What is God Doing?

May 24, 2017 by Andy Lesnefsky 2 Comments

While we wait, what is God doing? That is the question that Dave VanVickle considers in this week’s #ShareJesus video. We also want to invite you to join us in a Novena to the Holy Spirit.

Did you know that on May 4, 1897, Pope Leo XIII said: “We decree and command that throughout the whole Catholic Church, this year and in every subsequent year, a novena shall take place before [Pentecost}, in all parish churches.”

The Pentecost novena is the original novena celebrating the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost.

Join Christians all over the world in praying for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit starting on Friday.

Novena to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit, Lord, and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray, O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of your faithful;grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through the same Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Holy Father, in the name of Jesus, send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Come, Spirit of Wisdom, detach us from the things of earth, and pour into us a love and desire for those of heaven. Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Come, Spirit of Understanding, illumine our minds with the light of eternal truth and enrich them with holy thoughts. Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Come, Spirit of Counsel, make us docile to your inspirations and guide us in the way of salvation. Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Come, Spirit of Fortitude, give us strength, constancy, and victory in the battle against our spiritual enemies. Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Come, Spirit of Knowledge, be teacher of our souls and help us to put into practice the things you have taught us. Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Come, Spirit of Piety, come dwell in our hearts to possess and sanctify all our affections.
Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Come, Spirit of reverent Fear, reign in our wills and make us always ready of suffer any evil rather than sin. Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

O God, through the gift of the Holy Spirit you guide believers to the full light of truth. Grant that in your Spirit we may taste true wisdom and rejoice always in your consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Waiting for the Next Big Thing

May 17, 2017 by Andy Lesnefsky Leave a Comment

Thought for the Week:

Easter can seem like a distant memory, but we must not forget we are still in the season of Easter. It’s a time to reflect on what God is doing in our lives. As we journey towards Easter we are called to wait upon the Lord. Too often this is a foreign concept to us, but when we wait upon God we are never disappointed. Easter reminds us that the Holy Spirit is coming. Get ready for new life…

Quote for the Week:

The folly of not waiting for God is that we forfeit the blessing of having God work for us. The evil of not waiting on God is that we oppose God’s will to exalt Himself in mercy.- John Piper

Prayer for the Week:

Jesus, thank you for what you have done in my life. Thank you for what you are doing in my life. Teach me what it means to wait. I can be so impatient, but help me to wait trusting that your promises are true. I love you. I give you my life and all of me today. Amen

This Week’s #ShareJesus Video:

Spiritual Life HACK: Waiting

December 15, 2015 by Michael Gormley Leave a Comment

Waiting is difficult because you aren’t really doing anything. The good or bad thing is still off in the distance, so what are we supposed to do in the meantime? Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christians have hope. Hope is a theological virtue, which is a fancy way of saying that hope is given to us by God and points us straight back to God. Hope means that we can trust in God’s promises not because we are confident in ourselves, but rather, we are confident that God is trustworthy and can make it happen.

#ShareJesus Michael Gomer Gormley Advent-2

That’s a big deal. See, if it’s all on me, waiting is just miserable. But if it’s all on God, even if the news is bad, you can be confident He is with you. You have hope that God is up to something even if it seems senseless to me. It is often in those “in the meantime” experiences that we draw closer to Christ.

4 ideas to take this offline:

Spend 20 minutes in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament this week and ask Christ to reveal to you areas in your life where you still need to put your confidence in Him.
Read Romans 8:18-28 and ask God to put your waiting, your patience, your endurance or hope, in the context of Christ redemption of all Creation.
Pray the prayer “An Act of Hope” every morning.
Support a fellow Christian who is suffering both relationally and financially. Sacrifice things in your own life to make their suffering easier, and thus help them wait upon the Lord in these difficult times through the help of real Christian brotherhood/fellowship.

ANSWER THIS IN THE COMMENTS: When has waiting taught you something about the presence and power of God?

About Gomer: Michael Gormley, aka GOMER, is a family man, works as the Coordinator of Evangelization fulltime at his parish in Texas, and travels around the country teaching ordinary Catholics how to love Christ and bring others to the love of Jesus Christ in His Church. He has a website that’s seen by dozens, www.LayEvangelist.comand a podcast show called “Catching Foxes” that most people say “Isn’t too terrible.”

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