Meijer Gardens Japanese Village near Grand Rapids, MI Picture by David Combs
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Wednesday of the Fourth week of Lent
Jesus answered the Jews:
“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation.
“I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.”
Emphasis mine Jn 5:17-30
whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life
I realize this is a long heading, but try as we couldn’t cut it down in size.
Question.
When does eternal life start? A second question is how we know we are living in eternal life.
As I am sure all of you know by now, the answer is intellectual, but maybe some of you have yet to experience what we have discussed over the past two-plus years.
Eternal life, Heaven, starts now!
That’s what we pray when we pray the Our Father. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, and IF you do the will of God the Father, by listening to the whisper of the Holy Spirit, then you are in God the Father’s Kingdom, here on earth, now.
Easy!
Yet satan gets us to believe it is very hard. In fact, satan had me believe for seventy years that it was impossible.
How do we know we are in Heaven here and now?
L.J.P. I was at the doctor’s, and they used an acronym to describe the treatment I was going to get ( nothing serious). The thought that came to me, Holy Spirit, was that many people in jail and reading our blog refuse to learn the “Nine” because we are not using an acronym for the “Nine.”
Soooooooo
Weeeeeeeee will change.
L.J.P. is the result of growth in P.K.G.F.G.S.C.
When you live as Jesus did, doing the will of His Father for the Glory of His Father, then you will say, as Bishop Barron said, standing in front of a picture of Jesus Crucified (this is a picture of Freedom and of Joy) that you have passed from death to life.
Heaven here and now.
Daily Prayers for the Fourth of Lent: Weeeeeeeee, say this prayer every time you and the Holy Spirit interact in your Job, relationships, projects, etc. Thank you, Father, for the difficulty of ……..Name difficulty… I know you will take care of me and say this prayer repeatedly until you smile. (satan can’t smile) “Get behind me, satan, Come Holy Spirit.” AND Pray the “Nine.” Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control.
Join Team Jesus:
If you would like to protect your family, dumb question, pray Psalm 91 verbally.
My life changed after reading Peggy Joyce Ruth’s book, Psalm 91, God’s Shield of Protection, Military Version. Every day, I say this powerful prayer for everyone in our life, including the writers and readers of A Catholic Moment.
We pray that you will spend $8.89 on the pocket edition or $7.99 on the Kindle edition and spend a short time each day saying Psalm 91 to protect your family.
Sidebar:
Weeeeeee are reading another book written by a Jewish Rabbi. In the fifth chapter he wrote off Christianity as being all about sin.
I disagreed with him instantly,
But
As you may have guessed, I have started thinking about this statement.
He also spent a large part of the first half of his book discussing the relationship God wants with the Jewish people.
The thought that went through my mind, Holy Spirit, is that when we receive Holy Communion, we TOUCH GOD (Jesus). How much closer a relationship could you ask for,
And
As you all know by now, it’s even better because we are invited into a dance with the Triune God, not as onlookers but as full participants.
Name any other religion that makes this bold claim.
And
God has the title Father and Brother, with The Holy Spirit, their Love Link, has been extended to us via baptism.
Talk about relationship!
If we were to spend a lifetime trying to invent the perfect God, we wouldn’t come close.
Go back into history.
No one Jew or Gentile could create a God who offers a chance to be brothers and sisters and grow in a very personal relationship that we’re asked to worship here and now.
No one could create a God that would send His only Son to come down and Climb up on a Cross, taking with Him all our sins so that we may be justified.
What The Triune God did was and still is OUTRAGEOUS!
What other god asks to be a part of our everyday life, and by saying the Weeeeeeeeee prayer for every interaction with others, or tasks we are asked to do, we further build on our relationship with Our Father, Brother, and The Holy Spirit.
Remember, I learned the Weeeeeeeeee prayer after a bad day in golf when The Holy Spirit said to me, “Invite me into your life.” I said, “o.k. Weeeeeeeeeee had a bad game.” Right after I said the Weeeeeeeeeeee Prayer, I smiled, and I knew the Holy Spirit had defeated satan, and I was back in the L.J.P. of the Holy Spirit.
Fascinating, isn’t it? A lousy game of Golf, and I draw closer to God.
Go Figure.
This is why I enjoy our relationship so much. I am always surprised and filled with J. & P. when God enters my life to make it better.
You have to say the Weeeeeeeee prayer out loud, and when you do, you will smile and start to enjoy your growing relationship.
By the way, I agree with the Rabbi; we talk too much about sin and not enough about the L. J. & P. we will grow in by living our lives in concert with The Triune God.
Picture:
Lake Picture from Meijer Gardens Japanese Village near Grand Rapids, MI
Picture by David Combs
Please keep Snapping!
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed, email me.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
By submitting a picture, you agree to let us include it in our next God Thoughts 2024 book.
