In all times and seasons

"I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live in abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, and of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me." (Philippians 4: 12 13)

The most important lesson that Paul learned from the Lord Jesus is how to adjust to times and seasons. Times and seasons in our life are not arbitrary. They are divine appointment. All times and all seasons belong to Jesus. He is the Master of all history. Our destiny is in His hands. Therefore, "Fear is useless; what is needed is trust." (Luke 8: 50, Mark 5: 36)

Spirit and Liturgy

But the hour is coming - indeed is already here – when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father seeks. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4: 23 – 24)

There is an intimate relationship between the Holy Spirit and liturgy. Liturgy is the total expression of our worship of God. Is it surprising that the Holy Spirit will be central in the act of worship? He leads and guides it.

Provide me only the food that I need

Every word of God is tested; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

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Add nothing to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be exposed as a deceiver.

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Two things I ask of you, deny them not to me before I die:

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Put falsehood and lying far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; (provide me only with the food I need;)

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Lest, being full, I deny you, saying, "Who is the LORD?" Or, being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God.

 

The above scripture was the first reading at Mass this morning. When I read it before Mass, my reaction was: Yes Lord, I agree with the ideas. Give me exactly my daily bread. Shelter me from all anxiety, all fears and doubts about your willingness and ability to provide me all that I need as and when I do.

At the 6.30 am Mass, our Deacon preached on this theme. He recalled how he experienced a power outage the evening before as he ate dinner. Confident in the automatic generator he has, he waited for it to kick into service in seconds. But nothing happened. He went to his garage and found that the battery of his generator was dead. Lesson? Trust in the Lord completely for all your needs. Be diligent to provide all that you can. God, who is the first cause of everything ultimately has the final say.

Times and season may change but God’s love is constant

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Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

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You heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

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All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

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All you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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[Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Nights and days, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Light and darkness, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Mountains and hills, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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You springs, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Seas and rivers, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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All you birds of the air, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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You sons of men, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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O Israel, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. For he has delivered us from the nether world, and saved us from the power of death; He has freed us from the raging flame and delivered us from the fire.

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Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.

Times and seasons are divine appointment. Times and seasons my change, but God's love is constant and unchanging.

The Spirit leads us to conversion

"For your imperishable Spirit is in everything! And thus, gradually, you correct those who offend; you admonish and remind them of how they have sinned, so that they may abstain from evil and trust you, Lord." (Wisdom 12: 1-2)

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. He admonishes us when we offend God. The Spirit teaches us the ways of God and invites us to trust God.

The Omnipresent Spirit

"For the spirit of the Lord fills the world, and that which holds everything together knows every word said." (Wisdom 1: 7)

Wisdom, knowledge and holiness are attributes of the Holy Spirit. He imparts these same gifts to people. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.

Spirit of holiness

"God, create in me a clean heart, renew within me a resolute spirit. Do not thrust me away from your presence, do not take away from me your spirit of holiness." (Psalm 51: 11)

The highest consequence of grave sin is losing the presence of the Holy Spirit in the soul. For anyone who is aware of this presence and has enjoyed it like David, it is an unbearable situation. Less grave sins or venial sins cause the diminution of the Holy Spirit in the soul. The Holy Spirit is the best promise and the best gift of God. In fact, the Holy Spirit is the only thing we need. God is the source of all inspiration and power. Inspiration and power come to us through the agency of the indwelling Spirit. David calls the Holy Spirit here, the Spirit of holiness. Indeed holiness is the original condition for inspiration and power.

Spirit of understanding

"There is, you see, a spirit residing in humanity, the breath of God conferring intelligence." (Job 32: 8 – New Jerusalem Bible)

The NIV renders it thus:

"But truly it is the spirit in a mortal, the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding."

The Holy Spirit gives understanding and knowledge.

The spirit of the antichrist

"My dear friends, not every spirit is to be trusted, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets are at large in the world. This is the proof of the spirit of God: any spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ, come in human nature, is from God, and no spirit of antichrist, whose coming you have heard of; he is already at large in the world." (1 John 4: 1-4)

The spirit of antichrist works to deny the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is a critical principle of discernment of spirit. When we add to this another principle: "By their fruits, you shall know them," you have an unassailable battery of discernment of spirits.

The antichrist will diminish Jesus whenever and wherever he can. The good spirit bears witness to Jesus and spreads knowledge of His name everywhere.

Sorting out the spirits in the market place

"The particular manifestation of the Spirit granted to each one is to be used for the general good…….to another, the power of distinguishing spirits…" (1 Corinthians 12: 7 – 11)

Today more than ever we hear many voices not just in the market place but inside the household of God. The gift of sorting out these voices and their messages belong to the discernment of spirits. A good way to nourish this gift is to immerse oneself in sacred scripture. Jesus is the good Shepherd. He calls His sheep. They recognize His voice and follow Him.

Do not stifle the Spirit

"Do not stifle the Spirit or despise the gift of prophecy with contempt; test everything and hold on to what is good and shun every form of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5: 19)

Do not stifle the Spirit.

Do not sadden the Spirit.

Do not let the Spirit become weakened in you.

Cultivate the Spirit.

