Preaching is not the act of giving a talk, seminar, sermon; it is the art of making a preacher. The preacher then becomes the talk and sermon.

It is from the heart's overflow that the mouth speaks. - Luke 6:45 -

The preacher without the Spirit of Christ is like Gehazi whom Elisha sent to revive a dead man. Although Gehazi brought with him the prophet's staff, no miracle happened, for the virtue of the staff was negated by the hands that held it. - 2Kings 4:25-38 - One may hold the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible of the Lord in the pulpit, as Gehazi held the staff in his hand, but no souls are saved. The absence of an inner spiritual life makes sermonizing dull, stale, flat and unprofitable.

It is possible for the bishops, priests and clergy to experience a hardening as a result of his intimate contact with the spiritual, rather than an increase in spirituality. Sacristans are privileged to work or serve close to the Eucharistic Lord but that does not prevent some sacristans from being perfunctory in their genuflections. Jewelers become used to jewels. Husbands grow bored with beautiful wives if there is no "stirring up of the first zeal." Contact with the Divine is a privilege that can similarly turn into indifference unless each day one tries to get a step closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. Trafficking with the Word of God one day after another without prayer and preparation does not leave a bishop, priest, clergy the same; it leave him worse. Failure to climb means to slide backward. The only defense against acedia, against the tragic loss of divine reality, is a daily renewal of faith in Christ. The bishop, priest who has not kept near the fires of the tabernacle can strike no sparks from the pulpit.

The bishop and priest at ordination was told to preach. The office is to be taken so seriously as to make every bishop and priest cry out with Saint Paul:

It would go hard indeed with me if I did not preach the Gospel. - 1Cor. 9:16 -

The best preacher or counselors are not the worldly wise with tape recorders or those who know all the psychological tricks of interviewing and presenting, those more concerned with congenial surroundings than with the presence of the Spirit. The best guides of souls are saintly bishops and priests who have suffered in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Through such does the Holy Spirit pour His seven gifts. Those who live close to Christ impart Christ. As Saint Augustine said, "What I live by, I impart." Suffering brings wisdom, but books bring only natural understanding. The bishop and priest who has been crucified and has endured His passion with patience will always be found to be the merciful bishop and priest. If there is a long line outside one confessional on Saturday and only one or two penitents outside another, it is time for a bishop and priest to ask himself some questions. Holiness draws penitents to holy bishops and priests. The attraction of such bishops and priests is the attraction of Christ Himself.

If only I am lifted up from the earth, I will attract all men to Myself. - John 12:32 -

No bishops and priests sees problems so sympathetically as the bishop and priest who is standing on the watchtower of Calvary. Like the sun, it cannot be seen, and yet it illumines all else.

How many souls say of that great army of saintly bishops and priests: "He showed me my heart" or "He showed me the loveliness of Christ" or "It was like talking to Our Lord." It is not possible for a bishop and priest, at one and the same time, to be clever and to show that Our Lord is mighty to save. With noble iteration, no less than thirty-three-times does Saint Paul use the expression "in Christ." To him it is the secret of "encouragement, loving sympathy, common fellowship in the Spirit. - Phil. 2:1 - The bishop and priest imbued with this concept because he has "crucified nature with its passions and all its impulses" - Gal. 5:24 - always directs others in the shadow of the Cross and the light of the Spirit.

Bishop and priestly counseling is basically the application of the Redemption to the individual. It is not just preaching to one person instead of preaching to a crowd, for in counseling the individual presents his problem as does a patient to a doctor. The bishop and priest establishes the facts, as the doctor does; then he presents his diagnosis and treatment, always mindful of the words of Our Lord:

Only the Spirit gives life; the flesh is of no avail; and the words that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life. - John 6:64 -

The Spirit is particularly important when the bishop and priest is dealing with a problem of behavior rather than a intellectual problem. In almost nine cases out of ten, those who have once had the faith but now reject it or claim that it does not make sense are driven not by reasoning but by the way they are living. Catholics usually fall away not from any difficulty with the Creed, but from some difficulty with the Commandments. When this happens, the bishop's and priest's task is to arouse the conscience through the Spirit. There is not much reference to the conscience alone in Sacred Scripture, but there is abundant testimony that the conscience is aroused by the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul tells us that it was his conscience that was illumined by the Holy Spirit, making him ready to be doomed in order to save his brethren.

