift of tongues is a wonderful gift. I know the Bible says it's the least of all the gifts. Hallelujah! I want the least and I want the greatest. The greatest is love. The least is tongues. I want it all so that I can proclaim Jesus, so that you would come into an experience of Christ Jesus and give your whole life to him. Every day you do that. Every day I give my life to Jesus.

Now, who am I that I should be on radio? I'm nobody, but in Christ, I am a man of God. In Christ, God has given me the ability to proclaim the word of God to people so they would understand it. He gave it to me and, by God's grace, I'm using it. It was many years ago that I was a young priest, and I would go from place to place that invited me to preach the gospel.

I would preach the gospel and I would have an altar call and I would receive a donation for the proclamation of the gospel. I didn't spend it. I saved it. I did that many times and I got many offerings. One day when I counted the offerings, it was thousands of dollars, maybe $3,000. I said, "What are we going to do with these $3,000? I'm going on radio."

You know what? I'll be on radio for three months, and that's good. I'll proclaim the name of Jesus for three months with those $3,000. That's been 41 years later, and here I am. I'm not the greatest preacher, but I tell you the way it is. I tell you not only the way it is, I tell you my struggles too. Not many people tell struggles, but the Lord is Lord of my struggles, and the Lord is Lord of your struggles.

No one who hears my voice doesn't experience some sort of struggle. You see, I have struggles and I have struggles galore, but I tell the name of Jesus, the person of Jesus. I don't want to ever win when I'm fighting with these struggles. I want you always to win. Win so that I can be more for you and people will hear the word of God. Oh, I have struggles, but they're not going to keep me down.

Many times I've come to this microphone feeling like a penny waiting for change. But that wasn't going to stop me. I was going to preach the love of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, the glory of the blood of the Lamb. Oh yes, I was going to do it despite my feeling like a penny waiting for change.

Why? Because that's what I was called to do. You know who I was preaching to? Me. I was preaching to myself because I needed to hear it. I was like the penny waiting for change. I proclaimed the power of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. I proclaimed the glory of Pentecost, that it's available for all of us. You can have it if you want it.

Pentecost changed the church, and Pentecost changed me. It was in 1968. I was at a conference. I gave my life again to Jesus. I was now in my bed. It was a Sunday night and I said to Jesus, "I'll do anything for you. I surrender my life to you." All of a sudden, I start speaking in another language. I said, "Oh, this must be tongues."

I never heard anyone else speak in that language. I said, "This might be tongues." So I said, "Goodnight, Jesus. I've got the gift of tongues." It's the least of gifts, but it's a powerful one. I'll tell you that. When people come to me and I know not how to pray, I pray in tongues, softly. I don't want to freak people out. Softly, because the Holy Spirit knows how to pray and what to pray for.

It's a great gift, the gift of tongues. Prophecy is much better. But you know what? I want to prophesy and I want to pray in tongues. I want to heal the sick. I want to do all the things Jesus wants me to do, all for the glory of God. It's no glory for Father Tom, the glory of God. He's on the radio every day, Monday through Friday.

Not many people or priests can do that, but God gave me the grace to do it. And I got the money from people who send it to me so I can continue to preach. I don't get a penny. Do you want to know why? I don't need it. I don't need it. I've got my own money. I get money from the diocese every month. I have a house and I get rent. I have everything I need. I don't need a penny from the radio.

For how many years since '84 till now, I've been proclaiming Jesus on the radio. Even when we went out and still are in Arizona. Arizona hears my voice every day. I want to tell you, if my voice does not preach the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, get me off the radio. I don't need to be on. I want to preach Jesus and him crucified. I want to preach Jesus and him resurrected.

I want to bring Jesus preached, Jesus who bestows the baptism of the Holy Spirit on us. Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit? I'll ask you another way. Have you experienced Pentecost? Oh, way before I knew about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I experienced Pentecost. As I started to study the scriptures, the scriptures told me, "Go into the city and pray until you receive power from on high."

The baptism of the spirit. They were together in one accord with Mary, the mother of Jesus. On the day of Pentecost, Pentecost was the feast of the giving of the law. On the day of Pentecost, as they were praising God for the law, there was a rushing mighty wind that filled the whole place. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other languages as the spirit gave them utterance.

I thank you, Jesus, for the ability to speak in tongues. Not because it makes me great, but it searches the heart of God for the people that I'm praying for. It searches the heart of God for the people that I'm praying for. My vocation as a priest is to be the leader of prayer, and I am the leader of prayer every day on the radio between 11:30 and 12:00 and 9:00 in the evening and 9:30, and on another station on WEZE.

We spend all our money in Boston to preach God, to preach Christ, to preach the power of the resurrection, to preach Pentecost. I don't take a penny. I don't need it. When I get extra money, you know what I do? I search for another place to preach the gospel. I search for another place to proclaim Jesus.

Because I'm going to tell you a secret, not many people will tell you this secret. Many people go to hell, and they go to hell because they have no idea of who Jesus is. They've not received him as Savior and Lord of their lives. Imagine a good man who loved his children, a good man who worked so he would provide for his family, but he didn't know Jesus.

