MASSAGE CHAIR ANYONE?

 

MASSAGE CHAIR, ANYONE?

 

We receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. – 1 John 3:22

 

In June 2008, I was asked to make the souvenir program for the Light of Jesus 28^th anniversary celebration.

I incurred some miscellaneous expenses, but I just rolled my eyes and bragged to God, “It’s OK, Lord. This one’s for you.”

But, as we always say in community, the Lord will not be out-given. Sometime in May, I won a massage chair at a raffle. I’d been praying for a laptop, not a massage chair, so I sent e-mails to friends to sell my prize.

There were no takers until September 6, 2008. On this day we sent the souvenir magazine to press. On this day, too, a brother in community bought my massage chair — at the amount I needed for my laptop! It then occurred to me: Even before I accepted the job for the community, God had already paid me — more than my asking price for editing. Yes, as the words of God in today’s reading put it: “We receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” Cynthia Santiago (boses2go@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

Have you asked something from the Lord lately? Have you also been obeying His commands?

 

Lord, may I obey You not in exchange for things I need, but because I just love You so!

 

 

TESTING THE SPIRITS WE ENCOUNTER

 

In our lives, we will encounter many different spirits, some of whom come from God and many that do not. How will we know the origin of the spirits we encounter? That is the $64,000 question, or more correctly, the question that has very large ramifications for our eternal life. John encourages his community to “test the spirits” because he knows there are many that we should not trust.

We test the various spirits we encounter in a number of ways, the most important of which are the following: First, we must test them against the truths revealed to us in the Scriptures. If they are encouraging us to do things against the Word of God or indeed against anything written in the Word of God, then we should reject them outright. Secondly, we test the spirits against the Traditions of the Church. If the spirits recommend to us actions or ideas that are not consonant with the Tradition of the Church we can know that they are not from God. Thirdly, we should test anything we encounter against the teaching of the Church. This is precisely why God has given us the bishops as the arbiters of moral and doctrinal truth.

If any spirit we encounter can stand up to these three tests, we can be fairly sure that we are not going to be led astray. Of course, even if the spirit we are following happens to be from God, we can still stray from the way of God in our lives through a misinterpretation or misapplication of what the spirit is saying. This is why it is good for us to live and work in the midst of a community of believers who can serve as a fourth check on the things we are giving our lives to in service.

Common sense is also a fairly good judge of a spirit. As long as we are truly living a spiritual life and seeking to grow in holiness, it is unlikely that we will be too easily led astray. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

 

Reflection Question:

Do I tend to dwell on the fringes of the groups I belong to in the Church or am I living in the heart of the Church?

 

Holy Spirit, help me to discern well the spirits I encounter so that the only voice I listen to will be based on Your Spirit — Yours that is given to me to guide me in the way of truth.

 

St. Dafrosa, pray for us.