John 16:16-20... Grief turning into Joy
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Posted:May 31, 2007 5:11 pm
Last Updated:Apr 28, 2024 5:16 am 2050 Views
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John 16:16-20
Grief turning into Joy
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another. “what does this mean that he is saying to us. ‘A little while and you, will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ [of which he speaks]? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION... AFTER CONVERSION... Helps and Hindrances to Holiness... Pray
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Posted:May 31, 2007 6:29 am
Last Updated:May 31, 2007 6:35 am 2081 Views
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 34
Helps and Hindrances to Holiness
PRAY,O Holy Spirit, my God and Sanctifier, grant me the light to see what glorious opportunity I now have of beginning a better life. Help me to take whatever steps are necessary to purify my soul by a sincere daily effort. You will not deny me the strength which I need, if only I will try to develop the virtues which I need most, in my daily life. Amen
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My
Daily
Bread
CONFRATERNETY
OF THE
PRECIOUS
BLOOD
Book 1 ‒ The Way of Purification
Part 2 ‒ After Conversion
Page 66-67
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION... AFTER CONVERSION... Helps and Hindrances to Holiness... Think
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Posted:May 31, 2007 6:25 am
Last Updated:May 31, 2007 6:34 am 2072 Views
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 34
Helps and Hindrances to Holiness
THINK,Many are frightened by the thought of changing their ways in daily life. Yet the way can be quite simplified if only they will make the effort. First, they need a spiritual director to guide them along and to help them see themselves without prejudice or fear. Second, they must be honest in striving for the virtues opposed to their main faults. Third, they must realize that their feelings and blind desires will go on rebelling and making their daily efforts more difficult. Lastly, they must learn to gain spiritual profit from all occasions, imitating the virtues which they see in others and avoiding the defects of their neighbors.
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My
Daily
Bread
CONFRATERNETY
OF THE
PRECIOUS
BLOOD
Book 1 ‒ The Way of Purification
Part 2 ‒ After Conversion
Page 66-67
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION... AFTER CONVERSION... Helps and Hindrances to Holiness
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Posted:May 31, 2007 6:17 am
Last Updated:Jun 20, 2007 3:27 am 2067 Views
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 34
Helps and Hindrances to Holiness
CHRIST,
MY , there is one thing that stops many from making spiritual progress and keeps them from improving themselves. It is a fear of the difficulties or of the work required by their effort. The people who rise highest in holiness are those who are brave enough to fight against whatever holds them back from Me, no matter how hard or disagreeable the effort maybe. The more you try to master your feelings and blind desires, the greater are the graces which I offer to you. If you keep on trying, you will gain as much success as I desire of you.
2. Different men have to face different obstacles. Yet, a diligent and zealous person will make greater progress in virtue, even though he may have to fight more defects than others. Some people have fewer defects to overcome, and still they do not advance in holiness because they are less fervent in the pursue of virtues.
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My
Daily
Bread
CONFRATERNETY
OF THE
PRECIOUS
BLOOD
Book 1 ‒ The Way of Purification
Part 2 ‒ After Conversion
Page 66-67
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John 16:12-15... The Spirit of Truth
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Posted:May 29, 2007 1:14 am
Last Updated:Apr 28, 2024 5:16 am 2031 Views
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John 16:12-15
The Spirit of Truth
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for the reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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John 16:5-11... Coming of the Advocate
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Posted:May 27, 2007 6:13 am
Last Updated:Apr 28, 2024 5:16 am 2027 Views
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John 16:5-11
Coming of the Advocate
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “Now, I am going to the one who sent me, and not no one of you ask me. ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me, righteousness because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me, condemnation because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”
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Reflect…
Jesus presents the Holy Spirit as a defense attorney. In case of persecution, for example, Jesus tells us; ”Do not worry beforehand about what to say. In that hour, say what you are inspired to say. It will not be yourselves speaking but the Holy Spirit.” (Mk 13:11; see also John 15:26)
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365 Days with the Lord
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John 15:9-17... The Vine and the Branches
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Posted:May 27, 2007 5:44 am
Last Updated:May 27, 2007 5:46 am 2106 Views
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John 15:9-17
The Vine and the Branches
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father: It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that: whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you love one another.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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Why We Are Not To Be Afraid... Part II
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Posted:May 24, 2007 2:26 am
Last Updated:May 24, 2007 5:36 pm 2113 Views
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Why We Are Not To Be Afraid - Part II
The first of these three promised gifts is the Holy Spirit. Of him Jesus says: “He will teach you everything and remind you of all that ( I ) told you.” So the Holy Spirit role will be to maintain alive in their hearts and even deepen their understanding of the teachings of Jesus, of his, of his examples.
