The Holy Spirit beckons to each of us every minute of every day. Have you ever had a personal encounter with this person of the Trinity? He is gentle and kind. He is merciful and mighty. He has your best interest at heart.  He wants to woo you into a deeper relationship with our Triune God.  Will you let him? 

What does life in the Spirit mean? In truth, I am a bit of a novice, but here is what he has showed me so far.  

He is very much invested in each and every decision that you make every day. He wants to see you standing in the light of God during this life and in Heaven. He wants to bring you out of darkness and into the healing light of his sun, the Son.  There are no supplements for this type of vitamin D.  Only deep prayer and an ever growing knowledge of God. 

He is the answer to freedom in Christ.  He will lift you up and away from your sinful inclinations. He will give you the ability to choose the greater good. Just call on Him.  He will show you the way.  

This is not to say that the answers come quickly. Like I said, I am a novice.  I am just learning to hear him and to rely on him.  I learning how he leads me away from addiction and vice. These addictions are not necessarily “bad” addictions, like alcohol and drugs. They can be as simple as watching too much TV or not being able to move yourself to do regular household chores or homework.  As he shows me how to exercise my freedom in him, I often turn down his help. At least I know his help is there.  As I learn to love God more, I know I will more often choose his help.  

Love takes time. St. Catherine of Siena says that self-knowledge and practice of ordinary virtue come before love. [Dialogues, Chapter 1].  So, I am learning to sit in awareness of my deeper sinful state, and have faith that he will lead me to this place of greater love. I am learning to be gentle with myself, but this doesn’t mean complacent. It means continuing to learn to rely on him. It means forgiving myself immediately when I screw up. It means being humbled in my imperfection. It means  trusting in his ability to lead me to this place of freedom in this life. 

I am seeing where a greater reliance on him leads to peace.  Bad things will happen, but he will only allow the less than favorable things to happen so that I can grow in holiness. He will not allow anything else to happen.  As I learn to accept bad things as something he is using to lead me closer to him, the less I will resist the process. The more peaceful and accepting I will become; I am becoming.  I feel like there is a softness around my face. Not constantly, but more and more regularly.  I feel like the words of Scripture are speaking to me and affirming all that I am seeing.  I am sensing that soon, I will experience life in a more full sense, but I have a lot of bad habits to undo; for him to undo.   

Spend sometime today asking the Holy Spirit to lead you into a deeper awareness of his presence. Ask him to help you be open to his gentle nudgings.  Make sure you invite him into the depth of your being. He will not override your free will, so make your free will choice to allow him in.  Ask him for patience to enter into this relationship for the long haul. It is not an overnight process, but it begins with immediate choices that are remade each and every day.  

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, O.P.

The Bible is the story of God revealing himself to man.  One cannot read a segment of it and understand its overall meaning without understanding the totality of God’s revelation, including the Old Testament.  

In the Old Testament, we hear about how those who went before us were amazed by God’s almighty power, and his desires to care for his people; for his desire to deliver us all from slavery.  We see how those who went before us were confused by all that God said and did, and this did not change with the Apostles. It has not changed in modern times. He is beyond our comprehension, but still, he desires to share himself with us. 

In the Old Testament, we learn about how people relate to God. When he delivered them from slavery, they complained and desired to return to slavery.  Nothing has changed in the present time.  We are no different than the Israelites who complained about not having leeks and onions.  We are no different in our desires to return to our sinful life, the slavery to creature comforts and selfish pursuits.  

In the New Testament, we learn about being free in Christ, and how by relying on the Holy Spirit to supercharge our efforts to avoid sin, we can obtain a share of God’s divinity.  We can participate in his holiness. 

The problem with this truth is that it requires a deeper reliance on God. It requires trusting that everything that happens to us today is something he allows in order to draw us closer. This is the case whether it is a good or a bad event.  Only by surrendering to his will and asking him to help you through the confusion of the event(s) can we grow in regards to reliance and dependence on God. 

Spend some time today talking to the Holy Spirit about where you are riling against God. Ask him to help you trust him through these things.  Ask him to help you persevere in the desert, and to let go of your longing to return to the slavery of sin.  

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, O.P.

What does it mean to be holy? As I have reflected on this question, it has become ever more apparent that being holy is sharing in God’s holiness. We cannot become holy, we can only become less so he can become more.  

One becomes holy by learning to recognize the Holy Spirit, who lives and dwells within the baptized person, and then by cooperating in his work.  We transcend by allowing the Holy Spirit to carry us to new heights; to a more perfect form of living. 

