Gatlinburg hiking trail Pictures by Sandra Mullin
Our Blog is Inspired by The Holy Spirit
Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
R.(7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Emphasis mine Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
As some of you know I used to sing in the choir, and this psalm I really enjoyed singing,
But it wasn’t until today when we sat down to write our blog that I started to think about the word POOR.
I, yes, I had always thought of the word poor referring to those who are economically poor. My, yes my definition was too limited, and this I realized today. Poor also refers to all who are not living in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit.
I didn’t see this blog coming.
I have recently met so many people who consider themselves economically poor, when in fact they are rich. Oh maybe they don’t have the latest car, or maybe they don’t eat the finest cuts of meat, or maybe their house isn’t the largest with the best furnishings,
BUT,
They are Loved by a God of Outrageous Love, they do have the chance today, now, to change their life and start by learning the Nine Fruit of The Holy Spirit, and witness their life change just as I did over forty years ago.
I know many of you are thinking, will Fred stop writing about the Fruit of The Holy Spirit?
Who would want me to stop?
satan!
Why?
Because this is the big gift that we receive when we are Baptised,
But,
We have to open the package if you will, pray the nine words, to experience the change.
Think of it as being like making a cake, you get the cake mix in a box, which you open, read the instructions, and then bake. Skipping any of the above three steps and the cake won’t exist.
Sadly the Catholic Church has spent a lot of time and effort explaining that we are sinners, and we are,
But,
God the Father and Jesus sent The Holy Spirit to be Infused in our Souls at Baptism, and the world changed. We were given the power to truly fight satan, which the Jewish people before the Life, Death, and Resurrection didn’t have. Don’t believe me, read 1 & 2 Kings, and see the sins committed by many of the Jewish kings at that time.
Celebrate that we worship a God of OUTRAGEOUS Love.
Prayer:
If you want to grow in Love, Joy, and Peace this is a result of growth in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Kindness, and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
Emphasis mine Matthew 18: 20-35
I had always thought that this parable was pointing to hell. I now believe this is wrong because The Holy Spirit pointed out to me, last week, the words, Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers UNTIL he should pay back the whole debt
I believe now this Parable is pointing to Purgatory, because the words until he should pay back the whole debt, indicate an end to the torture.
Now don’t think for a minute Purgatory is a cakewalk. I saw a YouTube clip on a Muslim woman who prayed five times a day, gave to the poor and lived a life many would consider a proper life. She died and she saw many people she knew in total distress,
But,
They were not in physical pain as was reported by others who have seen hell, which was much worse.
She came back to life, and by the way, these reported experiences, are classified as near-death experiences, NDE, and she changed by becoming a Christian, and in the process losing her family, and Muslim friends, but choosing a new Life, life as a Christian.
Life on earth is not a game. We have evidence all around of God’s Creation which should verify to you that there is a God. We also have the knowledge that Jesus was real, and Jesus died on The Cross so you might be justified, but the next step is, you have to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and then change your life by living as Jesus did when he walked on the earth, and this can be accomplished in part by praying the nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit.
We just finished the first draft of our blog, and I sat back and said to myself, “ I had no idea this is where we would be going.”
Pope Francis died today and J.D. Vance, a convert, said in an X quote, that he would always remember Pope Francis for the homily he gave during the very early days of COVID. I read it and it was powerful. The link is below.
Picture:
Gatlinburg, the picture was taken during a hike. Fall is my favorite season. I love the beautiful colors of the leaves. Pictures by Sandra Mullin
Please keep Snapping!
Email me if you want a copy of the prayers we discussed.
And if you want the ten calling cards shown above, email me and I will send you my address, send me a STAMPED self-addressed envelope and I will send you ten cards.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, please do not include people. We have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