The second gift Jesus promises is peace. Not just any peace, but the kind of peace he calls his peace. It is different from the kind of peace the world can give. He does not explain what exactly is the difference between the two, but we can suspect that his peace is much deeper and more constant than whatever the world calls “peace.”
The third gift that Jesus promises to his disciples and which should help them conquer fear is nothing less than himself, his renewed and mysterious presence in their hearts after he would have physically disappeared from their midst. It is precisely because the disciples will experience the constant presence of Jesus in their hearts that they will be delivered from fear and know peace.
These three gifts of Jesus–the Holy Spirit, his peace, and his abiding presence–are not reserved to the twelve apostles, of course, but are offered to all disciples of Jesus. Now, the Holy Spirit is not the spirit of fear but a spirit of confident trust in our heavenly Father’s providence (cf. Rom 8:15 ). Of itself alone, the presence of the Spirit in us should banish fear. How much more can it achieve this result when it is coupled with the presence of Jesus in the believer’s heart. These two presence, along with the gift of Christ’s peace should desolve all fear–provided, of course, our hearts do not contain something which prevents the three gifts of Jesus from having their effect. That something could be anything; sinful habit, sinful relationship, a lack of prayer, and so on.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Why We Are Not To Be Afraid... Part I
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Posted:May 24, 2007 2:19 am
Last Updated:May 24, 2007 5:36 pm 2164 Views
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Why We Are Not To Be Afraid
Fear plays a great part in our lives. We fear so many things! We fear accidents, the death of loved one, sickness, theft, rumors, unemployment, marriage breakup, old age, bankruptcy, failures, flunking an exam, not being able to pay the mortgage, not getting a promotion, becoming fat and so on. The list is endless. Fear is one of our greatest trials. And yet, it is so unreasonable, because fearing what can happen to us is really waste of time, since most of the things we fear will never happen. Moreover, even if a few of the things we fear do eventually happen, fearing them in advance forces us to endure them twice once in imagination and once in reality. Not to mention that obsession with the future can ruin the present.
It has been said that the commandment most often repeated in the Bible is this one. “Do not be afraid.” Whatever or not that is true is difficult to say. However, it is certainly true that in the Bible God or messengers speaking in his name very frequently enjoin people not to fear. We see Jesus telling his disciples: “Do not be afraid.” For example, as we have just heard it reads to us, in our gospel passage Jesus tells his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” And he tells them this during the Last Supper, on the eve of his death, after having announced that he was about to leave them (John 13:33)! Naturally, in itself this piece of news would even reason enough for them to become fearful, wouldn’t it. Yet, Jesus overrules it. The disciples are not to fear or be distressed. Why not? Because Jesus promises them three things which should amply compassionate for his absence and which, therefore, should enable them to overcome their fear.
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365 Days with the Lord
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John 14:23-29... The Advocate
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Posted:May 24, 2007 2:13 am
Last Updated:May 24, 2007 2:14 am 2059 Views
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John 14:23-29
The Advocate
Jesus answered [Judas, not the Iscariot] and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name–he will teach you everything and remind you of all that: ( I ) told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you. ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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