Posted on 05/28/2023 7:42:29 AM PDT by fidelis
(Daily readings from the USCCB)
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 to 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. Acts 2:2–4
And with that, the Church was born. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost which, in many ways, was the culmination of the mission of Christ. The pinnacle of His mission will come at the end of time when He returns in all His glory to judge the living and the dead and to establish His permanent Kingdom. But for now, we live under the rule of the Holy Spirit Who has descended upon us in full form, transforming us and making it possible to prepare for Jesus’ final and glorious coming.
Reflect, today, upon these holy mysteries of our faith. See the actions of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a true mystery. The only way we will be able to begin to probe these mysteries is through prayerful pondering. We must look for the workings of God within, see Him at work within our souls, savor His presence, rejoice in it and keep our eyes firmly fixed on Him. We must see the fruit of God’s presence in our lives, such as the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Below is a full list of these Gifts. Ponder them today. As you do, and as you see these Gifts within you, you will be seeing God Himself, the Holy Spirit, alive and living within the depths of your soul.
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I worship You and adore You with all my Heart. Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son into the world. Thank You Father and Son for sending the Holy Spirit into my life. May I open my soul more fully to You today and every day so as to prepare for Your glorious return at the end of the ages. Jesus, I trust in You.
🔥 Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit 🔥
Fear of the Lord: With this gift, the Christian becomes keenly aware of anything that may hurt his/her relationship with God. There is a holy “fear” of hurting this relationship, and grace is given to avoid these things at all cost.
Wisdom: With this gift, the Christian is given a special grace to “ponder divine realities” in his/her speculative reason. We are able to see the big picture and know how best to be an instrument of peace and harmony in our world.
Understanding: This is the ability to have a supernatural assurance of the matters of faith. Life makes sense. We can make sense of the deeper parts of revelation, make sense of suffering and understand those things that tempt us to doubt. With this gift, we come to see how everything in life can work for good in accordance with God’s plan.
Knowledge: With this gift, the Christian knows, more in the practical intellect, what God’s will is in this or that situation. We know how to live, how to discern God’s will and what decision to make in our daily lives. It also enables us to learn from our past mistakes.
Counsel: With this gift, the Christian sees him/herself as a link in a chain which makes up the entire Church. God uses each one of us to help and support one another on our journeys. We know what to say and how to act so as to do our part to build up one another.
Fortitude: Simply put, it is a firmness of mind and spirit to do good and avoid evil. It’s a sort of Christian courage. The Gospel will call all of us to a radical life of love. Fortitude gives us the strength we need to follow through.
Piety: This gift enables us to first reverence and love God, but also to see the dignity of one another and reverence each other as children of God.
“Fear of the Lord: With this gift....”
Fear is not a good choice of words. Reverence would be a better choice as the Holy Spirit casts out “fear.” Fear and God’s Love cannot exist in the same space.
“Fear of the Lord: With this gift....”
Fear is not a good choice of words. Reverence would be a better choice as the Holy Spirit casts out “fear.” Fear and God’s Love cannot exist in the same space.
It is only when you understand that your life is on the balance, and you are not in control that you can understand a small part of Gods love and mercy.
You do not live in the fear but it is WISE to visit it on occasion.
Your words:
“Fear and God’s Love cannot exist in the same space.”
What does God say on the matter?
The traditional Gifts of the Holy Spirit are taken from Isaiah 11:3. Isaiah uses the Hebrew word, yirah, which can mean a loving and filial reverence, but it also means "dreadful, exceedingly, fearfulness". This is it's most common usage in the Old Testament. So it means both.
When you say "the Spirit casts out fear," you may be thinking of 1 John 4:18 where the Apostle writes "perfect love casts out fear." The Greek word he uses there for "fear is phobos, which always means a dreadful fear. Interestingly, in the Greek version of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), the 2nd century BC translators use phobos for "fear" in Isaiah 11:3.