No one ever told him about the Son of God and the son of Mary. Where is he going to go when he dies? That's up to Jesus. It's not up to Father Tom. But I want to make sure if I have contact with that man, I'm going to introduce him to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because I know that I know when people come into the experience of giving their lives to Jesus, things happen.

After I've prayed with people for the baptism of the spirit, guess one of the things that happen? I didn't proclaim it. Guess one of the things? They tell me, "I've got to go to confession." I never preached confession, but the Holy Ghost did. The Holy Spirit. I preached the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Oh, many years ago when I was a grade six teacher, I had in my seminar Peter Kreeft, who is a professor of philosophy in Boston College. He was there, and I was proclaiming Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He's a great professor, a great man of God, and he's sitting under the teaching of a grade six teacher. He said one day, "I need the baptism of the Holy Spirit. What are the odds that I'm going to get it next week?"

Oh, I said to Peter, "Let me ask Jesus." So I put my face down and said, "Jesus, what are the odds?" Oh, I looked at Peter and said, "100%." Peter said, "What gives you the right to say 100% that I'll receive the gift of Pentecost next week?" I said, "I'll tell you who gave me the right, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm going to tell you the scriptures.

Jesus said, "You fathers among you know how to give good things to your children. If they ask you for a piece of bread, you don't give them a stone. If they ask you for a fish, you don't give them a scorpion." I said, "Peter, if one of your children asked you for some pasta that was on the table, you'd give it to that person, that child of yours. But then the scripture says, "How much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? More! Hallelujah! More!

I want more so that more people would be saved and come to Christ. More people will go to the Eucharist and receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus at Holy Communion. Oh, I want more of the Holy Spirit. And you know what? Jesus said it. "You fathers among you know how to give good gifts to your children. If they ask you for a piece of bread, you wouldn't give them a stone. How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? Much more."

Are you asking for the Holy Spirit? Are you asking for the gift of Pentecost? You see, I was baptized. The Spirit of God came to live in me when I was 40 days old. I was confirmed at 11 years old. The Holy Ghost came into my heart. I remember that day. But there was a release of the Holy Spirit in 1968, a release of the Holy Spirit that was called the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

I started praying in another language. No one taught me. I never had heard anyone else doing it. All of a sudden, I started praying in another language. I didn't do it long. I said to myself, I was in my bed, "I guess that's the gift of tongues." I said to the Lord, "I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."

But I'll never be able, never be able to deny that that gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of praying in the Holy Spirit, the gift of tongues, I never could deny that it is such a great gift when I'm praying with people. It's for you. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is for you. That's what Jesus said. "You fathers among you know how to give good gifts to your kids. How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? Are you asking?"

Oh, I'm not asking for money. I'm not even asking for health. I'm asking you, God, in the name of Jesus, for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit in my life. That's what I want so that more people would be saved from hell and brought into the presence of God and brought into the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why I was born.

I was born to proclaim God's word. That's why I was born. I was born to celebrate the Eucharist. I was born to experience Pentecost so that others would experience Pentecost. That's why I was born. And you want to know what? I'm just a broken man. I'm just a man that is absolutely in need of Jesus. It's just the way it is.

I'm not one of those men that can lift up their lives by taking the bootstraps off their shoes. No, I am a desperate man. I cannot function without the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who I am. I cannot function without the Lord Jesus Christ. But you know what? I need never be without the Lord Jesus Christ. And you too. You need never be without the Lord Jesus Christ.

You just have to go to him and say, "Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive all my wickedness, all my sins. Fill me with the Holy Spirit." Oh yes, and I'd tell you, if you are Catholic, go to confession this Saturday. Confess all your sins. Get rid of them. Let God, who took them on the cross, take them from you now.

Go to confession. It is a great gift, the gift of penance. A great gift, and people have been drifting away from confessing their sins. Our Lord Jesus said in the 20th chapter of Saint John, "Whose sins you forgive, shall be forgiven. Whose sins you retain, shall be retained." When's the last time you went to confession? Oh, I go right to God.

But Jesus said to the apostles, "Whose sins you forgive, shall be forgiven. Whose sins you retain, shall be retained." I know it's a hard thing to tell another person your sin. But you know what? Humility is what it's all about. I go to confession, me personally. I go to confession in need of a new outpouring of forgiveness.

I need to go to confession. I have never been rejected when I've confessed the wickedness of what I told the priest. I've been freed from them and brought into the glory of God. Go to confession. Go confess all your sins. Know that no one who comes to me, Jesus said, will I ever reject because I've come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

And it is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing, that's you, of what he has given me, but that I should raise it up, that's you, on the last day. Oh, we have that great sacrament of penance, that great sacrament of penance or confession. Call it what you want. Go use it. Confess your sins. Get rid of them, especially the ones you've been hiding. Get rid of them.

Give your life anew to the Lord Jesus Christ when you confess your sins. Give your life anew to Jesus. I've got one more thing to say. You are loved with an everlasting love by the Lord Jesus Christ right now. Right now. God bless you.

Guest (Male): This has been In Season and Out of Season with Father Tom DiLorenzo. And remember that this ministry is supported only by the donations of listeners. So please help as the Lord leads you. Father Tom DiLorenzo, PO Box 602, East Boston, Mass, 02128. In Season and Out of Season.