theROCK

Holy Spirit Wake Up Calls

main image

My typing skills are best described as somewhat unique. While better than a two-fingered hunt and peck approach, they are far from being a trained skill. I honed it while entering data on a laptop in a parked car with the steering wheel in the way so you can imagine the challenge of the awkward position. The red spell check highlights quickly became my friend.

Today, I type on a couple laptops, keyboards, tablets, and phone and try to begin messages with a salutation. Sometimes a hi or hello, but usually a good morning/afternoon/evening. Oftentimes “good” shows up as “God.” While it might be my lack of typing prowess or sticky keys, I tend to view this as a wake-up call from the Holy Spirit. He is saying to me that it might be a “good” morning, but it is always a GOD morning. When I catch this “error” it seems I am being asked many questions such as:

How am I serving God today?

Have I taken time to see the beauty in the day?

Will I actively live my faith today?

Who will I encounter who might not be having a good day and really needs a God day? Will I seize the opportunity and engage this person? Will I actually serve God and “become Christ” like our mission calls?

This nudge has been occurring for years on countless devices. I type the same way. Why today? What does God want me to realize today? Sometimes I get it, and candidly, many times I struggle. Each and every time it makes me think. It’s a simple queue to make me pause and remember that I am, and we are, here to serve God in all that we do, and in every interaction. God blesses us and gives each of us our unique gifts. What do we do with these blessings?

Poor typing skills makes me stop and ponder. What makes you think about God?

 

Oh, Joy

main image

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are the result of God’s love and the new life we receive from being united with Jesus. The fruits provide a glimpse at eternal glory. Joy is, quite literally, a slice of heaven. When looking up “joy” in the catechism, it sends you to a passage about happiness that relates to hope, one of the theological virtues (CCC#1818). The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men’s activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity. Joy comes from love, love as it exists in true human charity. What brings you joy? True joy not just happiness. I had to stop and think about this. For me, I would be remiss if I didn’t state that the innocence and industry of children brings me true joy. True joy is in the giggles and silliness. True joy for me is connecting with another person so much so that I can see the face of God. True joy is recognizing God in the moments of my day especially on the hard days. True joy is seeing a goal completed knowing every skill set I’ve been given has been used to arrive there. True joy is surrender to the will of the Father. 

Where is your joy?

The Great Commission

main image

Do you ever have those moments where you find yourself just stopping and thinking, am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing, or did I miss something along the way? I’m not talking in the little things of life but in the big things, the life decision things. I’ve found myself reflecting on that recently. It hasn’t been the first time I’ve found myself thinking about that. I especially grapple with it when I re-engage with the Holy Spirit. In my opinion, this is what discernment and vocation is all about – asking the question and listening to what God tells you. In the Gospel of Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gave a mandate to His disciples: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” It is exactly this phrase that launches my reflection of, “I am following the great commission as best as I can be? What should I be doing differently to better answer the call?”.

As baptized and further confirmed Catholics, we have a moral responsibility to the great commission. Reflect upon the questions that were asked during your Confirmation.
Are you resolved to live fully the Faith?
Are you prepared to listen to the challenges of the Holy Spirit in our world today?
Are you committed to building His Holy Catholic Church?

I reflect again, am I doing what I am supposed to be doing or did I miss something? This is our mission. This is our vocation.

Holy Spirit, please work in me, with me, and through me for your greater glory. Please grant me the gifts I require to do your work.

1234