Freedom

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Freedom

Spirit     Guided

Live     Love     Serve

Christ Set Us Free

Inheritance

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Galatians 5:1, 13-18

For freedom Christ set us free: persevere and do not fall again to the weight of slavery.

You have been invited to freedom.

Do not use this freedom to follow the flesh.

Instead help others through love.

The whole law is found in one teaching:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

If you go on putting others down, be careful that you are not destroyed by one another.

If you live by the Spirit, you will not follow the ways of the flesh. The flesh fights against the Spirit and the Spirit fights against the flesh.

They are so opposed that you do not do what you really want to do. 

If you follow the promptings of the Spirit, you do not need the law.

Reflection

We all want to be free. 

We call our country the land of the free.

People get upset with any attempt to limit their freedom. We have seen that over and over again with the restrictions that have been enacted to try to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our reading from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians challenges us to reflect on what true freedom is all about. Paul helps us to see where freedom comes from. It is found in our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

When we are guided by the Spirit, we try to find ways to love and serve others. A truly free person does not concentrate on selfish needs but seeks out ways to give to others.

It is easy to fall into slavery. We see it all the time---people enslaved to drugs, money, fame. We know, of course, that all these things are ultimately empty and do not satisfy the deepest hungers of our heart.

Jesus has set us free by showing us how to Love. He always looked for ways to help and to heal.

Paul reminds us that when we are truly free, the law is not necessary. We have moved beyond the law because we are following the promptings of the Spirit.

We have been given a great inheritance---the gift of the Holy Spirit. As we follow the Spirit we build up the Kingdom of God through our love of neighbor.

Freedom spreads!

1. What is true freedom for you?

2. How does the Holy Spirit guide you to be free?

3. Why is the law not needed if are truly free?

4. What feelings does Kathy's photo of the Freedom Tower evoke in you?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)

Remembrance

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Remembrance

Bread     Wine

Consume     Strengthen     Embolden

Fruits of Your Redemption

Begotten

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   1 Corinthians 11:23-26

I received from Jesus what I have shared with you:

Jesus at the Last Supper took bread, gave thanks, and said,

"This is My body. Do this as a remembrance of Me."

Jesus took the cup in the same way saying,

"This cup points to a new covenant, a covenant in My blood. As you drink this, do it as a remembrance of me."

When you celebrate this, you will make known the death of Jesus through eating this bread and drinking this blood until He comes again.

Reflection

How important for us all to remember certain great events.

We think obviously of the birth of our children, our wedding day, the first day of beginning a new job, or times of great celebrations of a feast day or an important family event.

Those great memories sustain us in difficult or challenging times (such as dealing with a pandemic). They help us to see the many great moments in our lives.

We reflect on certain moments and remember them with great joy. Other memories might bring tears or upset us---for example when we recall the death of a loved one or a time when we failed to accomplish a goal we had set for ourself.

Our scripture today from 1 Corinthians reminds us of a time of mixed emotion. Certainly the apostles and the others who were at the Last Supper were joyful to be together to celebrate this special Passover meal with one another.

Yet hanging over this meal was a cloud of uncertainty because the apostles and other followers of Jesus knew of the growing opposition to Jesus among the authorities of the Jewish faith. 

Certainly Jesus understood how they were feeling. He was ministering to them till the end.

Jesus wanted to be with them every single moment of their lives to give them the strength that they would need to meet the challenges that they would face and to heal the loneliness and loss that they would feel when Jesus left them physically.

Jesus left them His very self through the signs of bread and wine. He would always be with them.

And also with us.

We remember Jesus because He remembered us.

What a remembrance!

1. What are some of your favorite memories?

2. How do your memories help you in your hard times?

3. How did Jesus minister to the apostles at the Last Supper?

4. How does Jesus minister to you today?

Craftsman

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Craftsman

Divine      Mystery

Guiding     Communicating     Unfolding

The Spirit of Sanctification

Truth

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   John 16:12 to 15

Jesus said to His disciples:

"I want to tell you so much more, but you cannot accept it now.

But when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will lead you to every truth.

He will not talk about His own thoughts, but share what He hears, and will let you know about the events that will be coming.

He will bring glory to Me.

He will take that which is Mine.

He will proclaim it to you.

All that the Father has belongs to Me.

That is why I have said that He will take from what is Mine and share it with you."

Reflection

Jesus tells us that He is sending a Craftsman to help us. We will not be left alone!

And what a Craftsman Jesus sent us!!

This Craftsman, the Holy Spirit, is Divine. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. 

This Craftsman will lead us to every truth. The Holy Spirit enlightens us and helps us to know how we can follow Jesus and spread His message and His Love.

The Holy Spirit will bring glory to Jesus---the glory of truth, the glory of understanding, and the glory of sanctification.

The unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is so intense and so complete that the Holy Spirit can take from both the Father and the Son and share it totally with us. 

Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will take that which is His and share it with us. Jesus also tells us that all that the Father has is His.

Jesus makes completely clear how the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are united to one another and to us.

That unity models for us exactly how we should act. We are called to work towards unity with all people. 

This, of course, is no easy task. Jesus knew that and has not left us alone.

An amazing Craftsman has been given to us to guide us and help us. 

1. How does the Holy Spirit help you in your life?

2. What does the Holy Spirit calls us to do?

3. What is your feeling as you look at Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)

Breath

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Breath

Unconditional     Love

Receive     Witness     Transform

Your Sevenfold Gifts Descend

Peace

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   John 20:19-23

On the night of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were gathered, because they were concerned about the Jewish authorities,

Jesus came.

He stood right among them and said,

"Peace be with you."

After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.

The disciples were all filled with joy when they saw this.

Jesus once again said,

"Peace be with you. In the same way the Father sent me, I will be sending you."

When He had said this, He breathed on them and said:

"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive someone's sins, they will be forgiven. If you retain someone's sins, they will be retained."

Reflection

The power of breath!

We experience that power every moment of our lives.

Our breath sustains us.

We are all concerned about the purity and safety of our air. We fight against pollution and support the Clean Air Act.

Jesus here makes a direct connection between breath and the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit comes to us to give us life, to "inspire" us (literally to breathe into us), to fill us.

That breathing in shows us how deep the unconditional Love of God is. There is no holding back, there is no limitation, there is no hesitation.

God wants to fill us completely with the Presence of God.

After the disciples receive this breath, they are "inspired" to give witness. They are so filled with the power of the Holy Spirit that they want to share it and do so freely and passionately on Pentecost Sunday.

That feast on the Jewish religious calendar is celebrated fifty days after Passover and marks the Spring harvest. It is a time of great joy because the people can acknowledge the goodness and bounty of God and the land God has given to them.

Jesus is also giving.

To the disciples.

To us today.

The gift of life.

We will be transformed by the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit if we are open to them.

Those gifts will lead us to a life of Peace and the call to be peacemakers so that these gifts are shared with everyone.

Breathe in the Gifts.

Come Holy Spirit!!!

1. How has the Holy Spirit breathed New Life into you?

2. What are some ways you can share the "breath" of the Holy Spirit?

3. When have you been called to be a peacemaker?

4. What is your feeling as you contemplate Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)