I am telling you the truth in Christ's name, with the full assurance of a conscience enlightened by the Holy Spirit. - Rom. 9:1 -

It is the work of conscience to witness to our fulfillment of our duty toward God, but it is the work of the Spirit to witness God's acceptance of our faith in Christ and our obedience to Him. Thanks to the Spirit, the testimony of conscience and the declaring of Christ in our life become identical. Conscience alone in a person may be likened to a room that is very poorly lighted and in which the Commandments are printed on the wall in small characters. When the Holy Spirit illumines the conscience , a brilliant light is shed upon those characters. The Holy Spirit restores consciences, so that they accept the guidance of the law of Christ. The Holy Spirit also shows the conscience the relationship between sin and its purging by the Blood of Christ, so that there is no more a consciousness of sin. - Heb. 9:14, 10: 2-22 -

It is never enough for a bishop and priest to tell his people that they must follow their conscience; he must constantly seek the illumination of their conscience by the Spirit.

The end at which our warning aims is charity, based on purity of heart, on a good conscience, and a sincere faith. - 1Tim. 1:5 -

One never understands the enormity of sin except through the Spirit, a truth that Our Lord explained to His apostles and priests the night of the Last Supper. Sin is best treated and overcome, not solely in relation to the breaking of a commandment, but in terms of the breaking of our bonds with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Sin disrupts our ties with the Heavenly Father because it alienates us as sons. Such is the message of the parable of the prodigal son. - Luke 15:11-32 - Sin also reenacts Calvary.

Would they crucify the Son of God a second time, hold Him up to mockery a second time, for their own ends? - Heb. 6:6 -

A personal equation must be established between the soul and the Crucifix. Sins of pride are understood through the crown of thorns; sins of lust, through the torn flesh; sins of avarice, through the poverty of nakedness; and sins of alcoholism, through thirst. Moreover, sin must be seen as resisting the Spirit of Love - Acts 7:51 - as stifling the Spirit of Love - 1Thess. 5:19 - and as distressing the Spirit of Love. - Eph. 4:30 -

Conscience is always enlightened when sin is seen as hurting someone we love. No sin can touch one of God's stars or silence one of His words, but it can cruelly wound His Heart. Once the penitent understands this truth, he can see why he has such emptiness and desolation in his soul: he has hurt one he loves.

Many who approach a bishop or priest still try to conceal their conscience. They offer spurious reasons to explain their actions. The bishop, priest, clergy who remains on a purely psychological level cannot always see through such deceits, and, in consequence, he cannot help the one who has come to him. It takes a spiritual X ray to penetrate such a mind.

Who else can know a man's thoughts, except the man's own spirit that is within him? So no one else can know God's thoughts, but the Spirit of God. And what we have received is no spirit of worldly wisdom; it is the Spirit that comes from God, to make us understand God's gifts to us; gifts which we make known, not in such words as human wisdom teaches, but in the words taught us by the Spirit, matching what is spiritual with what is spiritual. Mere man with his natural gifts cannot take in thoughts of God's Spirit; they seem mere folly to him, and he cannot grasp them, because they demand a scrutiny which is spiritual. Whereas the man who has spiritual gifts can scrutinize everything, without being subject, himself to any other man's scrutiny. Who has entered into the mind of the Lord, so as to be able to instruct him? And Christ's mind is ours. - 1Cor. 2:11-16 -

Thousands or millions would flock to the Church, frustrated souls and the young would seek the bishop and priest out, hearts unnumbered would seek comfort in the confessional did the bishops, priests, clergy but realize the extraordinary powers of direction, counseling and guidance that come from living in the Spirit of Christ.

                                                                     Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Not all who visit a psychiatrist have need of his services, and while those who come to the bishops, priests, clergy have need of a psychiatrist. Christians, Catholics who are not emotionally disturbed will sometimes seek or consult a psychiatrist because God's appointed, anointed, and ordained bishops, priests, clergy have given up counseling. Today, the doctor is often more interested in diseases than in sick peoples while too many bishops, priests, clergy rely more of their index cards, secular profession than the gift of the Holy Spirit, that is, God's grace. Psychiatrist occasionally fill the void created by the want of genuine concern for the ills and woes of people, especially their soul on the part of the bishops and clergy. Thus, the state has largely taken over spiritual education and successfully converted it into secular education. And now psychology would take the soul away from the bishops, priests, clergy.

