"Be SEALED with the Gift of the Holy Spirit", are the words the Bishop, or Priest would say when you receive Confirmation.
A SEAL is an embossed emblem, figure,
symbol, word, letter, used as attestation or evidence of authenticity. Jesus teaches us what our SEAL means for us as His followers.
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to
him, “Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not
to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him,
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
"Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with
you.
“The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in
my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you.”
John 14:22-26
1. Using the Chrism Oil, the Bishop or Priest makes the Sign of the Cross on your forehead, saying these words, which means that:
a. You have the assurance that God has redeemed you by His Grace through by the death of Christ on the Cross.
b. You are joined to the Suffering, and Passion of Christ, to help you in fighting sin.
c. This SEAL confirms that your soul has been imprinted with His mark as a follower of Christ. We call this an INDELIBLE mark.
2. How do we see this SEAL work in our lives? How do we see God's power manifest in us?
The Making of Captain America - Connects to the the Holy Spirit makes us different, yet we remain the same person.
When we receive the SEAL, God gives us a fearless attitude to face and stop sin. Batman puts on the his suit as a SEAL for his Vocation, but a symbol that brings fear to his enemies. This SEAL helps him to be courageous.
Young people are inspired by courageous people in their lives. That's why we choose a saint to watch over us. Here, the Mikey mentions Chester Copperpot who inspired him to find One Eye Willie's lost treasure. For us, the treasure is Christ.
Tony Hawk shows his courage in facing his great challenge - the highest obstacle he ever beat as a Skate Boarder. He overcomes this obstacle, which hurt him. Like Tony, we have to face similar obstacles, some that will bring us terror. God puts in our spirit the courage to face these challenges.
To have this SEAL makes us an Authentic Follower of Christ. It confirms we are Children of God, and that nothing, no matter how great it is, can scare us from reaching our potential!
LET US PRAY
Light of the intellect, enlighten me. Divine Fire of hearts, inflame me. Fullness of souls, fill me. Lord of grace and life, vivify me. In this vale of suffering, guide me. In my weakness, strengthen me. From stumbles and falls, deliver me. With your Divine Gifts, enrich me. With your presence, console me. By your Divine operations, sanctify me. My Jesus, transform me. that having been faithful upon earth, I may be eternally happy in heaven, in the perfect reflection of your love.
Amen
Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be...
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HOMEWORK # 9 - Due Sunday
1. In point# 2, choose 1 video that inspires you to be COURAGEOUS? Explain why.
Read Acts of the ApostlesChapter 15 & 16
1. What did the Disciples of Jesus debate about at
the Council of Jerusalem
2. What was James final judgment about the
Gentiles?
3. Who did they send to Antioch with Paul &
Barnabas?
4. Why did Paul and Barnabas separate from their
journey?
5. Who join Paul in his Journey to Lycaonia? What
did the author mention about this persons family background?
1. We continue with the Gospel of St Mark 7:16-23, as the
author writes the event down, giving us a picture of Jesus’ teaching on “What
comes out from a person’s heart?”
When he got home away from the crowd his disciples
questioned him about the parable. He said to them, “Are even you likewise
without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a
person from outside cannot defile,since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) But what
comes out of a person, that is what defiles. From within people, from their
hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice,
deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come
from within and they defile.
2. Here, Jesus explains to His Disciples, and to us that
ACTS OF VIRTUE, GOOD WORKS, DESIRES, and SENTIMENTS should come from our Heart.
The 13 things Jesus mentions go contrary to the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit.
3. Like water can turn certain metals into rust, choosing to
do wrong things can take us away from our Spiritual Journey from God.
II - The 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit - Valuable to your
Spiritual Journey. (Part 2)
a. Long-Suffering - This fruit helps me by strengthening my
patience during a long period of trails or suffering. The Holy Spirit gives it
to you, even when you find no encouragement from a family member, a mentor, or
a friend.
b. Mildness - Helps you to hold your anger. From moving
towards an explosive rage.
c. Faith - One becomes faithful when you deal with family,
friend, or neighbor.
d. Modesty - One moderates ones actions and attitudes
towards others.
e. Continence - Self control when it comes to sexual
temptations.
f. Chastity - Helps you to guard senses, so you will not
fall into sin. We see the value of the human person as temples of the Holy
Spirit.
