Sea Gull strutting at the sea shore
Picture by Jerry Torres
Our Blog is Inspired by The Holy Spirit
Wednesday of the Thirtieth First Week in Extraordinary Time
Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill;
you shall not steal;
you shall not covet,
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Emphasis mine: Romans 13:8-10
If you Love your neighbor as yourself, Saint Paul tells us that that love is in fulfillment of the law.
What St. Paul said earlier in Galatians 5, that from your love also comes Joy and Peace, and it’s the Joy and Peace that separates you from all the other people living in the “world,” today, of anger, anguish, fear, drugs, sex, you all know this to be be true.
Today I read Galatians chapter 5: 13-14 which is just before where St. Paul describes the Fruit of The Holy Spirit.
For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
I just noticed that St. Paul used the bolded expression before in Galatians, BEFORE he wrote Romans, so I, yes, I am guessing this was a theme he talked about often.
From my experience as a salesman I knew that something had to be said often before the average person knew what it was you were trying to convey to them.
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
Emphasis mine 1 John 4:
As we have written our blog, working in the jail, holding Communion Services at the V/A I have come to realize how important the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is for all of us.
When we first went into the Jail and started writing our Blog, I felt this would be a one shot comment. I was very wrong.
Love. and the Joy and Peace that follow naturally from Love is that important, and is not talked about enough today; satan.
Pray the “Nine” Fruit of the Holy Spirit every day, and watch your life change. We had a man come up to us at the jail last week, and he knew the “Nine,” and was told by the judge that his one year sentence was changed to 9 months, with the time spent in the jail counting towards the nine months, and 2 months being taken off of his sentence.
He was pumped.
And
He knew this happened because HE changed and became a new person who loved himself and his neighbor. Now we pray he doesn’t revert back to his old ways.
But,
At least he knows there is a different life waiting for him when he chooses to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
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:
Saturday we attended a small faith group which we do most Saturdays, and the topic was the Nicene Creed which is said at almost every Mass.
The film we watched was a presentation by an eminent theologian, and in a multipart series will explain what the words in the prayer mean.
The problem I had is the prayer has some huge omissions in it.
The first two words as I am sure all of you know are
I BELIEVE.
If that is the start of the prayer, shouldn’t the prayer start with I Believe in the Outrageous Love of the Triune God?
In fact it’s even worse. Love is never mentioned. How can anyone say I believe and not even mention Love?
That is not the only omission:
The prayer doesn’t mention God the Father sent His Son to climb up on the Cross so all men MIGHT be justified.
If God the Father doesn’t send Jesus, Jesus doesn’t come.
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Jn 14: 10
It doesn’t mention how Jesus was sent and why, so we added:
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; and through His entire life, and death on the Cross, lived in the Holy Spirit, listening to the whisper of the Holy Spirit, doing His Father’s will, for the glory of God the Father. Emphasis mine. I Believe, Revised Edition Inspired by The Holy Spirit, Recorded by Frederick Prince
And the Holy Spirit is really forgotten, so we wrote:
I believe the Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit to be infused in our souls at Baptism, nourished with communion with Jesus, and will lead us by the whisper of the Spirit to the Father through the Son by an increase in the Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit so that we may be obedient sons and daughters. Emphasis mine. I Believe Revised Edition, Inspired by The Holy Spirit, Recorded by Frederick Prince
Yes, (believe it or not), the Holy Spirit encouraged me or should I say us to write a book about the Nicene Creed, and suggest some corrections. Which we have done.
Briefly, after we wrote A Journey with the Holy Spirit, my Love for The Holy Spirit and the Triune God grew. We were at a Church and they prayed the Apostles Creed, which said, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” and that’s all, “I believe in The Holy Spirit,” I had to grab onto the seat and prevent myself from standing up and saying, “Believe what?”
Life in the Holy Spirit doing the will of my Father imitating Jesus His Son is VERY interesting to say the least and I, yes I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Picture:
The picture was taken at a local beach on Lake Michigan. I caught this solitary gull strutting along the seashore.
Psalm 104:25 – There is the sea, great and wide! It teems with countless beings, living things both large and small!
Picture by Jerry Torres
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 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.
