Sunset facing east Picture by Richard Sawyer
Our Blog is Inspired by The Holy Spirit
Optional Memorial of Saint Robert Bellarmine, bishop and doctor of the Church
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.
Emphasis mine Matthew 7:21-29
This reading has always bothered me until now, which is why I Love writing our Blog.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
If people who Prophesy, drive out demons, and do mighty deeds in your name are turned away what happened?
And
More importantly, how do we guard against this happening in our life?
It’s the one who does the will of God the Father, that’s the one who will go to Heaven.
That’s tough! How do I know I am doing God The Father’s will and not mine.
We can think of two ways:
One: When you are doing what you’re doing is it because you are listening to the Whisper of The Holy Spirit? This at first is daunting, because satan disguises himself to be like God, as we have reported in the past few weeks when I did what I thought God the Father wanted me to do only to find out it wasn’t. I instantly said I was sorry, and asked to be forgiven, and the moment I did this, Joy returned.
Two: Praying everyday for growth in Love, Joy, Peace. One thing you can be absolutely sure of, satan can’t increase your Love, Joy, and Peace, in fact it is just the opposite.
And this is what we pray for when we pray The Our Father, “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
We were put here on earth to do the will of God our Father in advancing the Kingdom of God.
Easy
The one who does the will of my Father in heaven will enter an earthly form of Heaven here and now. That’s what it also says in the Our Father “Thy Kingdom thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
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:
Bishop Francious Gnonhossou from Benin visited Maine for a week, and said daily Mass at our churches.
Tuesday The Holy Spirit told me to ask Bishop Francois to lunch.
I did, and the Bishop was busy, but Wednesday would work.
We gave the Bishop a hug, (The Holy Spirit inspired) which, upon reflection, I later realized was very important because it broke down any barriers that could be between us.
And we hugged every time we met thereafter.
I, yes, I originally thought a picnic at Fort Williams would be great.
The Holy Spirit killed that idea and told me to take the Bishop to Dimillo’s Restaurant and to ask for table twelve, which I had just learned about at a different lunch. Table twelve has the best view of Portland Harbor in the entire restaurant. I called Dimillo’s and the table was free.
The Bishop was thrilled with the view, especially when a container ship had to be turned around, and came within one hundred yards from our table. He had never seen a ship this big and later on we would show him a cruise ship that held over two thousand people which was even bigger.
This was a setting he had never before seen in Africa, and he was filled with Joy seeing all that was going on around him, and for me this was a Joy, and I, yes, I was thanking God the Father for this wonderful idea, and all that was taking place before us.
After a while I mustered up some courage and asked the Bishop who spoke English, Spanish, France, Italian and Latin if I, yes, I was wrong in saying “Do not let us fall in temptation?” You might remember, then again I’m sure you’ve forgotten, one of our readers who spoke Spanish mentioned this change. I believed him, and changed instantly, but always had a nagging feeling, (satan), that this was not right. But across from me is a Bishop who spoke five languages and he, I was sure, could give me a definitive answer. The Bishop responded yes, that’s how it is prayed in Spanish and French. Then he said The Our Father in Italian and it wasn’t exactly the same as the Spanish and French, but very similar to what our reader told us. So the Bishop confirmed that what the reader suggested was right and better than what we say in English.
Wow, that also filled me with Joy.
Earlier in our meeting I had given The Bishop a card. Well the waitress, who was “fantastic”, stopped by and I asked her (The Holy Spirit) if she would like more Joy in her life?
She responded, :”Yes!”
The problem I had was I had given the Bishop my last card, and he reached into his pocket to show her his card, and I, yes, I TOOK IT from him, thinking at the same time, this isn’t too bright, and she was thrilled, as was the Bishop and I.
Problem.
I took the Bishop’s only card, but I told him I would get him more tomorrow. I asked him, “How many would you like?” I, yes, I, next said, “Ten, twenty,” and then The Holy Spirit put one Hundred into my mouth. I wasn’t thinking that many, and now realize as we type our blog that all of us think too small. God is much more generous than we sadly are.
The Bishop responded, “One Hundred,” and that’s when I realized, Dimillo’s, table 12, the container ship leaving harbor, the waitress, were all a set up by The Holy Spirit for what I don’t know, that’s not my pay grade.
At the end of the luncheon Bishop Francious asked if we could get a picture to remember the day by. I was excited and asked him for permission to use the picture in our blog and what we had talked about. He agreed to both questions.
If you take a moment to consider what we talked about at the beginning of our blog, and what we wrote about in the Sidebar, look at the picture again, because it’s a new perspective to a sunset. You’ll see the three tie in beautifully, which is just one of many reasons I enJoy writing our blog.
“Thank you Father for bringing Bishop Francious in my life.” I will never forget this day.
Picture:
Image made in late August around 7:00PM. What is unusual is that I was facing east where the sun actually rises rather than focusing on the setting sun behind me. Sometimes we need to remember to turn around and focus on what is behind us. Picture by Richard Sawyer
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.
Email me if you want a copy of the prayers we discussed.
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.