In accordance with the Gospels, one is invited on this spiritual journey by first learning to practice virtue.  This includes being prudent in one’s decision making, treating people with love, even enemies, persevering in all things that come our way with a spirit of surrender to God who has allowed these things to happen, and living and acting in moderation.  Keep in mind that if living a holy life could have been made perfect by one’s actions alone, then the Israelites would have figured it out, and Jesus would not have had to come and live to die.  We are always in need of a savior to lift us out of sin, and to help us persevere in the quest for holiness.

It is only in reliance on the Holy Spirit that we can achieve the moral life of which Jesus spoke. In so doing, we recognize our weakness and dependence on God.  It is in this way that we are humbled and become more and more aware of our dependence on God.  

Spend some time today inviting the Holy Spirit into your day. Ask him how you can better cooperate with his healing grace.  Assure him (and yourself) that you are ready for this journey, and to help you to better achieve the fruits of Gospel living. 

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, O.P.

Yesterday, we talked about the idea of learning to see ourselves in the light of God’s truth.  This process is a difficult one, and we have to have a good reason to go through the discomfort of self-knowledge.  

So, why should we do it?  The answer is living in divine love.  Once we are able to see ourselves through his eyes, he gives himself to us. We become little children who are totally dependent upon his love and mercy. We find joy in knowing that we can be loved in our authentic person. By this I mean living imperfectly in a state of sin, while cooperating with the Holy Spirit to avoid occasions of sin. 

Let’s look at it from this perspective.  Grace is the activity of the Holy Spirit in and around us.  However, God will not override our free will. We have to surrender our will in favor of his, and thus become more cooperative with grace. Grace then becomes effective in our lives.  It beckons us to choose the greater good, which is God and his will.  

It is amazing to read the lives of the saints who have walked this path. They find joy in surrender.  Here we are living our modern lives in great dependence on our own merit and worth,  and all the while we fear whether our merit is good enough. Will people accept us as we are (or pretend to be)?  How many of us are on anti-depressants? How many of us feel empty and without purpose? How many of us long for something more?  

God is that something more. His divine love is the only thing that can fill our longing and desires. Nothing else will fit the God-sized hole in our lives.  When we are ready to surrender to his divine love, when we go the path of self-knowledge, acknowledgement of our sinfulness, living in the truth of our sins, trusting in God to deliver us from our sinful nature both in the here and now and in the future, we find joy. Everlasting, blissful joy. 

So, why don’t we go for it? Pride. Pride doesn’t want to see our selves through God’s eyes. Its kind of funny because he already sees us. He sees us and loves us where we are. Still, he wants us to have more; to not be sedentary in awareness of his mercy.  Matthew tells us, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”   Mt 5:3.  It is the humble who know their place before God, and thus enter the kingdom of heaven. It is those who surrender to the king of Kings, and live in the light of his love that attain the kingdom.  

Spend some time today pondering where you are on the faith journey. Invite the Holy Spirit in as you work towards a greater awareness of his activity in your life.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see in truth of the status of your faith walk.  It is ok that we are sinners. It is the human condition. That is why we need a savior, and why Jesus came to die for our sins.  None of us are exempt from this truth.  Spend some time today asking the Holy Spirit to show you how you can better surrender to divine love today. 

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, OP

We are a people who are called out of darkness. What is the darkness? Jesus says he is the light, and we are to shine the light. We are to be the moon to his sun.  

As I ponder this truth, it occurs to me that darkness is sin. When we sin, we turn our back on God, and thus, cannot reflect him.  We also allow ourselves to live on the dark side of the moon. We are turned from God.  In all honesty, I think it is human nature to avoid seeing into the depths of our sinful nature.  We are blind to our sins because we desire to be good people.  We tell ourselves that we are good people, and we ignore the shame we feel because we know we are sinners. 

Brené Brown, a licensed social worker who has spent a lot of her career studying authentic living and the consequences of shame on such living, tells us that shame is an emotion that tells us we are bad people. Guilt is an emotion that says we are good people who make bad decisions.  I think these are good definitions, and I think the problem is that we feel ashamed of our sins, and we avoid feeling the shame.  

If this is correct, then we need to work at changing our internal dialogue away from shame to guilt.  It is in this way that we can work to be more aware of the things that keep us from reflecting the fullness of Jesus’ light into the world.  In the end, Jesus died for our sins, but he also died to bring us life. When we avoid the truth of our sinful nature, we numb our pain and avoid the healing Jesus has in store for us. We spend more time in darkness than in the light.  