If we lose the Spirit of Christ, we lose a sense of sin. We are living in the first age in the history of Christianity which denies guilt. A time is coming when peoples will say: there is no crime, there is no guilt, there is no sin. Souls today are not sinners; they are patients. They have the psychic effect of sin, but are without forgiveness. Sin is not the worst thing in the world; the worst thing is the denial of sin. If I am blind and deny light, I shall never see; if I am deaf and deny sound, I shall never hear; if I am a sinner and deny sin, there is no forgiveness. The denial of sin is no forgiveness. There is only hunger. And when it is due, peoples come crying and fawning to God, the Lord Jesus Christ saying: "Give us bread" [Holy Eucharist]

We teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.

These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us.

Therefore we teach, not in the way which philosophy is taught but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual person, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ. - 1Cor. 2:9-16 -

The unspiritual are interested only in what is unspiritual, but the spiritual are interested in spiritual things. It is death to limit oneself to what is unspiritual; life and peace can only come with concern for the spiritual. That is because to limit oneself to what is unspiritual is to be enmity with God: such a limitation never could and never does submit to God's law. People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not unspiritual but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.

So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live. - Rom. 8:5-13 -

Of course, it is the law that stresses the sin, and it is the Holy Spirit that emphasizes sin over and against the holiness of God. It is through such humiliation and through such conviction of sin that the Holy Spirit gives access to a personal relationship to God which it the true solution of guilt. The Holy Spirit instead of putting us in a legal relationship with God, puts us onto a personal relationship; it is a personal encounter with God; it is a personal experience with God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It brings a much greater severity with oneself and at the same time, a joyous adventure which is endlessly renewed.

Every bishop, priest, clergy, when he goes before God, the Lord Jesus Christ for judgment, will be asked, "Where are your children?" The vocation of the bishop, priest, clergy is primarily to beget souls in Christ. Shall they mount the pulpit and denounce unnatural birth control in the flesh while they practice it in the spirit? Shall mothers be blamed for not having more children when the baptismal records show no souls begotten in Christ?

Every soul is the bishop, priest, clergy responsibility, and many would enter the Church did they but ask them. Do the Church have catechetical centers and use them to train the laity to be apostles, teachers and live out the full responsibilities of the Sacraments? Every Church should be a nursery of souls who are not of the fold; every bishop, priest, clergy, a shepherd in search of lost sheep; every Holy Mass, a proclamation that redemption must be spread to the world.

The error of many bishops, priests is that they are concerned more with the administrative than the evangelical. In other words, they put priority on the world first, then, the Church, and then the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not supposed to be, but a prerequisite that the priority of the Lord Jesus Christ is always first, then, the Church, and lastly the world. Do they organize for soul-saving with the same zeal as they organize for fund drives? When money is needed, a bishop, priest thinks nothing of organizing a door to door fund raising and promptly canvass for donations; but how often does they make a door to door canvass for converts? Are they having the Church continually replenished by souls who come to tell what God has done for them? Where the Holy Spirit is, there are conversions of soul or heart:

Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved. - Acts 2:47 -

And there are other sheep I have
that are not of this fold,
and these I have to lead as well.
They too will listen to my voice,
and there will be only one flock,
and one shepherd. - John 10:16 -

In the Church, God has given the first place to apostles, the second to prophets, the third to teachers; after them, miracles, and after them the gift of healing; helpers, good leaders, those with many languages. - 1Cor. 12:28 -

Only a few of you, my brothers, should be teachers, bearing in mind that those of us who teach can expect a stricter judgment. - James 3:1 -

But who among us does not know many [Bishops, Priests, Clergy, Laity, Believers] who have left the one fold and the one shepherd because of broken vows, lust for a second or third marriage, sophomoric pride or anyone of the seven pallbearers of soul, commonly called the seven capitals sins?

Is the Holy Spirit less bountiful, less able to save souls now than at Pentecost? Is the tenor of priestly life holding in check those fires and mighty winds of conversions? Why do the Pentecostal fires burn so brightly in the mission lands and so feebly in the Church? Has the tide of the Spirit run out of the harbors? The fault is not in the Spirit. The rushing of mighty winds has not calmed and stilled itself into stagnancy or sterility. The Holy Spirit is still ready to overshadow every priesthood, so that we may bring forth those who are holy.

