1339AFC092713 – Putting it together
Read it online here, please.
Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Well, at least there shouldn’t be. We find ourselves confronting those “unwritten laws” that say living a spiritual life is not acceptable; we are out of touch with reality if we believe such things really make a difference. In the world’s views, that is. In God’s view, these things ARE life. And they’re not so difficult to live with either. In a recent article that appeared in THE CATHOLIC HERALD the diocesan newspaper for the Diocese of Honolulu, Fr. William J. Byron, SJ, had this to say about these seven gifts of the spirit:
Love is service and sacrifice.
Joy is balance at the center of the soul.
Peace is good order.
Patience is the ability to endure whatever comes.
Kindness is attentive regard for the other.
Generosity is the habitual disposition to share.
Gentleness is courageous respect for other.
Self-Control is a voluntary check on the appetite for success.
These gifts, graces from God, are things that bring us great internal happiness. As seeds are planted in the earth and grow to maturity, these seeds of godliness are planted in our hearts. When our hearts are well-prepared to nurture these gifts, they do indeed grow in us and we can share them with others. But like the earth the farmer sows, our hearts can also have weeds, rocks, and stumps that make it difficult to cultivate these gifts. Here are some collected thoughts on cultivating your heart for a harvest of gifts.
Remember the six simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
6. Share the Joy as you pass The Word along.
No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.
Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards. Don’t stay on the bumps too long, though. Move on! When you feel down because you didn’t get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give you. When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means. There’s a purpose to life’s events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.
You can’t make someone love you, all you can do is become someone who can be loved, and the rest is up to the person to realize your worth.
It’s better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love because of pride. We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or finding fault with those we already love, when instead we should be perfecting the love we give.
Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take his or her place. I love having friends, and I have loving friends. I actively cultivate friendships. As I told you, I try never to end a friendship; in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever, ever stopped being a friend to someone, or stopped loving him or her as a friend. I truly believe one should never kill love or terminate a friendship, even if your friend betrays you.
Never let love die; you can stop nurturing it so that it won’t grow, but you should never wipe it out. If you kill love or let it die, it becomes a permanent ugly, painful, sometimes crippling scar because when you kill love, you kill part of yourself, too. Sometimes it’s enough to make it “all the way up” to neutral because being hateful is self-destructive and sometimes so is being loving if it causes you pain and that is certainly self-destructive.
So if you can get to a place that is neutral (and that doesn’t mean being indifferent because indifference is worse than hatred; indifference is the complete dehumanization of a person), then you’ve done well, and maybe done some good in the process. When the relationship between two people is a lifetime partnership (or should be) the same thing applies. Don’t kill it if it falls apart, but do put it in neutral. That goes for parents, siblings, spouses, and offspring. Pets, too.
We are called to be an Alleluia People – a people always rejoicing. We can live like that in the Spirit. The Spirit in us helps prepare our hearts for his gifts- and there are way more than seven! In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he described what it is like to be constantly rejoicing in God. He said, “be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s that attitude of gratitude that is the foundation of the stewardship of all of God’s gifts – including the gift of rejoicing. There are quite a number of words in the scriptures that are translated a joy or rejoice (-ing). Here are just a few of them:
Samah – spontaneous dancing, signing (simhah),
Exult Burst into leaping with joy
Euphraino To gladden the mind
Kauchaomai Glory in Boast against
Sunchairo Rejoicing together
Agalliao Rejoice Greatly, to exult.
Chairo Rejoicing over advantageous change
We also know that many among us are suffering – cancer; chronic illnesses; accidents and other tragedies; poverty; troubles, dissension, and even open warfare in the family. So many disasters have swept across the world in the past few months. Even just this week we see many people in many places experiencing immense suffering. How can anyone rejoice in those circumstances? What can we do?
We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us remember we are chosen to bear fruit that will last. John 15:16 – You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last–and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. These Fruits of the Spirit not only nurture us body, mind, and spirit, but also they nourish the world around us when we share them with others. That is the “secret” of putting it together and keeping it together: Generosity and good stewardship of all the good gifts given by the Graciousness of God.
Share-A-Prayer: GW, JE, FO, and anyone we know who is battling cancer. Please, pray for them today – now, in fact – and share your love with them. Pray also for families divided by dissension and rebellion, addiction and illness, or lack of faith and faithfulness.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved.
Cancer Prayer Candle
