Fatima Portugal Picture by Jim Boisvert
Our Blog is Inspired by The Holy Spirit
Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Loreto
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Emphasis mine: Luke 1:26-38
Many times during the past four years I have reported that I was greatly troubled at what was said. (Asked)
Write three books, and the titles I knew before we even started writing. Write a weekly blog, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Become a lecturer at Mass, “I was never taught to sound out words phonetically. Become a cantor, “I can’t read music.” Go into the prison and teach the men about Jesus, “I don’t want to be involved with these men!”
And
If you think this is the only time I questioned a request, we would also throw in Go to Daily Mass, Pray the Rosary, stop listening to the nightly news, forgive everyone who has worked me over, and the groups of people I don’t like, pray for them.
This was my response when the Holy Spirit first asked me to take on these new missions. (Boundaries)
It was today as we were reading the readings that I realized that unlike Mary, I ORIGINALLY said no, The Holy Spirit persisted, and I changed my answer RELUCTANTLY to “Yes,” and now wouldn’t go back to the person I was before the request..
It has been a very interesting life to say the least.
In a prior blog we quoted from Psalm 16: 6, The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places.
The above are my boundary lines, and I also pray every day I will not stray (sheep) from what God my Father wants me to do.
Another quick example: John Kiernan comes into the jail with me and at first brought in material HE thought would be of interest. We told him to leave the material at home.
He did, and having spoken for fifteen minutes, the men applauded when he was finished.
Last Thursday John brought in the material HE wanted to present. The fifteen minutes was long, the men didn’t applaud, and a few days later after Mass he told me the meeting was a bomb, and he was sorry.
God is a Jealous God is mentioned 10 times in the Bible: eight times in the Old Testament, and two times in the New Testament.
When John decided to do what HE wanted to do, HE threw God under the bus, and was unrewarded for his work.
I know the feeling of disappointment John must have felt as I have not always trusted in the Lord’s ways.”
How about You
Are you greatly troubled at what was said,(asked) and decide to go it alone? Because if you don’t do what is being asked, like Mary, you will NOT be filled with Joy because you’re not doing the will of your Father.
Prayer:
If you want to grow in Love, Joy and Peace, this is a result of growth in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
I was at a funeral last week and a man I gave a card to years ago came up to me and asked if I wanted to see the card I had given him. I said “Yes.” He then pulled out his wallet and showed me one of our original cards.
I was blown away.
I asked him, “Do you pray the “Nine?” And he said “Yes.”
In the jail last week, a man returned to our group and said, “I asked to be in this pod so I could show you I still know the “Nine.”
I had the thought that the front of the card could be an ad for one of our books.
No!
The Holy Spirit shot that down.
I also (notice the “I”s) thought maybe we could take this national.
The Holy Spirit shot that down.
Finally, I realized my Boundary line was offering the cards to you ( we average one or two requests for cards a month), and anyone else the Holy Spirit indicates as we pass them by in life, and I am filled with Joy.
Easy.
So why did I make it hard?
satan.
You satisfy a Jealous God by doing your Father’s will, imitating Jesus and listening to the whisper of The Holy Spirit.
Easy!
December 10,
Bonus Blog
Our blog is inspired by The Holy Spirit
Why a Bonus blog?
Fridays are the day I send the blog to A Catholic Moment, and set up the emails to go out on Tuesdays at 10 am. Friday 12/5 by mistake I sent out the email that day, five days early, and was mad at myself for making the mistake.
On the way from the cellar ( where my office is) to the first floor, the Holy Spirit told me someone needed that blog now. I laughed because I KNEW I would never know who that person was, but accepted the explanation, and thanked God for the mistake.
Twenty minutes later I received an email that said, “Thanks Fred… early but much appreciated!!!! Signed David V.”
I was blown away.
Next the Holy Spirit reminded me that the email readers would NOT get next Wednesday’s email , but if we sent only the email recipients the Bonus Blog we would be excluding you at ACM and the people who are on Linkedin.
We thought you might enjoy this blog.
Soooooooooo
I recently read three articles that opened my eyes, and they pertain to Christmas.
December 3, Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation, cac.org, written by Richard Rohr.
In the Magnificat, Mary, who is with Elizabeth, celebrates the surprise both have of life being in their wombs. One, Elizabeth, 80 years old, and Mary, a teenager, both said “Yes” to the request made to them by the Holy Spirit.
This song (The Magnificat) that then flowed out of Mary’s faithful heart flipped the script of power in society. She, a lowly young girl, pregnant and unmarried, easily dismissed or decried by most of society, becomes the most blessed. Like the work of the Holy Spirit, her very being disrupted the status quo, and to this day, her words call us into the renewing spirit of mercy and justice….
December 4, Richard Rohr written by Rachel Held Evans, and we will summarize:
I am a Christian because of a teenage girl living in very dangerous times saying “Yes,” to the call to become the mother of God, putting away the thoughts of the risk of being pregnant, not being married, raising a son, and lastly the vision of her son would topple the rich and famous and raise up the lowly.
Next Ms. Evans said, and we quote” It is nearly impossible to believe: God shrinking down to the size of a zygote, implanted in the soft lining of a woman’s womb…. God inching down the birth canal and entering this world covered in blood, perhaps into the steady, waiting arms of a midwife. God crying out in hunger. God reaching for his mother’s breasts. God totally relaxed, eyes closed, his chubby little arms raised over his head in a posture of complete trust. God resting in his mother’s lap…”
God the Father trusted His Son completely and fully to a teenage woman.
Before God fed us with His Body and Blood, God needed to be fed by a woman.
I had never thought of the birth of Jesus in this manner.
December 5, Richard Rohr and we quote:
For Christians who have gone to their own depths, there is the uncovering of an indwelling Presence—a deep, loving “yes” inherent within us. In Christian theology, this inner Presence is described as the Holy Spirit, which is precisely God as immanent, within, and even our deepest, truest self. God is the very ground of our Being.
Some mystics have described this Presence as “closer to me than I am to myself.” The Holy Spirit is totally given and given equally to all, but must be consciously received, too. The Presence needs to be recognized, honored, and drawn upon to become a living Presence within us.
And lastly Tim Gray of The Augustine Institute, formed.org, said in his December 5 talk, a blind man asked to be healed, and Jesus asked the blind man do you believe that I can heal your blindness?
The blind man says, “Yes,” and Jesus says, “May it be done to you according to your faith. Matthew 9: 27-31
And like Mary and Elizabeth we have to say, “Yes,” to what God asks us to do, and we have, or should we say want to ASK God all the time for the small and the great gifts and graces we would like, EXPECTING God will take care of us, and THANKING God all the time for what they are doing for us.
I thank God for the mistake of the early emailing (?) and once again celebrate our relationship, and pray you have also gained from our mistake (?).
Picture:
Fatima Portugal
Please keep Snapping!
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.
The offer for the cards is for American readers only. The Post office won’t accept foreign stamps.
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed.
And or
If you want a copy of our version of The Nicene Creed in our book, not the book, I believe.
Send an email to: 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.