Spend some time today with the Holy Spirit. Invite him in to show you where he is shining light into your darkness.  Ask him to help your eyes adjust to the light so that you can more fully see where he is calling you to deeper conversion.  Thank him for his faithfulness, and ask him for forgiveness.  As you wrap up your prayer session, go in knowledge of his mercy and live your day in joy. Live your day being a light to those who are still in darkness. 

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, OP

Recently, I was reading a book that analyzed the interaction between God and Moses when God called Moses to free his people.  Moses asks for God’s name. Ancient belief was that in naming something, one was given power over that which was named.  This author discussed how in giving Moses the name “I AM” God said I am greater than anything. He avoided a name that would seem to convey power over him.  

As I pondered this concept, I started seeing areas in which I, too, try to control God.  I think it is a part of the human condition that makes us want to control God, to shape him into the image that we want him to be. In effect, we create idols.  

God is beyond human comprehension. His ways are beyond our ways. He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He knows our needs and our wants, and the good father that he is, provides for all we need. It just doesn’t feel like it because in our sinful nature we try to get from him what we think we want and need.  

The Bible is full of text that talks about total reliance on God. There are texts that talk about surrendering to him, and trusting fully in him. We can only do this with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  We can only do this when we die to self, and allow him to become more within us; when we surrender the confusions about life that cause us to try to manipulate and to control.  

Spend some time today asking God to show you the areas of your life where you need to more fully surrender to his plans.  Take your hurts to him. Ask him to heal your pain, and to show you where your misperceptions prevent you from allowing him to enter in to heal you. Ask him to give you a better view of what it means to live in Christ. Ask him for the courage and humility to surrender to him more fully today.  

Just like most forms of physical and emotional healing, spiritual healing can be a painful process. You are in my prayers as you seek the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.  Please pray for me, too. 

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, OP

Yesterday, my friend and I were talking about sin.  The conversation went along the lines of human nature seems to view our status as sinners in an overly negative way.  Sin is bad. We do bad things, but we are good people. God loves us, so no matter how many bad acts we do, he still loves us.  However, he wants more out of life for us. He wants to move us away from our sinful nature. He wants to save us from our sin.  

We can have heaven on earth, albeit, imperfectly. To do this, we must begin the process of understandings our sinful selves. We must learn to see ourselves through the eyes of God. The process, while triggering guilt, should more importantly trigger gratitude and awe of a God, who can forgive us our sins. This awe results in a greater love of God, which in turn makes us more excited about working with the Holy Spirit to be free from bondage to sin; to attachments; to anything that keeps us from living a more God-like life.

The truth is, we are called to be one with God. We are called to be a part of the Divine, to be divinized by grace.  In other words, not gods ourselves, but one in God.  That means that the person standing next to you is also called to be one in God, which makes him or her a part of you. We are one Body in Christ.  

Sinner cannot be united to God. Our desire for earthly things must be purged.  Repentant sinners who collaborate with the Holy Spirit to avoid sin, they are the ones who are becoming one with God. These people are open to grace, and thus make more holy choices; more and more often make holy choices.  

This is the Good News that was proclaimed in the Gospels. We are free from our attachments. We are free to be joined with God. We are free to be a part of the divine.  We are free to be one with Love.  While we are free, we still freely choose the wrong things, but through the grace given by the Holy Spirit, we can be healed from our attachments. 

Spend some time with the Holy Spirit asking him to help you be open to the ugliness of sin in your life. Ask him to help you understand where you have turned a blind eye to sin or have not been made aware that behaviors are sinful.  Ask him to help you more fully enter the process of purification and unification.  Ask him to open your eyes to grace working in your life, and for the will to more often choose the good things in life.  In this way, may we all experience a little more heaven on earth. 

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, OP

The words of an old song flow through my mind this morning.  They bring to mind the ideal world that we all anticipate in Heaven.  At the same time, God’s kingdom is here. He reigns where and when we let him.  When we do so, we live more in peace and in love.  

How do  I know this? The Bible tells me so.  Jesus preached of a kingdom here and now and of one in the future.  The truth is – God’s kingdom is imperfectly here, now. Why imperfect? Because we are sinners, and we bring stress, fear, anxiety, and the like into our lives.  It isn’t God’s fault that the world is not more peaceful. It is our fault. All of us are at fault.  God gave us free will, and free will can be abused or perfected as we see fit.  If perfected, then only with the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides us to greener pastures.  