So I think the traditional use of the word "fear" as one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is perfectly fine--properly taught and understood. I think our culture's diminished understanding of language (especially religious language) has led many to associate the word "fear" in the Bible with our modern weak understanding of it. To me, the solution is to not dumb down the traditional meaning of words, but to explain and educate others so that their understanding may be enriched.
"I am sorry I can say nothing more to console you,
for love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing
compared with love in dreams.
Love in dreams is greedy for immediate action,
rapidly performed and in the sight of all.
Men will even give their lives if only the ordeal does not last long
but is soon over, with all looking on and applauding as though on stage.
But active love is labor and fortitude,
and for some people too,
perhaps, a complete science."
1 John 4
“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
Thank you for the excellent reply.
Yes 1 John 4:18 was the scripture I was thinking when I posted the comment.
But also from experience. God’s Love is so strong that if someone pointed a gun at my head and said they were going to kill me, I could feel nothing but Love for them.
Every time I have done spirit release and/or exorcisms, God’s Love actually does the work. When He is in me, I cannot experience fear, only Love. Love that is so strong it is beyond words of description.
When I died and went to Heaven, I fully experienced God’s Love. Total peace and bliss are felt, but no fear.
I frequently care for people who are dying. Often they fear death, until the Holy Spirit moves into them. The Love of the Holy Spirit removes their fear.
I feel fear not in my body, but as a physical object of consciousness. When I take hold of it, it cramps my hand until I pray. Then my hand gets hot as the fear is dissolved by the Love flowing through me in response to the prayer.
Amen
Good explanation. Thank you.
Why are there women in that Pentecost picture?
Now lets read some verse on what God says about fear. Our itching ears LIKE the ones about love.
Put the whole package together. Ears to hear.
Thanks for sharing, MurphsLaw.
That’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Good question. We are told in Acts 1 that in the 9 days preceding Pentecost, 120 of the disciples gathered together in prayer in the upper room. These included some women and Mary, the mother of Jesus:
All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. (Acts 1:4)
That should be Acts 1:14.
I posted a reply above in post #10.
There is absolutely no way I could fear God. His unconditional Love for me is beyond imagination it is so strong. I turn to Him constantly and return His Love, clinging to Him like a young child clings to their mother.
Mark 12:30 says it all.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
This scripture says it all. When Jesus is in us, Our Father is in us too (John 14). When God is in us, it is impossible to experience fear.
The only way I could experience fear, is to deny the Holy Spirit. That is the one unforgivable sin, as without the Holy Spirit that comes from God, there is no Love.
I pray that as you read this, you too may feel and experience the Love flowing through me right now.
I’ve spent over twenty years studying neuroscience, just to understand how I could experience God’s Love so strong. It is relatively simple as the action potential firing rates in the brain must exceed 100 Hz.
While hooked to an EEG, and praying while feeling God’s Love, it appeared to flatline on the screen the frequency of consciousness was so high.
Only God’s Love could decrease the amplitude of the EEG wave that is necessary to reach the high frequencies of consciousness.
When this happens, your perception of reality changes and you perceive Jesus. He is here right now. But without Love, you are stuck in the Flat Consciousness of earth, unable to see.
Fear can only be experienced when you perceive separation from God and His Son Jesus. Fear is an earthly experience that cannot exist in God.
Anyone who holds onto fear and approaches God will experience hell as His Purifying Fire transmutes any low frequency fear in you. Even your prayers become like hot coals on the head of your enemies if you direct God’s Love that flows through you toward your enemies.
This is why Jesus taught us to Love our enemies, as that Love radiating through you will burn any enemy that approaches you. This is how the dark spirits fear you during an exorcism.
I speak from my own experiences, not from the scriptures, although the scriptures are very accurate.
We are in the times Jesus told us to expect, and the end result will be exactly as Jesus taught us to pray:
“Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven.”
🙏
Okay, thank you. I always had thought it was just the Apostles in that room/
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