theROCK

The Power of the Holy Spirit

Do you believe the Holy Spirit is at work in you? Though we cannot see Him, we can recognize His presence if we allow Him to guide, instruct, and change our hearts and minds. As we invite Him into our lives and surrender to His power, we may experience strength during difficult times, a greater ability to forgive, and an increase in His spiritual gifts.

The excerpts below from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops article “What is Evangelization” speak to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

We must be open to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit who will continue to convert us as we follow Christ. If our faith is alive, it will be aroused again and again as we mature as disciples." (14)

Transformation speaks of the change of heart that, as a member of the Church, each one must undergo. The Gospel speaks across time and space to each human being, each mind, each heart. It asks us what we think about our lives, how we hope, whom we love, and what we live for. If faith is not transforming each heart and life, it is dead. (16)

The Gospel must overflow from each heart until the presence of God transforms all human existence. Sometimes this means that, as believers, we must confront the world as did the prophets of old, pointing out the claims of God to societies that are blind to God. More often, however, this means that we must let our faith shine on the world around us, radiating the love of Jesus by the everyday way we speak, think, and act. (17)

This gospel message gives us a different vision of what life is about. We see a pattern of love, hope, and meaning because the intimate relationship with God in which we were created, lost through sin, has been restored by Jesus, whose death has destroyed our death and whose resurrection gives us the promise of eternal life. We do not see a world of blind forces ruled by chance, but a universe created to share God's life . . . to live for God and others in love. We do not calculate what we think is possible, but rather, know the Spirit of God always makes new things possible, even the renewal of humanity. (21)

This vision we share is the power of the Good News. As it compels us, we believe it can compel, by its beauty and truth, all who sincerely seek God.  (22)”

Have you seen the Holy Spirit at work in your life? If not, ask Him in daily to give you the mind and heart of Jesus, to lead and guide you, and watch what happens!

Radiate Love

Radiate Love: Do You Radiate Christ to Others?
Dr. Edward Sri

Do you realize the people around you are depending on you to pray every day?

I know that my wife and children, for example, need a lot more than my human love for them. They need Christ loving them through me. But that can only happen if I have a consistent, daily prayer life. I do sincerely love my family. But I also know my love is tainted by my own pride, selfishness, weakness, wounds, and sin. My wife and children need more that what I can give them on my own. They need Christ’s love supernaturally working through me. And that comes from daily prayer.

How about you? Consider the people at work, in your parish, and in your community, the people you serve: do you give them more than merely your own personal skills talent, wisdom, leadership abilities, or charming personality?

We should use all of our humanity, of course, to give the best of ourselves to  others in all we do. But the best of ourselves, actually, is more than ourselves. It is Christ radiating through us.

How about your family, your spouse, your closest friends—do the people in your life encounter something in you bigger than you are? Do they encounter Jesus Christ radiating through you?

Mother Teresa emphasized this point with her Missionary of Charity sisters throughout the world….they recite a prayer that contains this beautiful petition to Jesus: “Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come in contact with may feel your presence in our soul. Let them look up and see no longer us but only  Jesus.

What a remarkable prayer! “Let them look up and see no longer us by only Jesus.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every soul we come in contact with each day—our spouse, our children, our friends, our colleagues at work, the people in the parish, the poor on the street—if every person we meet each day looked up and saw “no longer us but only Jesus!”

If we wish to truly radiate Christ in this world, we must be committed to daily prayer.

Witnessing Christ with Resolve

Raise your hand if you made New Year Resolutions for 2025.

Now raise your hand if you’ve already “slipped” in adhering to those resolutions.

Now, raise your hand if you will join me in a resolution that goes far beyond those of losing weight, keeping your house tidy, or breaking a bad habit.

Celebrating Christmas this season, I’ve been struck by how very different celebrations today are from those of my youth. As a child, many of the movies and Christmas specials on TV were overtly religious. John Denver & the Muppets included a beautiful Nativity retelling in their special, and Linus of the Peanuts recites Luke 2:8-20. Many songs played on the radio were the same Christmas hymns we would sing at Mass. Sharing oplatek was the norm for many Christmas dinners, and no one dared start eating until after a proper prayer before the meal.

We are not living in a Christendom anymore. We are multi-cultural and secular in most aspects of our lives.  Millions celebrate Holidays without ever setting toe in a church, temple, or synagogue. The culture focuses on Santa, spending, and STUFF.

Still, Jesus IS the Reason for the Season. (Jesus, and the Triune God is the reason for everything if we’re being honest.)

So let’s all resolve to act like He is. 

It doesn’t even take much effort to be a Witness for Christ. Say a prayer before meals, even at restaurants.  Reject watching shows or listening to music that are perverse, dark, pornographic, and obscene…even if they are the most popular movies/songs. Shut down social media gossip and garbage that deteriorates human connection. Talk about your faith in some way with others on a regular basis.

Share your faith with those you know and invite someone to Mass or to an parish event.

Embrace these resolutions, among others you devise, and commit to doing them with resolve.

This is how we change ourselves in ways that matter so much more than pants size.

This is how we heal our world and live our faith.

Raise your hand if you’re IN.

A very Happy New Year!