The truth is, peace begins with each of us.  When we learn to more and more fully trust in God, we are at peace with our circumstances, regardless of whether they are cross carrying events or not.  Yes, Jesus was in such emotional agony over the cross he was going to carry, and yet, based on biblical teaching, didn’t he also have to be at peace with following the Father’s will?  I think so.  The litany of saints who were put to death during the early ages of the Church are also a testament to this.  They went to their death joyful, and grateful to God.  They accepted. In fact, legend tells us of St. Lawrence, who, while being burned over the coals, said, “turn me over. I’m done on this side.”  One of the church fathers, I believe it was St. Ignatius of Antioch, wrote letters to his local church asking them not to intervene on his behalf; to let him die a martyrs death for the glory of Jesus.  

These are the witnesses of those who knew Jesus through first to third hand information.  They had peace. They trusted in God, and knew that whatever happened was for God’s glory. Now that is faith. That is trust.  

Spend some time today asking the Holy Spirit to show you how to better bring peace and love into your day.  Ask him to let peace in the world begin with you.  Ask him for wisdom on how to grow in trust, like a child who trusts his or her parents.  Spend some time thanking God for the witnesses who have reminded us that being a disciple means taking the narrow road.  Spend some time spreading peace through loving those who try to disrupt your peace today. 

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, OP

I’d be lying if I said I could articulate a complete answer to this question.  I mean, God is beyond our understanding, so we will never fully understand the why of God.  Still, it bears pondering.  

I believe God created us for his glory and for his purposes. This is the firsts conundrum.  If he created us for him and his glory, why did he give us freewill?  From the human perspective, one who is all-powerful can force things to happen. In the human way, power means dominance. God is not dominate. So, somehow in the tangled webs we weave, he has to be glorified. His purposes have to be fulfilled. Hmm. 

In addition, God created us for our bliss.  This is the second conundrum.  If he created us for joy and peace, why do so few attain this purpose?  The answer, there is too much evil in the world. 

Let’s step back and talk about evil.  Some would point to the devil and blame him for evil. While true, it isn’t the full truth.  The creation story tells us that evil is our own attempts to be God-like. Yes, Satan tempted them, but they freely chose to eat.  They ate because they wanted to know what God knew.  This interrupted their dependence on God, their dependence on him to provide what they needed when they needed it. The result is, humans throughout history, including today, still seek our own will, our own way, our own perceived path to happiness. 

As I ponder these contradictions and truths, I see that God really is beyond our understanding. His purpose has to be fulfilled. Otherwise, he would not have created us. He knew each and every decision we would make along the way, and still, he gave us life. He knew what challenges we would face, and he knew how those would lead to our ultimate fulfillment, and to his ultimate glory.   

Spend some time today pondering the conundrums of the meaning of life.  Invite the Holy Spirit into your musings, and ask him to give you insight.  Pray that he shine light in your darkness, in the places where you are living in human ways instead of in the fullness of love and truth. Spend some time thanking him and praising him for his wisdom and grace. Spend some time holding onto your faith, a faith that promises that ultimately, all things will be for the good for those of us who believe. 

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, OP

Why do we pray? The answer is multifaceted.  We pray prayers of petition to ask God for things. This form of prayer allows us to grow in humility.  It provides a valid framework for God as creator and us as created. 

We pray prayers of thanksgiving, gratitude, and praise for the things he provides; for answered prayers.  Hopefully, we pray these prayers even when we don’t get what we asked for because we know that God knows best. 

We pray when we go to mass or similar church services, for where two or three are gathered … Mt. 18:20. 

The question is – do we pray to grow in holiness?  Jesus told us that the Christian way is about living in unity with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jn 17:21. After generations of Trinitarian theology focusing on creedal formulas to combat heresy, more modern theologians have focused on the Trinity as love, and how this loving God in three persons invites us to share in his holiness.  

All that we long for, all that we want to be is found in praying for holiness.  It is by praying in silence, in being open to what God wants to accomplish in our lives, that we grow in holiness. Only God is holy, so this means that we become united to him and his holiness. 

It is in silence that God reaches into the depth of our being to pull out all that doesn’t belong.  It can be a confusing process, but it is one that bring the ultimate meaning of life – true union with God.  

Spend some time today asking the Holy Spirit to help you on this path to silent prayer. If you need further conviction, just ask him to show you truth.  Be open to his answer.  There are many paths to silent prayer.  Read scripture and focus on the words where you hear God speak, then uttering that word or phrase in silence while you slowly drift into quiet.  (Lectio Divina). You can meditate by placing yourself in Biblical stories, and again, drift into quiet.  You can pray a rosary, and allow the mysteries to help facilitate quiet.  Don’t worry if your thoughts prevent you from finding the quiet stillness within.  God is faithful. All we have to do is our best. 

In Him,

Ms. Debra D. Weldon, O.P.

If you need assistance in getting started, I recommend Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating.