Love

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Love

Holy Spirit

Pour Into Hearts

Saved By His Life

Hope

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Romans 5:5

Saint Paul in writing his letter to the Christian community at Rome said:

Hope does not disappoint!

The Love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Reflection

We have all had to deal with disappointments. It might have been a job that we really wanted that we didn't get. Maybe it was a relationship with someone we really liked and we got rejected. Remember the candidate you voted for who lost?

How did you overcome those disappointments and move on? St. Paul in our reading from Romans shows us one path forward. It is the path of Love.

The Love that St. Paul is speaking about is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a Divine Love. When we truly realize that we are loved completely and totally by God, we are able to overcome our disappointments and put them into perspective. 

It does not mean that there will be no more disappointments. They will certainly come because we realize that there are many injustices in our world, and we have to constantly strive to fight against them.

One sometimes humorous take on this happens when a friend reads a paragraph about inequality and prejudice in society and reveals that the author lived in 250BCE. We look at it and say, "Not much has changed in over two thousand years!" We often see the same thing when we read the Book of Psalms.

Yes, the disappointments will be there. In the midst of them we know that the Holy Spirit has been poured out on us. I love that expression "poured out". I think of the generosity of God who does not just give us a little bit of the Holy Spirit (that would be more than enough!), but who lavishly pours the Holy Spirit all over us. Imagine yourself drenched with the Holy Spirit!

Jesus has come to save us by His Life. He holds nothing back and makes the ultimate sacrifice for us. He has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate His Love for us. He never wants us to feel alone in our disappointments, so He has sent and continues to send the Holy Spirit to be with us and to guide us as we try to overcome the disappointments that we have faced and will continue to face.

This leads us to hope. We have experienced those times when we were disappointed one day and surprised the next.

One of the experiences that brings this home is in the world of sports. Yes, there are many disappointments when our favorite team loses. We can be crushed when the star player leaves the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and out team loses by one run. 

The amazing thing is the very next day that same player might hit a walk-off home run when we gave up and thought our team was going to suffer another loss.

The Holy Spirit can surprise us like that also. We can be so upset when we observe people being discriminated against because of the color of their skin, sex or sexual orientation, nationality, or religion or lack of religion and then surprised when the Holy Spirit touches the heart of that person who was being prejudiced. 

The same person who was exhibiting so much prejudice and ignorance has a change in attitude and becomes more understanding and accepting. So many times, I have heard someone say, "I never thought that would happen in my lifetime!"

Hope comes because we continue to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to touch all of our hearts with the power of Love.

Keep on hoping!

You will not be disappointed!

1. How do you deal with disappointment?

2. Have you ever experienced a surprise from the Holy Spirit?

3. Do you feel that Jesus has poured out the Holy Spirit on you and drenched you with the Holy Spirit?

4. Can you think of a time in your life when hope overcame disappointment?

5. What do you feel as you reflect on Kathy's photo?

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

4. 

Parable

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Parable

Humble   Proud

Seek   Humility   Repentance

Be Merciful On Sinners

Exalt

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Luke 18: 13

Jesus was telling a parable to those people who thought they were righteous and looked down on others. It was a story of a Pharisee who went to the Temple and told God how good he was. The other man, a tax collector, said:

"O God, be merciful on me, a sinner."

The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not even raise his eyes to heaven. He beat his breast as he prayed.

Reflection

How do you feel when you meet someone who is always bragging about her or his accomplishments?

It can really turn us off. We can get tired of all the self-praise. We might be saying to ourselves, "Enough is enough!"

The parable that Jesus shares in Luke reminds us of those experiences. The Pharisee is telling God about all the good things he does for God. The tax collector is asking for mercy. She or he is acknowledging sin.

Humility is so important for our spiritual growth. It literally means to tell the truth. The proud person is drawing attention to her or his accomplishments. It is much better if that praise, when it is deserved, comes from another person. 

We don't seek praise or ask for it. We try to live our lives by loving God and others. If someone points that out and thanks us for it, we praise God for the gifts given to us by our Creator. 

We seek God first; and we realize that we find God in serving our sisters and brothers in need. We see that in so many holy women and men who founded religious orders to serve those in need. For example, those who founded schools observed the world around them and noticed that there were children who needed an education and responded by starting institutions to help them.