1. Keep in mind, Jesus has taught us the value of ourselves
and the people around us - how we should treat one another.
a. God brings to us the 10 Commandments: (Exodus 20:1-17)
b. God teaches us how our families must show us the value of
the Commandments, summing them up into 2 Commandments. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Mark 12:29-34)
c. Jesus teaches us the Beatitudes, which focus on the
Commandments of God, and how we should be with others. (Matthew 5:3-12; Matthew 5:17-20)
LET US PRAY:
Prayer to receive the Holy Spirit - O King of Glory, send us the Promised of the Father, the Spirit of Truth. May the Counselor who proceeds from You enlighten us and infuse all truth in us, as you have promised
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear.
1. What were Jesus' words to His Disciples about what comes from a person's heart? Choose one of the Bible versus listed in "II:1" to answer this question.
2.. Prepare yourself in making a good Confession - See this Video and Answer the Following Questions
a. When you walk into a Confessional Room, what are the first words that you say to a Priest?
b. Why do we have to do penance?
c. What is the reason for making an Act of Contrition?
In the Gospel of St. Mark, Jesus teaches us the value of our gifts, and how it comes from our heart. The Author of the Gospel of St. Mark tells us the story from 7:1-15:
Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands? He responded, Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition. He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban’ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things. He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile."
When it comes to the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, how does this passage connect to our ACTS OF VIRTUE, GOOD WORKS, DESIRES, and SENTIMENTS?
I - How do we use the Fruits of the Holy Spirit in our life.
1. We all carry our Parent's teachings, and will soon pass it on to our children.
a. We also carry on the teachings of our Mentors, Authorities, Teachers, Sponsors, and People we admire. It is a good thing to listen and learn from them, but sooner or later, the teaching has to be revised, or modified to fit the Holy Spirit's Will in our lives.
b. When we are disconnected from God, when we are not speaking to H im in prayer, when we have not developed a relationship with Him through devotion, and allowing ourselves to be moved by His Grace through the Sacraments we received, we can easily be mislead, trust with uncertainty, abandon even our personal call (Vocation) for the sake of pleasing the people we consider important in our journey.
c. We enter into a false journey - one that leads us into different directions, events, or places that we can get lost. Sometimes it takes years for us to find our way out, years for us to forgive ourselves for past choices, or asking forgiveness for our failures, even forgiving those who hurt us badly. We become so lost that our experience misleads us to believe that God is not with me...
2. The Fruits of the Holy Spirit comes from the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit (See HIS STRENGTH WILL MAKE YOU DIFFERENT - Part 1 & Part 2)
a. The Fruits of the Holy Spirit encourage our Spiritual Development towards living out the Beatitudes (See Gospel of St. Matthew 5:1-12). It also helps us to avoid being mislead, even to find our way back to God.
b. Through the Sacraments of Baptism, Communion, and most especially Confirmation, you and I are connected to the Holy Spirit who inspires us to be VIRTUOUS, commit ourselves to GOOD WORKS, to live with the DESIRE to be Holy and Great, and that our THOUGHTS be for the good of others - including ourselves.
c. Jesus teaches us in the Gospel of St Mark that what comes out of persons heart can be evil - He is speaking about our choice to GO AGAINST GOD. But the teachings you receive and experience with time, and your relationship with God will help you to understand What enters your life by way of formation, and experiences, God's has given you His Grace to discern what is GOOD or BAD for you.
II - The 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit - Valuable to your Spiritual Journey.
1. Imagine a Tree that matures. This Tree represents the 7 Gift of the Holy Spirit. (See HIS STRENGTH WILL MAKE YOU DIFFERENT - Part 1 & Part 2)
a. When the Tree matures, it has the possibility of creating Seed bearing Fruit. The Fruit can be taken for nourishment, or cultivation to plant more Trees.
b.The Church see this as God's plan for the Church, and lives of the Saints.
2. The 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit are: Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Benignity, Goodness, Long Suffering, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Continence, andChastity. We will be discussing 6 of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.
a. Charity - Also known as Love in Action. This Fruit moves us to act in love for God and His People.
b. Joy - Encourages us to be truly happy and always open to God's infinite goodness.
c. Peace - Born from Joy, and keep tranquil during challenges, and times of suffering.
d. Patience - Gives us endurance during difficult times in life and the suffering of death.
e. Benignity - Kindness and tolerance for all. It from the Fruit of Goodness, which encourage to do Good in word and in action.
f. Goodness - Moves us to do the good for all, without distinction.
In the documentary, AN EMPIRE CONQUERED, you find the story saints who showed examples of the Fruits of he Holy Spirit.
LET US PRAY:
Prayer to receive the Holy Spirit - O King of Glory, send us the Promised of the Father, the Spirit of Truth. May the Counselor who proceeds from You enlighten us and infuse all truth in us, as you have promised
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear.
