My Beloved, the purpose of the gift of Your Holy Spirit is in order to empower us to become Your witnesses.  We need Him because we cannot even say, "Jesus is Lord," without His help.  The Spirit helps us to pray.  He searches our own human spirit and brings to light our weaknesses and sins so that we can confess them and plead for grace so we may not sin again.  We need Your Holy Spirit to love You as You ought to be loved, to love ourselves despite our self-knolwedge, trusting God to help us to become all we ought to be and to love our neighbor which sometimes seems impossible, and is impossible, if You do not provide us with the spiritual gifts that we can use to empower us

Nothing worth having comes without a struggle.  I need to pray with confidence, faithfully, day after day, month after month, year after year and trust that in Your perfect time, You will give me all I need to live a life that is pleasing to You.

Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon me my Beloved so I can always and everywhere spread the sweet fragrance of Your love. 

I love You my Lord.

SIRACH 6:37

SIRACH 6:37

Meditate on the precepts of the Lord and apply yourself unceasingly to His commandments.  He will strengthen Your heart and the wisdom you desire will be given to you.

John 15:12-14

This is my commandment:  Love one another as I have loved you.

13 There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; 14 and you are my friends if you do what I command you.

Beloved, to be a true disciple, a true Christian, a true believer is not easy.  In the flesh it is impossible, on my own strength which is zilch, it is less than impossible.  But with You and with Your Spirit - leaning on You always, clinging to You, crying out to You in every moment of distress and difficulty, You make it possible to love, to forgive, to show pity, mercy and compassion.  Without You my heart  is hard, unloving and unforgiving and this is the road to despair,  hate and ruin.

Grant me the grace to obey and meditate on Your commandment to love God and neighbour and You will strengthen me and give me the wisdom I need to be a true witness to Your love. Help me Lord!

SIRACH 18:6, 8-11, 13-14, 16-17, PSALM 113:4-6, JOHN 15:9-10, 12-14, 16-17

SIRACH 18:6, 8-11, 13-14, 16-17

6 Nothing can be added to him or taken away; no one can fathom the wonders of the Lord.8 What is man? What is his purpose? What is the good in him and what the bad?9 Take the length of his life: a hundred years is long. 10 Like a drop of water from the sea, a grain of sand, such are his few years compared with eternity.11 For this reason, the Lord has patience with them and pours out his mercy on them.12 He sees and realizes how miserable their end is and so he heaps his forgiveness upon them.13 Man’s mercy is for his neighbor but the compassion of the Lord reaches all people; he rebukes, corrects, teaches and brings back his flock like a shepherd. 14 He takes pity on those who accept correction and eagerly seek his will. 16 Does not dew temper the heat? So, too, a kind word is much better than a gift.17 The gift is not as valuable as the words which accompany it, but a generous man brings both.

Beloved, truly Your Word is a light to my heart and a lamp to my feet. Teach me to meditate on YourWord and to live it - therein lies my joy and peace.

In Acts 1:1:15 We are told that Peter stood up in the midst of the community - as his successors the Popes continue to stand up as head of the Church to lead and guide it.

Psalm 113:4-6

4 The Lord is exalted over the nations,his glory above the heavens.5 Who is like the Lord our God,who sits enthroned on high,6 but also bends down to seeon earth as in heaven?

Beloved, Almighty, Most High God, Your glory fills the heavens and earth and yet You stoop down and and You keep Your gaze on me - leading, loving, guiding, teaching. You expand my inner being in order that I can receive You and allow You to live, move, act and have Your Being in me. Grant me a greater awareness of You and thus allow You in me my Lord in order that I may love You more dearly every day.

John 15:9-10, 12-14, 16-17

9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love. 10 You will remain in my love if you keep my commandments.  12 This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; 14 and you are my friends if you do what I command you.  16 You did not choose me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. 17 This is my command, that you love one another.

Beloved, You have loved us as the Father has loved You - which is infinitely. I must love You as You have loved me and I am also called to love my neighbour. You have chosen me and sent me as Your witness.  Beloved, if I am called to be a witness, then I must be faithful to all You have commanded.  You say, "You are my friends if you do what I command you."  It can be hard Lord because I am selfish, proud, lazy egoistic, self-righteous.  I have high expectations of others and I do not take their ignorance and weaknesses into account and make allowances for them. Neither am I charitable in the face of their weaknesses.  You call me to show loving compassion in imitation of You and often I fail miserably.

What a wonderful promise You make Lord, "Everything you ask of the Father in My Name He will give you."  There are no half measures with You my Beloved.  Everything I ask in Your Name will be given to me by the Father PROVIDED I love You and I love my neighbour.  Help me Lord to be all that You call me to be. Amen.

Isaiah 2:22, John 16:20

Isaiah 2:22
Rely not on man who has but a breath in his nostrils.  What is he worth? 

M---, do not expect so much from human beings.  They are frail.  Put your confidence in them and you are destined for disappointment.  My love alone does not fail, fade or disappoint.  It is the same today, tomorrow and always.  Why are you downcast and troubled when you have Me to turn to, tor run to, to cling to.  I am here with my arms outstretched towards you - you have to run to Me.  The first step must be yours - taken in faith, hope, trust and love.

John 16:20
You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.

Acts17:27, 28 & 31, John 15:12-15 and John 16:12-15

"Let faith be your lamp and My Word your guide.  You are not alone, you are never alone.  Trust in Me, call out to Me.  I am in the heart of you - in your very center.   How can you doubt my Presence?  I do not love as men - I am God. I have given you Myself and you have pledged to give Me all of yourself.  Do not forget that I am Yours just as you are Mine.  Do not worry.  Do not be anxious - be not afraid.  I am with you - you are never ever alone."

Jesus, my life, my hope, my joy, my peace.  My Lord and my God.  My Beloved and my Truest Friend, I asked for a sign and You responded by  speaking to me through these two Scripture verses in today's readings:

You confirmed in Your Word what you spoke to me.

Acts 17:27-28

...Yet he is not far from any of us.  For in him we move and have our being.

and

And Your word tells me that the sign given is the Resurrection and because of the Resurrection, You have the power to raise to life any man who may be dead in sin, self and pride.

Acts 17:31
So that all may believe it, he has just given a sign by raising this man from the dead.

John 15:12-15

12 This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; 14 and you are my friends if you do what I command you.15 I shall not call you servants any more, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learned from my Father.

John 16:12-15

12 I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into the whole truth. He has nothing to say of himself but he will speak of what he hears, and he will tell you of the things to come. 14 He will take what is mine and make it known to you; in doing this, he will glorify me. 15 All that the Father has is mine; because of this I have just told you, that the Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you.”

"With love all things are possible. Through the merits of my life, passion, death and resurrection, the world is saved.  I need you to be my witness, a sign of my love.  You are not alone, my promise, the Holy Spirit who lives in you and makes your body His temple, will guide you.  When you witness to me, you glorify Me.  Be led by My Spirit.  Trust me and trust that the work and the outcome of the work is Mine.  You are a laborer in my vineyard.

 

Be faithful, gentle, patient, charitable and kind.  The ground may be hard.  Pray for the gentle rain of the Holy Spirit to soften it, the seed of My Word to be planted in it and trust God for the harvest.  The victory belongs to Me, your Lord and your God."