Sunrise at Hutchinson Island, Florida. Picture by Terri Becker
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Extraordinary Time
Brothers and sisters:
Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies
so that you obey their desires.
And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin
as weapons for wickedness,
but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life
and the parts of your bodies to God
as weapons for righteousness.
For sin is not to have any power over you,
since you are not under the law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law
but under grace?
Of course not!
Do you not know that if you present yourselves
to someone as obedient slaves,
you are slaves of the one you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death,
or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin,
you have become obedient from the heart
to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.
Emphasis mine Romans 6:12-18
I, yes, I must confess I didn’t know what Righteousness meant. I Googled what Righteousness means and saw the definition below from Christianity.com.
Righteousness, by human standards, is defined as “the quality of being morally true or justifiable.” The justification is made according to the conformity of behavior with the regulation (or constitution, in the context of a nation).
In its deeper spiritual meaning, righteousness is the quality of being right in the eyes of God, including character (nature), conscience (attitude), conduct (action), and command (word). Righteousness is, therefore, based upon God’s standard because He is the ultimate Lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22).
Righteousness is a God-centered attribute: no man can attain it through his own efforts apart from His ordinance. We, humans, are inclined to follow our own paths and use our own ways instead of God’s. (Notice that this selfish desire for independence from God is in our nature, we need nobody to teach us that, but we always need the discipline to remain faithful in the path of God). In comparison to God’s righteousness, our righteous deeds are “nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Emphasis mine
When I read the two definitions, one for human standards and one for Divine standards, the problem that faces many in our country popped out at me.
I, yes, I can feed the Hungry, save the environment, and do many other acts of Kindness without God, and this will not be counted as Righteous deeds in the eyes of God.
But,
If we, yes We, are God-inspired to feed the Hungry and save the environment, and our acts are for the glory of God our Father, then our acts come closer to the Spiritual meaning of Righteousness.
We include the quote from Isaiah because we shouldn’t get too full of ourselves. In comparison to God’s righteousness, our righteous deeds are “nothing but filthy rags.”
Filthy rags now makes sense because we, you and I, can’t possibly comprehend an Infinite God who lives in Outrageous Love.
But,
We can start to understand if we are acting as God would have us act through the Joy and Peace we receive through our actions.
As we typed this, I realized those working to improve society without God are often filled with anger.
If what you are doing gives Joy and Peace, then you are acting as God would have you act.
If you live in Joy and Peace, you will also find that God will keep asking you to grow so that your Joy and Peace will continue to increase.
Paul’s definition I would like to alter. Freed from sin, you have become sons and daughters of righteousness. A slave is forced to do certain acts. I, we, believe we have a choice, and I choose to try and live my, now our, life in union with a God of Outrageous Love.
We suggest three relationship-building prayers this quarter if you want to join and grow in Team Jesus.
- Weeeeeeeee, say this prayer every time you and God interact. For example, weeeeeee made a great meal, Weeeee played a good game of …, Weeeee didn’t handle this very well, etc.
- Thank you, Father; say this all day, every day, for all the Father is doing in your life. If something really good happens, say this multiple times with enthusiasm. When I was told my Basal Cell had disappeared, I said the Thank You prayer at least fifty times as I walked out of the doctor’s office.
- I’m Fantastic; anytime anyone asks how you are, tell them you are Fantastic. I believe you are who you say you are. You have every reason to be Fantastic and no reason not to be. If you can’t think of a reason to be Fantastic, thank God for the difficulty, and God will provide you with the reasons.
Sidebar:
Sunday was a very interesting day for me. Every third Sunday, we do a Communion service at The Veterans Home in Scarborough. Yes, I don’t prepare a homily; the Holy Spirit takes me where the Holy Spirit wants to go.
Interestingly, they serve coffee and donuts after the service, and I always join in. My problem was I couldn’t think of anything interesting to talk about. Not thinking about something to say was not the first time, and during this period after the service, I always felt VERY AWKWARD.
Sunday, I realized the Holy Spirit wanted us to continue talking about God, soooooo.
The Holy Spirit shut down my mind, just as The Holy Spirit shut me down for three days in writing the sidebar to any other topics a few weeks ago.
We started discussing the Prayers we mentioned in our blogs, and they were interested.
I’m Fantastic had the greatest response.
They wanted to learn how to live a Fantastic Life.
After we spoke, we asked, “How are you?” their response became “Fantastic,” and they had big smiles.
We asked, “How can you be Catholic and NOT be Fantastic?”
We will ask you the same question. “How can you be Catholic and NOT be Fantastic?”
You’ve been Justified and shown how to try and live life in union with the Triune God.
You have confession and can touch God every time you receive communion and join in a dance with Them.
They asked me to bring in the prayers we have shared with you over the months we have written our blog. We will, and from now on, when we ask, “ How are you?” only one answer will be accepted.
Update on Fantastic Neighbor:
Before Sunday’s service at the V.A., I was walking past the house of the Man who is now Fantastic, whom we talked about last week, and his wife was walking down the driveway. I asked her, “How are you?” She responded, “Fantastic,” with a big smile.
I was filled with Joy; people being Fantastic are growing in numbers in our area.
Preaching the Gospel is easy.
YouTube: Type in the search bar; Priest delivers one of the most inspiring talks! On the screen, it will say; This could be the Greatest talk ever given by a Catholic Priest. It’s thirty minutes short, and you will not be disappointed.
Notice the Joy that fills the Priest.
Picture:
Sunrise at Hutchinson Island, Florida. Picture by Terri Becker
Please keep Snapping!
Several people from foreign countries have asked for my email address, but I am still waiting to hear back. We decided to include my email for your convenience.
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 sending your picture, you consent to allow us to reprint that picture in our next book, God Thoughts 2023, with your name and any comments in the Blog.