God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice. - Rom. 11:29 -

The bishop, priest, clergy acts from without, the Holy Spirit from within. We wish one another blessings; The Lord gives blessings. God alone can plant in a heart, by His divine husbandry, the seed that will blossom into a new creature in Christ. - 2Cor. 5:17 - The selfishness and sloth that make us shrink from searching for souls can be consumed by His Spirit. And if we have the fire of the Spirit, would burnish them into jewels of the Kingdom of God!

                                                                   Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible declared that God is Creator - the only being capable of making something from nothing - The book of Genesis also declared that God created humanity as "male and female." - Gen. 1:27 - Together they formed the blessed pair needed to replenish and subdue the earth.

Since God created the universe out of nothing, it is His and will always serve His purpose. As He shaped creation without any interference from anyone, He will bring creation to its desired end. No power can frustrate God in His purpose to complete the process started in creation and revealed in Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. God is Spirit - not a material substance - it must mean more than physical resemblance. To be created in God's image means that human being, though a creature, is akin to God. Our hope rests in the sovereign power of Him who created the world and then recreated us through the saving power of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will bring you offspring from the east,
and gather you from the west.
To the north I will say, 'Give them up'
and to the south, 'Do not hold them.'
Bring back my sons from far away,
my daughters from the end of the earth,
all those who bear my name,
whom I have created for my glory,
whom I have formed, whom I have made. - Isaiah 43:5-7 -

I, I am Yahweh,
there is no other saviour but me.
It is I who have spoken, have saved, have made the proclamation,
not any strangers among you.
You are my witnesses - it is Yahweh who speaks -
and I, I am your God, I am he from eternity.
No one can deliver from my hand,
I act and no one can reverse it. - Isaiah 43:11-13 -

By sin, death came into the world, and sin had destroyed the plan of God's creation. Humankind was created without sin, morally upright and inclined to do good. - Eccl. 7:29 - But sin entered into human experience when Adam and Eve violated the direct command of God. - Gen. 3:6 - Thus, a new creation was necessary.

Well then, sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned....... Again, as one man's fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified. As one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. When law came, it was to multiply the opportunities of falling, but however great the number of sins committed, grace was even greater; and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Rom. 5:12-21 -

Does it follow that we should remain in sin so as to let grace have greater scope? Of course not. We are dead to sin, so how can we continue to live in it? You have been taught that when we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words,when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father's glory, we too might live a new life.

If in union with Christ we have imitated his death, we shall also imitate him in his resurrection. We must realise that our former selves have been crucified with him to destroy this sinful body and to free us from the slavery of sin. When a man dies, of course, he has finished with sin.

But we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him anymore. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus. - Rom. 6:1-11 -

Now if Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?............ If this were not true, what do people hope to gain by being baptised for the dead? If the dead are not ever going to be raised, why be baptised on their behalf? What about ourselves? Why are we living under a constant threat?...You say: let us eat and drink today; tomorrow we shall be dead. You must stop being led astray: "Bad friends ruin the noblest people." Come to your senses, behave properly, and leave sin alone; there are some of you who seem not to know God at all; you should be ashamed. - 1Cor. 15:12-34 -

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is filled and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separated part to work according to its foundation. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love. - Eph. 4:15-16 -

In his body lives the fullness of divinity, and in him you too find your own fulfillment, in the one who is the head of every Sovereignty and Power. - Col. 2:9-10 -

The Holy Eucharist is not only a sacrificial oblation but also a sacrificial meal. It is for the continuation of His work in the world. Through Holy Eucharist, or Holy Mass, or Holy Communion the Lord Jesus becomes incarnate in each one of us and continues His life through us. Jesus wants our human nature to be as completely at His disposal as was His sacred humanity during His life in the world.

Jesus said: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." No one can come to the Father except through me. - John 14:6 -

If Jesus Christ is not presence in the Holy Eucharist as our spiritual food and strength, as our love and life, the work of redemption might have been all in vain for us. Only Jesus Christ flesh and blood can unite heaven and earth. The stream of His blood and flesh flows on and shall flow till the end of time.

Jesus answered:

'I tell you most solemnly,
you are not looking for me
because you have seen the signs
but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.
Do not work for food that cannot last,
but work for food that endures to eternal life,
the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you,
for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.'

Then they said to him, 'What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?' Jesus gave them this answer, 'This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.' So they said, 'What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat,' Jesus answered:

'I tell you most solemnly,
it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven,
it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven,
the true bread;
for the bread of God
is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.'

'Sir,' they said 'give us that bread always.' Jesus answered:

'I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me, will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.
But, as I have told you,
you can see me and still you do not believe.
All that............

