Ducks in our pond at the condo Picture by Gail Prince
Our Blog is Inspired by The Holy Spirit.
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let him confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong? Is 50: 6-9
I don’t know about you but this lent seemed to fly by quickly. Next week is Holy week, and we are asked to relive the unbelievable story of God sending His son to climb up on a cross so we might be justified.
What I didn’t realize until later in my life, was Jesus did not climb up on the Cross alone.
His, our, Father, and the Holy Spirit were with Him, and this for me makes a big difference.
Why might you be thinking?
If Jesus goes it alone, it would mean to me that God the Father was an onlooker, He watched Jesus being Crucified from Heaven, God the Father watched but didn’t actively participate.
What I failed to realize and it’s easy to forget this, there is only One God, three persons.
Jesus wasn’t sent to earth by Himself.
As we wrote about last week Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing and said what He heard His Father say, and it goes without saying the love link, The Holy Spirit was always with Jesus.
It then only makes sense that the events that will unfold during Holy Week were not Jesus going it alone but the Triune God climbing up on the cross so that all may be saved.
What is interesting about the reading above was Isiah predicted in the eighth century B.C. what would happen to Jesus.
What is even more interesting is the line,
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
How did God the Father help Jesus, from outward appearances it would appear Jesus was treated savagely, and Jesus was,
BUT,
I also now think that on His Cross Jesus died filled with the LOVE, JOY, and PEACE of the Holy Spirit.
We don’t sadly have the space to fully develop this thought, but we would like to pass on a piece of information that just came to light to me.
In a small faith group, I was telling the group that Bishop Barron, who is a fantastic speaker, and theologian, does not use the word Joy much in his talks, at least in the talks and writings I have heard, and read.
He does use the word happiness, but happiness is fleeting. I bought a new car for example, and am happy, but in a few years, I will buy another.
Joy only grows as long as you don’t rebel against God as we have related in prior posts. Joy in the good times and Joy in the hard times. Strange, I don’t know of any other religion that is saying this.
Remember, the prayer we have asked you to learn, thanking God for the DIFFICULTIES God has allowed in your life, hard times.
Every time I say the prayer I smile because it still sounds so stupid a thing to do!
It goes against all of human reasoning, and yet I continue to say it every day because I have seen the power of this prayer.
One member of our small faith group disagreed with me and said he would send proof that I was wrong. Later that night I received an email from him with a talk by Bishop Barron entitled,
“The Beatitudes the key to Joy”.
Bishop Barron ended his talk, standing in front of a painting of The Crucified Jesus, and the very last words of his talk were,
“That is a picture of freedom, that is a picture of Joy.”
It is a powerful talk, but what really moved me was the very last word Bishop Barron used to describe the death of Jesus on the cross was Joy. If we, had not made this statement at the small faith group meeting I would never have seen and heard Bishop Barron’s talk, which by the way is on youtube, and my thinking Jesus died on the Cross filled with Joy wouldn’t have been confirmed by a person I consider a lot smarter than me.
And, please don’t think I am criticizing Bishop Barron. In my eighty-one years, I have never heard a homily on Love, Joy, and Peace and more importantly how I grow in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit.
In fact, I met with Jim Russell this morning, we meet every Wednesday after Mass, and I asked him if in his eighty-five years had he ever heard a homily on the Fruit of The Holy Spirit and how to grow in the Fruit and Jim said,
“No.”
We have millions of Catholics who have not found a reason to become active in this wonderful religion, a religion that wants us to live a life filled with Love, Joy, and Peace., and yet we don’t talk about the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit working in my life.
The Lord GOD is my help,
“The nine” We pray you will grow in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit by growing in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
As we said earlier in our blog this lent has been fast, and I have grown in my Love for the Triune God.
Holy Week is starting now, I am typing this a week early, so in our world, it’s a little strange.
I pray many of you will try taking back Good Friday, by making it a special day between you and God.
As I was typing this the thought occurred to me, Holy Spirit, that we didn’t give any hints as to what you should consider doing, on YOUR special Good Friday, and the reason is, I, we, think as Catholics we are led way too much.
Being a Catholic is easy.
The prayers are all laid out, the Rosary, Novina’s, Mass, the prayers before and after confession to mention a few.
Now we’re suggesting you consider how YOU will honor Jesus on Good Friday for His Life, and Death on the Cross, and if you are thinking “I don’t have a clue,” ask the Holy Spirit to open your mind as to what you can do.
Don’t worry the Holy Spirit will!
And I hope you will share what you did with all of us in your comments.
Find the Joy that Bishop Barron talked about, the Joy that you are justified by a God of Outrageous Love.
The Joy that you are living, on this earth, after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and can choose to live your life in the “Spirit world.”
The Joy that when you were Baptized the Holy Spirit was infused into your soul.
The Joy that on Easter Sunday as you receive communion you are touching Jesus and have been invited into a dance with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Joy that if you have faith, and trust in the Triune God, when you touch Jesus, the Eucharist, the healing is started, and we all need healing of some sort.
The Joy that you were wanted and are loved!
and,
The Joy of knowing you are here for a reason that God will make known to you, if only you ask.
Gail and I wish all of you wonderful readers, and contributors, an Easter filled with the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit.
