Calendar
Leader's
School
Thur June 6, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA
RE classroom #8
Ultreya-Tulsa
Fri June 7, 7:00pm
St. Mary's, Tulsa
Ultreya-BA
Fri June 21, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA
Leader's
School
Thur July 11, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA
RE classroom #8
Ultreya-Tulsa
Fri July 5, 7:00pm
St. Mary's, Tulsa
Ultreya-BA
Fri July 19, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA
Men's
Weekend #31
Sept 26-29, 2002
St. John's, McAlester
Women's
Weekend #31
Oct 10-13, 2002
St. John's, McAlester
SPIRITUALITY 101
SPIRITUAL REFLECTION- 128
Deacon Jim Breazile o.c.d.s.
For over 300 years of Calvinism in South Africa professing the Catholic faith
brought the death penalty. There were no Catholic bishops or priests allowed to
live. After the end of apartheid, although reluctantly, freedom of religion was
restored. Father John was the first Catholic pastor sent to the area. He
was assigned to live in the city of Calvinia. Although he was not well
accepted, he could minister to Catholics. His parish boundaries included a large
desert area over 300 miles across. In exploring that area, he found 75
Catholic families. They were the goat herders who cared for the animals of the
wealthy. Because they were no threat to anyone, they were allowed to remain.
For almost 10 generations, these families had built small stick huts where they
worshiped each Sunday. They baptized and married their own children
through these years. He found that they had maintained an understanding of
the catechism and they knew the traditional prayers of the Church. Father John
was well aware that to provide stability Christ had established His Church with
Bishops, Priests and Deacons. He became aware, however that the strength of the
Church lies in the power of the Holy Spirit residing in the souls of the
faithful.
DEVOTION - Growth in love- 3rd stage
DEVOTIONALS- MEDITATION-SACRAMENTALS-THE ROSARY-55
The Mysteries of the Rosary-13
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES: The Third Glorious Mystery
Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles Acts 2:1-4
"When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place
together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving
wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared o
them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different
tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim."
In reflection No. 28, we began a series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the
manner in which each gift empowers us to the service of others. The gifts
should be differentiated from the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The Gift is the
Holy Spirit uniting with our human spirit to reside in our soul. It is
thus that we become the temple of the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God within us.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit makes us pleasing to the Father, as it is a
fulfillment of His plan through out eternity for us. Man is created
especially for God Himself, in order that His glory show forth in a material way
within His creation. With the sin of Adam, man was no longer capable of
demonstrating this glory. On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit
descended upon the Church in the upper room of Jerusalem, man was restored to
the possibility of union with God in glory.
We have assumed throughout these reflections, as stated in reflection No. 1, the
goal of our life on earth is to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.
This commandment should constantly ring in our minds, to remind us that the Holy
Spirit, uniting us in love with the Trinity provides us with all the resources
necessary to live a life of perfection on earth. It is true that Christ,
through His death on the cross has overcome all sin, and opened the gates of
heaven for us. We cannot however, assume that our sins are forgiven at the
time they are committed. He leaves our will free to accept Him or to
reject Him. Through our personal Pentecost He comes into the mind and
hearts of mankind to provide the strength and perseverance to overcome our sins,
but He does not force us to utilize these gifts. The old adage holds true
that He creates us without our will, but He will not save us without our will.
At the coming of the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfilled His promise to send another
Advocate to assist us in overcoming the world, Satan and the flesh, to accord
our will with His will, and live a holy life. His activity, as the Holy Guest in
our soul is to save us from evil and guide us to good. He has been
compared as one using a slate, whose action is two-handed, writing and then
erasing. With the left hand, as it were, our indwelling God is ever
cleansing the soul of all selfishness, self indulgence and self seeking and lack
of charity for our neighbor as one would erase a slate. With the right
hand, he is ever writing His divine graces for us to read. These are a strong
avoidance of sin, an urgent, powerful love of virtue, and a great zeal for
His presence in our lives.
In addition to His activity in our soul, God is active and alive as well in His
Church. Pentecost is often looked upon as the Conception of the Church.
It is in the coming of the Holy Spirit that the Church, the mystical body of
Christ received its soul. Christ promised that when the Holy Spirit came, he
would teach us the truth, and convict the world of sin. As the soul of the
Church He teaches us truth. Before His assumption, He commissioned His
apostles to teach His truth through the ages. It is because the teachings
of the Church are the truth of the Holy Spirit that we can accept the teachings
of the Church as infallible. Throughout the ages before the coming of Christ,
God had chose one person to be His representative on earth to serve His chosen
people. So we read in the Old Testament of the succession of the
patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and others to the coming of His
Son. In like manner, before He ascended to the Father, the glorified risen
Christ chose one apostle to serve as His central channel to His people. He gave
the keys to the kingdom of heaven to Peter and a promise that he would carry
those keys throughout the age of the Church to the end of time. He gave Peter
the promise what he bound on earth, was bound in heaven and what he loosed on
earth was loosed in heaven.
It is in this manner that Christians are led both internally and externally by
the truths of the Holy Spirit. Within our soul, we meet God face to face
in our conscience, and are guided toward truth. Within the Church, the
Lord teaches us truth as it is important for the salvation of our souls.
Thus it is through the Church that we are assured the Holy Bible is the inspired
Word of God, to be studied and made our guide. Because of the weakness of
our soul, however, He warns us against private interpretation, and guides us to
follow the teachings of the Church concerning biblical interpretation. It is
Peter himself that provides us this guide. In 2 Peter 2:20-21 he writes,
"Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a
matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will;
but rather human beings moved by the Holy Spirit spoke under the influence of
God." It is clear that the Scriptures were not only written through the
Spirit that guides the Church, but that it must also be interpreted through that
same Spirit. The modern Christian is therefore urged to study the
teachings of the Church, in order that the meaning of Scripture will have
meaning in their lives.
NEW CATHOLIC CATECHISM
ARTICLE NO. 1124
The Church's faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to
adhere to it. When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith
received from the apostles-whence the ancient saying lex orandi, lex credendi (or:legem
credendi lex statuat supplicandi), according to Prosper of Aquitaine (5th
cent.]). The law of prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she
prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition.
FAITH REVEALED IN PRAYER
Deacon Jim Breazile o.c.d.s.
The Church is mother of each Christian
For it is through the her that we arise
By baptismal waters to be reborn
Our spiritual life to actualized
The Church first makes the proclamation
Of the faith to which we firm adhere
The Church's prayers and supplication
Presents to us our holy sphere
Faith is revealed in our prayer
And realized as we celebrate
To faiths tradition we are heir
through prayer the world to consecrate
Ó2002
DR. JAMES E. BREAZILE, deacon
JOHN PAUL EVANGELIST OCDS
