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Good Spirit: Dear Soul, you are observing the birth of faith. A living faith is not the product of reasoned arguments, no matter how well they are structured. Rather, true faith results from an encounter with Jesus Christ. True faith is the belief that Jesus really and truly has come from God the Father, that he alone is the Way, the Truth, the source of eternal Life. By attaching yourself as a committed follower, you will come to know the true meaning and purpose for human existence; having this knowledge will set you free. It's not that you know about Jesus, it is that you KNOW Jesus, personally. Once you have gained this foundation of personal faith, your understanding of this great mystery can be pruned, purified, deepened, shaped by your life in the community of believers, the Church. Let us listen again to this conversation that is giving birth to faith.
Jesus said to her,
“Go call your husband and come back.”
The woman answered and said to him,
“I do not have a husband.”
Jesus answered her,
“You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
Good Spirit: Here we see that place where the chains of guilt, binding her heart, are securely fixed. Unable to free herself, she must suffer the taunts of recrimination, not only from the women of the village, but more painfully, from her own heart. But worst of all, it is the Accuser who is the custodian of her imprisonment. It is he who forges each link in the chain of her despair, constantly reminding her that she will never know forgiveness.
Now, this gentle Voice of Mercy "I AM he" brakes each link in the chain of guilt that binds her heart. She is set free.
Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
“He told me everything I have done.”
Freed from her prison of guilt, she has become the evangelist of Mercy to those who once were her accusers. *** "This is the work of the Lord, and it is a wonder to behold. Ps.118:23 *** And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. Rev. 12:10
Soul: Good Spirit, lead me past my fears, down into the shadows of my own heart. Together, let us contend with that same Accuser who holds against me all my sins. There, as I confess each sin, Mercy will set me free.
I say to the Lord: I am content with what I am and have. Thank you for stars and universes, for mountains and oceans. Thank you for health and home and work, for those I love and those who love me. Thank you that I know Jesus Christ and am his—for the Church, and sacraments, and hope in eternal life. And thank you for this day.
I ask for light.
Let me see myself and my behavior the way the Holy Spirit has been seeing me, who am God’s splendid creature, adopted and “set free in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
I look for God in my life.
I ask what I have done for love—love of God, of others, and of myself. If I have decided to change a habit or to grow a virtue, I give myself an account.
I face what’s wrong.
I accept responsibility for what I have done or not done, rejoicing in the good and repudiating the bad. I do not blame circumstances, upbringing, or others.
I determine what to do now.
I see what I can do to love God better, grateful for what Jesus Christ is doing in me. I watch where the Spirit is leading me.
Now, this gentle Voice of Mercy "I AM he" brakes each link in the chain of guilt that binds her heart. She is set free.
Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
“He told me everything I have done.”
Freed from her prison of guilt, she has become the evangelist of Mercy to those who once were her accusers. *** "This is the work of the Lord, and it is a wonder to behold. Ps.118:23 *** And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. Rev. 12:10
Soul: Good Spirit, lead me past my fears, down into the shadows of my own heart. Together, let us contend with that same Accuser who holds against me all my sins. There, as I confess each sin, Mercy will set me free.
........................... footnotes ..............................
Praying the Examination of One's Heart
I thank God. I say to the Lord: I am content with what I am and have. Thank you for stars and universes, for mountains and oceans. Thank you for health and home and work, for those I love and those who love me. Thank you that I know Jesus Christ and am his—for the Church, and sacraments, and hope in eternal life. And thank you for this day.
I ask for light.
Let me see myself and my behavior the way the Holy Spirit has been seeing me, who am God’s splendid creature, adopted and “set free in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
I look for God in my life.
I ask what I have done for love—love of God, of others, and of myself. If I have decided to change a habit or to grow a virtue, I give myself an account.
I face what’s wrong.
I accept responsibility for what I have done or not done, rejoicing in the good and repudiating the bad. I do not blame circumstances, upbringing, or others.
I determine what to do now.
I see what I can do to love God better, grateful for what Jesus Christ is doing in me. I watch where the Spirit is leading me.
FROM ASHES TO GLORY Link to Ignatius Page
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