Meanwhile the Jews were complaining to each other about him because he had said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.'...Jesus said in reply, 'Stop complaining to each other.'

'No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
....... I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the dessert
and they are dead;
but this is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that a man may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.'

Then the Jews started arguing with one another: 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' they said, Jesus replied:

'I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate:
that are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.'

Jesus taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue. After hearing it, many of his followers said, 'This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?' Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, 'Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

'It is the spirit that gives life,
the flesh has nothing to offer.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit
and they are life.' - John 6:26-71 -

The flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ continues to flow from heaven to the earth and from earth back to heaven. Holy Eucharist is the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ from which "grace for grace" comes to us. This is a great mystery. "Indeed, from his fulness we have, all of us, received - yes, grace in return for grace." - John 1:16 -

Holy Eucharist, or Holy Mass, or Holy Communion is the Completion, as the harvest is the completion of the process begun with the sowing of the seed. Sacrifice requires the sacrificial meal. Sacrifice is also prayer, the attempt to become one with God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity - belong together like Faith, Hope, and Love. These cannot be separated.

                                                                    Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

THE REAL PRESENCE OF THE GLORIFIED CHRIST

Memorial, sacrifice, banquet. This is the fullness and plenitude of the Eucharistic mystery. Or better still, we should speak of the banquet of the sacrificial memorial. We have already pointed out above that it would be an exercise in futility to try and establish an internal priority, a sort of 'hierarchy of truths' among these three aspects of the Eucharist, for all three are equally essential and none of them should be stressed at the expense of the other two. It is a harmonious blend of all three that will give us the heart of Eucharist. Maybe in the past, and probably as an unconscious anti-Protestant reaction, not only the average Catholic catechism, but even the official Catholic position emanating from the center tended to lay an exaggerated stress on the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist, leaving the memorial dimension and to a minor extent even the meal aspect, somewhat in the shadows.

The realization of her own past mistakes often leads the Church to a certain pendulum reaction in the opposite direction, and this seems to have happened in the present case. For a few years after Vatican II the Church witnessed one such sudden swing from an over insistence on the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist to an almost obsessive preponderance of the banquet dimension. Some would even go to the extent of banning the sacrificial dimension altogether, to concentrate exclusively on the meal aspect. They would thus turn the Eucharist into a fraternal meal, a horizontal get together meant to foster unity and brotherhood, with the vertical, God-centered dimension practically forgotten and almost entirely neglected.

The remedy was even worse than the disease. The Eucharist can by no means be reduced to a sacrifice, a vertical self-offering to God, but much less can it be equated with a fraternal banquet. Extremes and exclusive positions are seldom correct. The Eucharist is certainly and most essentially - as we have seen above - a sacrificial memorial of Christ's death and resurrection. But it is also, and emphatically, a meal, a banquet, for it is a rather peculiar memorial which is celebrated under the form of bread and wine. It is plainly an edible and drinkable memorial and if this aspect of eventual consumption is left out, the memorial sacrifice is thereby crippled. This kind of edible sacrificial memorial leads necessarily to communion and communion is a consumption of the sacrificial victim previously offered to God. These three essential aspects - sacrifice, memorial, communion - are like three links in the same chain, closely intertwined and inseparable. Hence, the Eucharistic repast is by no means the passive reception of the sacrament, but rather the active participation of the faithful in the fullness of the sacrificial act.

The Eucharistic banquet is not the consumption of a symbol but rather the internal assimilation of divine life, imparted to the communicant by the transfigured Lord, Eucharistically present under bread and wine. The reality celebrated implies not only the sacramental presence of a past salvific event, but also the real, substantial presence of the very person whose salvific action is commemorated. The Jewish Passover brought home powerfully under the veil of sacramental symbols the past event of the Egyptian deliverance, making the celebrating Jewish community a sharer in the effects of that salvific act, but there was no real presence of any kind. Whereas now in the Eucharist the central mystery of our salvation is rendered symbolically present, and in addition to this the very person of Jesus, beyond the grasp of death and resplendent in his heavenly glory, becomes really present. It is a sacrificial memorial that is climaxed by a real, transfigured presence, a presence which is destined to act within the body of the communicant.