They served others with humility. When they sinned, they asked for forgiveness and repented. They realized that they were human and had many faults. They never looked for glory for what they had done. They thanked God for the inspiration and strength they were given to help others despite their own weaknesses and limitations.

They were merciful to others because they had received mercy from God when they confessed their own sin.

They never looked to exalt themselves---only to reach out to others who were hurting and in pain. 

As we look around us today, we can ask ourselves about the needs in our communities. Like the tax collector, we acknowledge our sin and weakness. We turn to God for mercy and ask for the wisdom and the strength to extend that mercy to those who are most in need. 

We try to lift them up and exalt them because we know how much our God has lifted us up and exalted us.

God calls us not to brag but to repent and serve--to bring people to the Light! Enjoy your serving!

1. How do you feel when you hear people bragging about their accomplishments?

2. What is humility for you personally?

3. After you have acknowledged your sin and repented from it, do you feel any changes in your life?

4. Is it difficult for you to extend mercy to those who have hurt you?

5. As you contemplate Kathy's photo, what feelings fill your heart?

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

 

Scripture

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Scripture

Wisdom   Salvation

Equip   Prepare   Holdfast

Remain Faithful To Beliefs

Proclaim

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Second Timothy 3:14 and 15

Remain faithful to your beliefs.

You know who taught you.

You have known the sacred scriptures from your infancy.

These scriptures give you wisdom for salvation because you have placed your faith in Jesus.

Reflection

How important is the Bible in your life?

Many of us are overwhelmed when we think of the Bible. So many books. So many different translations. Where do I start?

We respect the scriptures. We have been inspired by certain passages. 

It is important as we approach the scriptures to be patient and to persevere. It is good to have a guide to help us and to join a good Bible study group to assist us on our journey.

We find a lot of wisdom in the scriptures. There will be certain passages that we read that touch our hearts and our souls. They make sense to us as we reflect on our own life experiences.

We begin to slowly see that the main message of the scriptures is one of Good News: God wants to offer us the gift of salvation. God has sent Jesus to us to unlock the Wisdom that God knows we need to live a fruitful life.

The scripture equips us for the challenges that we will face in our lives. It helps us to deal with the loss of those who are close to us. It assists us in dealing with rejection, failure, and prejudice. 

The scripture prepares us to bring justice to our world. We quickly discover that there are those who work to dominate and exploit others. The scriptures show us another way and encourage us to help the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and those in need.

The scripture reminds us to hold fast to the teachings of the patriarchs, the prophets, and Jesus to love God and to love our neighbor. It can be easy to give up in the face of adversity and failure, but the scriptures encourage us to be persistent and to persevere as Paul and Timothy did.

If we remain faithful to our beliefs, we can help those who are discouraged and in need. We can begin to live the message of the scriptures every day in our encounters with others.

It is a challenge to remain faithful. It can seem like the message of the scriptures is being ignored by those who lie and cheat their way to "success". 

The scriptures proclaim a path of understanding, compassion, and love. They tell us that God is love and command us to love others as Jesus has loved us.

In our reading Paul tells Timothy to hold fast to the teaching of the scriptures he has received from his infancy and to place his trust in Jesus.

 

Today we have that same advice to read, study, pray over, and live the scriptures. We know that they will inspire us and lead us to real success and true happiness.

Enjoy your journey with the scriptures!

1. Do you find it challenging to read the scriptures?

2. What resources have you found helpful in your study of the Bible?

3. What passages in the scriptures have you found helpful in your faith journey?

4. How difficult is it for you to remain faithful to your beliefs?

5. As you contemplate Kathy's photo, what are the doors you will be going through to discover more about the scriptures?

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

Healing

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Healing

Physical   Spiritual

Plunge   Saving   Word

Give Thanks To God

Cleansed

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Luke 17:17 and 18

Jesus cured ten lepers and only one of the ten came back to thank Jesus. Jesus said,

"Ten were healed. Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"

Reflection

Healing is an amazing experience. When we think of times when we were seriously ill and then healed, we are full of gratitude. The pain is gone, the uncertainty about the future wiped away, and our lives can continue.

