|
The spirit and the Eucharist Synopsis It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” John 6: 63 The Eucharistic Liturgy is saturated with the presence of the Holy Spirit. From the moment you decide to go to Mass, the Holy Spirit is active and alive. Sadly, many people don’t experience the Holy Spirit, and attending Mass becomes a a chore for them rather than a life-giving encounter with Jesus. In this segment we will look at a few ways of the many ways that the Holy Spirit is present in the Mass, which will enable you to encounter God when you attend the liturgy.Keys Texts John 6;:22-71 The bread of life discourse CCC 1333 “ At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ’ Body and Blood “ Eucharistic Prayer 2 “ Make Holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them likes the dewfall, sot hat they may become for us the Body ad Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Eucharistic Prayer 3 “ By the power and working of the Holy Spirit you give life to all things… by that same Spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration |
||
|
Discussion 1. Why do you attend Mass? Your desire to attend Mass is a grace of the Holy Spirit. Discuss the tension that may exit in whether or not to attend Mass. Where does that tension come from? 2. As Catholics we believe that Sunday Mass is spiritually the most important time of the week. Do you approach Mass in that light? How do you prepare to attend liturgy? 3. 3. In what part of the liturgy do you most experience God’s presence? Reflection Come Holy Spirit Spend some time prayerfully reading John 6:22-71. The Spirit helps us to more profoundly grasp the reality that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. Pray for this grace. Before you attend Mass next Sunday take a few minutes with your family to read and discuss Sunday’s Gospel. Also, in the next couple of weeks try to attend Mass on a w eek day. Arrive a few minutes early and ask the Holy Spirit to show himself to you in a new and profound way. At the center of the church is the Eucharist where Christ is present and active in humanity and in the whole world by means of the Holy Spirit”- Pope St. John Paul II The spirit gives Life John 6: 61 |
||
| The spirit of adoption Synopsis For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, Abba, Father” Romans 8:14-16 The Holy Spirit reveals many things to us. One of the most beautiful is the Spirit revealing God as our loving Father, our “Abba” or Daddy. Jesus related to his Father as Abba and never before has God been to in such personal and intimate terms. God as Abba is a uniquely beautiful Christian revelation. The Spirit of Jesus desires to free us from fear and a master -slave relationship to a Father-daughter or Father-son relationship |
|
Keys Texts Matthew 18;12-24 “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety –nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen , I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost”. Matthew 6;26 “ Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?” Discussion
1. What is
your primary image of God and how do you relate to him? How is God
personal to you? How do you approach God? Like a slave approaching
the master or as a child approaching the Father? 3. It has been said that our relationship with God the Father begins with our earthly father. Discuss how God is both like and unlike your earthly father. |
||
|
Reflection Come Holy Spirit Allow God to be your Abba. Take some time to be still and ask the Holy Spirit to calm your mind and heart. Then ask the Holy Spirit to show God as your loving Father. Let God speak to your mind and hers about you being his son or daughter and how he delights in you. Imagine your heavenly Father telling you how much he loves you, how he is proud of youThe Holy Spirit creates in us this new condition of being Children of God and this is the greatest gift we receive from Jesus’ paschal mystery- Pope Francis Abba, Father-- Romasns 8: 16 The Spirit reveals God as our loving Father ********************************************** The Spirit and the Sacraments Synopsis “Amen Amen,I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of the Spirit” John 3 ; :5 The sacraments are always an encounter with the Holy Spirit and each and every time we come to the sacraments the Holy Spirit is present. Often times when we think of the Holy Spirit and his work in the sacraments we only think of confirmation. This is great, but the Holy Spirit is present in all of them. In this segment we will look at how the Holy Spirit is present in the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Matrimony and how this an impact your life Key Texts Acts 8:6-17 “…. And prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit ( Acts 8:15-17) CCC1303 The grace of Confirmation , the specific effects of Confirmation are noted: an increase and deepening of baptismal grace: rooting us more deeply in the divine relationship which makes us cry, Abba! Father ! increasing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us, and giving us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ. CCC 1 724 In this sacrament the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of Christ and the Church. The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of their love and the strength to renew their fidelity Discussion 1. Consider the beauty in the Sacrament of Baptism; you have been created anew and brought into the center of the Holy Trinity. Baptism is the gateway to a life in the Holy Spirit. What does a life in the Holy Spirit look like? Not merely an experience of the Holy Spirit but a life in the Holy Spirit. A baptized Christian’s life should look different from a non-baptized. Does yours? 2. A grace of Confirmation is the ability to spread the faith by words and actions. Was this your experience of Confirmation? Perhaps that grace needs to be stirred up? 3.In Marriage the couple receives this Holy Spirit. What does it mean that the Holy Spirit is “the ever available source of their love? For those married, how do you as a couple seek the Hoy Spirit? |
