Saturday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time (October 20, 2018): How to Know God More Fully

Thứ Bảy, 20-10-2018 | 09:13:37

Today’s Readings:

Ephesians 1:15-23
Psalm 8:2-7
Luke 12:8-12
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102018.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/18_10_20.mp3


A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke.

Jesus said to his disciples: 
“I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before others
the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.
But whoever denies me before others
will be denied before the angels of God.

“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven.
When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,
do not worry about how or what your defense will be
or about what you are to say. 
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”


… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. (Ephesians 1:17)

Reflection for Saturday: How to Know God More Fully
By Graciela Ramos, Director of Online Ministry

Verse 17 from this Saturday’s first reading gives us the key to our relationship with God. I would say that without this key it is impossible for us to grow in our spiritual life, it is impossible for our wounds to be healed, it is impossible for us to know the width, the length and the measure of God’s Love for us.

Saint Paul is praying for “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, to grant you the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know him.” This is what we need in order to know God! In biblical language, “to know” is not a synonym of “having information about something” but of “having an experience of something — being aware of something”. How can we “have an experience, an awareness” of God? Only if we are given the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” that is, the Holy Spirit of God!

We need the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, which is not the same as being “wise”. We do not need a superior intelligence, nor a certain mental capacity, nor do we need to use a lot of effort to have an experience of God.

We need the Spirit of Revelation, not a how-to manual, not a series of writings, norms and laws. We need the Holy Spirit revealing within us the love, the greatness and the beauty of God.

Of course, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us who God is by using everything that is at hand: our abilities, our effort, the Word of God, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Teachings of the Church, the writings of the mystics and much more. But what we must not forget is that it is the Holy Spirit who reveals Jesus and the Father. It is our relationship with the Holy Spirit that transforms our lives. It is God’s Spirit who will lead us to the complete truth (John 16:13).

However, the Holy Spirit can only do so if we give our permission, if we invoke him, if we express our need of his presence and his action in us.

God has made you a promise: “Your Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13), and you can trust that promise. So, is there anything stealing your joy? Is there anything stealing your hope? Is there anything stealing your peace? Is there a sin you cannot overcome? This is the time of the Holy Spirit! Ask him to manifest himself in you. Ask him for everything you need, and give him permission to act in your life. He will do it!

Make a sacred prayer walk, praying a Novena to the Holy Spirit in our Virtual Reality world (no special equipment needed). Give yourself time to be alone with Jesus. Tell him how you feel right now. Tell him why you need peace. Why you need wisdom. Why you need to know the Father more fully. Thank Jesus for being with you all the time. Then invite him to journey with you into this Virtual Reality Sacred Prayer Walk: catholicvr.net/virtual-hidden-water-way-novena/.

© 2018 by Terry A. Modica

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