The physical healing is much appreciated. However, there is another dimension to the healing that we can overlook---the spiritual healing that takes place as well. The pain in our bodies is acutely felt in our spirit. We are not the same. We are unbalanced and feel out of sorts. We notice the difference.

We have the option of taking the plunge into despair or into healing. In our reading from Luke, Jesus offers healing. He offers His Saving Word.

We have the choice to plunge into that Saving Word and be renewed, refreshed, and healed by it or to plunge into self-pity and discouragement. The one leper who returns knows that Jesus has healed him both in body and in soul.

The spiritual healing has helped this "foreigner" (he was a Samaritan) to experience not just a healing of his leprosy but a healing from just thinking about himself and his problems. 

He returns to Jesus not only to give Him thanks but to kneel before Him in worship and praise. He acknowledges the power and love of Jesus and is thus a foreigner no longer but a follower. 

He knows that Jesus is different not just because he has been healed. Jesus has the Saving Word that can fill our hearts with peace and joy. This is what we are truly looking for. Our spirits need to be renewed and healed even more than our bodies.

It is a parable for our time when there seems to be so much division and bitterness. We need to work for the healing of all of our people and to demonstrate the compassion that Jesus has shown to the "foreigner". 

We need to realize that all of us are sisters and brothers in God's Family and give thanks to God for each and every person. 

We need to be cleansed from the leprosy of hatred and indifference and to embrace the healing power of Jesus. 

Let us plunge our spirits into the healing that Jesus offers so that we can overcome the physical and spiritual ills that divide us and diminish us.

Enjoy your plunge!

1. How do you feel when you are ill?

2. How do you feel after you have been healed from a serious illness?

3. Which is more important for you---a physical or a spiritual healing?

4. How can Jesus heal you?

5. Do you need to be cleansed from anything?

6. What do you feel as you contemplate Kathy's photo?

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

Stir

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Stir

Into   Flames

Power   Love   Self-Control

Holy Spirit Dwells Within

Embrace

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   2 Timothy 1:6

I want to remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have been given through the imposition of hands.

Reflection

Don't you just love it when you are making a recipe for the first time, and you have assembled all the ingredients and you start stirring them all together? You are wondering, "How is this going to turn out?"

Our faith is very much like that. We have been taught all of the amazing doctrines that have been handed down. We then reflect on them and try to incorporate them into our everyday actions. We start stirring them into our lives!

Flames can be scary. We don't want to see them get out of control and destroy our homes and communities as we have seen so often lately. Those scenes where people come back to their homes and find just a pile of ashes are heartbreaking. 

The flames that Paul is talking about in our passage from 2 Timothy are very different. They are the flames of love that energize us to reach out to others with kindness and concern.

There is a tremendous power in that love. We have all experienced it in our own lives. Recently my brother, Brian, passed away. I was very close with Brian because we would meet together for lunch once a month to solve all the problems of the world. Brian was very well read and a great conversationalist.

Many people reached out to me with supportive messages and cards. I felt the power of their love, and it lifted me up. When the flame of love is stirred up, it can transform our lives.

Self-control can help us truly feel the power of love. Many things can upset us or cause us to be angry. Instead of reacting immediately to a difficult situation, we can try to hold back on our initial feeling and figure out the loving path to take.

As we reflect, we can ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we seek a peaceful path. So many times, when I have done that, I have found a better way of dealing with my first reaction and a good resolution to the disagreement. 

We know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us and is ready to guide us if we give Her the opportunity. Once our confusion or anger subsides, we can truly listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and follow a more fruitful path.

The Holy Spirit wants to stir us up to follow God's way. The Holy Spirit wants to embrace us with the power of God's Love. 

Enjoy that Stirring!

Enjoy that Embrace!

1. Do you enjoy stirring all the ingredients together as you make your favorite recipe?

2. How do you attempt to stir the doctrines of your faith into your everyday life?

3. Has your life ever been transformed by the love of others who have reached out to you with their kindness and concern?

4. How do you deal with situations in your life that cause you to get upset or irritated?

5. What did you feel as you reflected on Kathy's photo?

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