||
| Reflection Come Holy Spirit In Baptism you have been grafted to Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit to place on your heart that you have been baptized into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Because of this, your soul is now branded, configured to Christ. It is not you who live but Christ who lives in you. Allow the Spirit to reveal Jesus’ saving work in your life. For those married, pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit to be more present in your marriage and look fro signs of the Holy Spirit’s work. Holy baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments CCC 1213 The gateway to life CCC 1213 |
|
The fruits of the Holy Spirit Synopsis “So by their fruits you will know them” – Matthew 7:20 By the way we live and how we treat people, our lives produce some type of fruit. The sort of fruit our lives produce has eternal consequences for us personally as well as a profound impact on those people we love. In fact, our fruit impacts all of our relationships, from the most casual to the most intimate. When we live animated by the Holy Spirit, our lives produce fruit that not only makes our own lives more peaceful, patient, and loving but also influences positively those whom we encounter each and every day Key Texts Galatians 5: 17-23 For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious : immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivaly, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, a I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”. |
||
|
Discussion 1.What words would people who know you best use to describe the fruit your life produces? How about those who are merely acquaintances? Is there a dfference? 2. Obviously there is a tension between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. How and when do you experience this tension? When do you experience victory over the works of the flesh? 3. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are a visible sign of your relationship with God. Where do you see God working in your life? Reflection Come Holy Spirit Make some time when you are able to be quiet and still before the Lord. Invite the Holy spirit to show you the fruit or your life. The good things that you do are a grace of living a life led by the Spirit Of God. There is also always room for greater conversion. God’s Spirit is always available to you in order to bring forth new fruit in your life. Where is this most needed? Pray that your relationship with the Holy Spirit would produce abundant fruit. The fruits are signs or manifestations that our life is being transformed or perfected by God- CCC 1832 Love, joy, Peace Galatians 5:22 ***************************************** The Spirit and the desert Synopsis Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil ” Luke 4: 1 On the day Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit anointed him.. Immediately after this event, the Holy Spirit led Jesus to the desert,. The desert was a place of isolation, death and defeat but Jesus was led to the desert so that it would be forever changed., so that it would be a place of grace. The Spirit led Jesus to the desert and also protected and cared for him while he was there. The desert is a part of every Christians’ life but it does not have to be a place of despair or isolation. The Holy Spirit is present to life’s deserts and when we experience his presence it changes our spiritual life. The desert is no longer a place to be feared but can be a profound encounter with Jesus. Key Texts Luke 3:21-22 “ After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily from likes dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘ You are my beloved Son: with you I am well pleased” Luke 4:1 “ Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil” James 1:13 ‘No one experiencing temptation shouild say, I am being tempted by God; for God is not subjected to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” |
||
|
Discussion 1.The Holy Spirit led Jesus and can lead us to the desert. Discuss what this might mean to you. 2.God does not tempt us, rather it is the evil one. How and when is the evil one most likely to tempt you? When do you experience victory over temptation? 3.Jesus is with us in the midst of our suffering and struggles. Discuss experiences you have had when you feft his presence. How did this experience. change your relationship with God? 4. Many people have a type of adversarial relationships with God, thinking that God is really out to get them or catch them doing something wrong. In Romans 8:31 St Paul states that God is for us; he is not against us . Discusss this beautiful reality Reflection Come Holy Spirit God is ever present; you are not alone,. Take some time when and where you won’t be bothered, Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of a difficult time in your life, This can be hard but trust that the Holy Spirit will lead you. Reflect on that experience. Ask God to be light and to be truth and ask Jesus to be present to whatever the Holy Spirit reveals. Finally, allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the love of God. We always find that those who wal ked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials” - St Teresa of Avila Led by the Spirit Luke 4:1 |