Gifts of the Spirit

"About the gifts of the Spirit, brothers, I want you to be quite certain. You remember that when you were pagans, you were irresistibly drawn to inarticulate heathen gods. Because of that, I want to make it quite clear to you that no one who says 'A curse on Jesus' can be speaking in the Spirit of God, and nobody is able to say, 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12: 1-3)

The gift of discernment of spirits helps us to discern the will of God for us in concrete situations. The same gift can be used to discern the spirit inside a person. The above scripture gives a simple guideline. Nobody who causes Jesus can have a good spirit living within him. On the other hand, acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord is sign of the presence of a good spirit.

Do you want to exercise the gift of discernment of spirits, then fill your mind with the word of God. The word of God is filled with principles of discernment. One of my favorites is "By their fruits you shall know them."

The Spirit and love

"These sufferings bring patience, as we know, and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope, and this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us." (Romans 5: 4-5)

The love of God has been truly poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. How I rejoice in this truth. Once upon a time, I considered myself the most selfish man on this planet. And then one day in a confession, a priest reminded me of this great truth. If the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love is dwelling in you, how can you consider yourself the most selfish man on earth? I understood immediately that my idea of me does not make sense. The love with which I love is the love poured into my heart by the Holy Spirit. This love is so much unlike the love of the world. With the Holy Spirit in us, we love as God loves us. We love as God wants us to love. We love our neighbor as ourselves. We love the poor and the weak who have no means to say "thank you." This is the love the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts.

Simony

"When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the imposition of the hands by the apostles, he offered them some money, "Give me the same power," he said, 'so that anyone I lay my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit." (Acts 8: 18-20)

The temptation of Simon, the magician is the lure to buy and sell spiritual favors. We cannot buy the Holy Spirit. We cannot buy spiritual gifts. We cannot purchase our salvation. All the promises of God are meant for us. They are freely given. We receive in direct proportion to our readiness to receive and our boldness in asking for the favor.

Holy Spirit and power to witness to Jesus

"God himself confirmed their witness with signs and marvels and miracles of all kinds, and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the various ways he will." (Hebrews 2: 4)

The Spirit and His gifts

What power manifestation of the Spirit am I seeking today? I am seeking for power to witness to Jesus Christ in word and deed. St. Paul says in regard to this:

"Of course I can dare to speak only of the things which Christ has done through me to win the allegiance of the gentiles, using what I have said and done by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God." (Romans 15: 17-19)

What is say and what I do must bear witness to Jesus Christ. I am a work-in-progress.

No Holy Spirit No Conversion

"We know, brothers loved by God, that you have been chosen, because our gospel came to you not only in words, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with great affect." (1 Thessalonians 1: 4-5)

I paraphrase the above scripture thus: Although we used words to convey the message of the gospel, those words were imbued with power by the Holy Spirit. That is why they were very effective in your case.

When we share the gospel with people, the gospel is effective in proportion to the control of the Holy Spirit in the process. The more we let go and let the Holy Spirit, the more effective is our witness. The Holy Spirit is not just the power behind the words, He is the effective cause of conversion. No Holy Spirit, not conversion.

Convincing power of the Holy Spirit

"I came among you in weakness, in fear and great trembling and what I spoke and proclaimed was not meant to convince by philosophical argument, but to demonstrate the convincing power of the Spirit, so that your faith should depend not on human wisdom but on the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2: 4-5)

How do we demonstrate the convincing power of the Holy Spirit in our work of sharing the good news? First, we allow the Holy Spirit to take control. We do this by invoking His help through prayer. We call to mind what Christ said to Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) This truth banishes fear, doubt and worry from our mind.

There are only two ways we can work for God: through the energy of the flesh or through the convincing power of the Holy Spirit. The flesh is futile and has nothing to offer. All that we need is the Holy Spirit.

Spirit of signs and wonders

"So I can be proud in Christ Jesus, of what I have done for God. Of course I can dare to speak only of the things which Christ has done through me to win the allegiance of the gentiles, using what I have said and done, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God." (Romans 15: 17 – 19)

The Holy Spirit is the prime mover in all works of evangelization. He produces signs and wonders in our life to help us win people for Jesus Christ. In Romans 15: 17 – 19, Paul probably refers to miracles as signs and wonders. Such miracles are reported in Acts of the Apostles. Signs and wonders continue to accompany the work of evangelization today. I would call great teaching or preaching that move people to conversion signs and wonders.

The Spirit and hope

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in your faith, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit you may be rich in hope." (Romans 15: 13)

Why is God described here as the God of hope? What is the implication of being rich in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit? What is hope?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines hope in paragraph 1817 as:

" Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." "The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life."

God has made us for Himself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. This is why God is the God of our hope. We are rich in hope when our faith in final union with God is unshakable. We believe we shall attain to this blessed hope "relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit."

Holy Spirit is the power from on high

"And now I am sending upon you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city, until you are clothed with the power from on high." (Luke 24: 49)

The Holy Spirit is the greatest promise of God to man. He is the power from on high. There is a power from on high and a power from below.

Power is the dominant attribute of the Holy Spirit. What is power, anyway?

"Ability, whether physical, mental or moral, to act; the faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for action or for performance or receiving external action or force; capability of producing or undergoing an effect, whether physical, mental, moral."