Until fairly recently, the common opinion held the sixth chapter of John's Gospel to be but a distant promise of the Eucharist by Jesus himself which would be fulfilled at the end of His life. It was said that John is the only evangelist that, surprisingly, does not breath a word on such a central event as the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus' so-called farewell discourse in the context of the Last Supper is certainly long, as long as it is profound and inspiring, but oddly enough, it does not contain one word of the Eucharist. The narrative of the 'washing of the feet' left out by the Synoptic and Paul is mentioned and given due emphasis by John; whereas the institution of the Eucharist, prominently mentioned by the other three evangelists, is apparently passed over in silence by John. Why this puzzling omission?

In reality there is neither omission nor promise. For John does speak of the Eucharist; in fact, he devotes to it one full. long chapter, which is a clear indication of the importance he attaches to it. The so-called 'promise' contained in John 6 is in reality not a promise at all but rather the fullness of the Eucharistic reality - only that John is not primarily a historian concerned above all with the accurate chronology of historical events. He does mention the institution of the Eucharist, but in 'the wrong place; as it were, not in the context of the Supper, shortly before the passion narrative, but rather and for reasons of his own, in the sixth chapter. This chapter, as we shall see presently, is not the faint glow of dawn - a promise - but rather the fullness of the midday sun. It is the presence of the bread of life that came down from heaven to instill divine life into the hearts of men, "that they may have life and have it abundantly." - John 10:10 -

John 6 is a most beautiful, profound chapter that contains an inexhaustible supply of spiritual nourishment. Fortunately gone is the time when such a jewel of spiritual literature used to be a bone of contention between Catholics and Protestants, the former emphasizing strongly the Eucharistic content of the passage and the latter denying it with equal vehemence. What is really John's own intention in this chapter? Is he laying stress on the reality of faith only, as some of the early Protestants contended, or is he giving us a full treasure on the Eucharist, as Catholics have traditionally maintained? Both sides were partly right and partly wrong. They were both right in what they affirmed and badly wrong in what they denied.

The "bread of life" theme which runs throughout the chapter does not refer to the Eucharist always and everywhere (that was a Catholic mistake, both exegetical and pastoral). But neither can John's emphatic statements be reduced to the sapiential theme of faith (and this was the Protestant error). A fuller, more objective study of the entire passage, in a calmer atmosphere and away from sterile polemics, has finally yielded a rich harvest of mutual understanding and peaceful agreement. The theme of faith is markedly present, and to this extent Protestants were undoubtedly right; the sacramental, Eucharistic meaning should also be given equal prominence, and to this extent the Catholic position was also correct. The danger arose when each side chose to insist exclusively either on faith or on the Eucharist, making a choice that was not John's. Why select arbitrarily only one of the two themes when in reality both are present?

BY REV. FR. LUIS M. BERMEJO S.J.

                                                                     Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

"Holy Spirit" is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new children.

The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God's breath, the divine Spirit. On the other hand, "Spirit" and "Holy" are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By joining the two terms, Scripture, liturgy and theological language designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit, without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms "spirit" and "holy." - CCC 691 - Matt. 28:19; John 3:5-8 -

When he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the "Paraclete" literally, "he who is called to one's side" ad-vocatus. "Paraclete" is commonly translated by "consoler" and Jesus is the first consoler. The Lord also called the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of truth." - CCC 692 - John 14:16,26, 15:26, 16:7,13; 1John 2:1 -

Besides the proper name of  "Holy Spirit" which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, we also find in Saint Paul the titles: the Spirit of the promise, the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Spirit of God - and, in Saint Peter, the Spirit of glory. - CCC 693 - 1Cor. 6:11; 7:40; 2Cor. 3:17; Rom. 8:9,14-15, 15:19; Gal. 3:14, 4:6; Eph. 1:13; 1Peter 4:14 -

WATER - The symbolism of water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism, since after the invocation of the Holy Spirit it becomes the efficacious sacramental sign of new birth: just as the gestation of our first birth took place in water, so the water of Baptism truly signifies that our birth into the divine life is given to us in the Holy Spirit. As "by one Spirit we were all baptized" so we are also "made to drink of one Spirit." Thus the Spirit is also personally the living water up from Christ crucified as its source and welling up in us to eternal life. - CCC 694 - 1Cor. 10:4, 12:13; John 4:10-14, 7:38, 19:34; 1John 5:8; Ex. 17:1-6; Isaiah 55:1; Zech. 14:8; Rev. 21:6, 22:17 -

ANOINTING - The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. In Christian initiation, anointing is the sacramental sign of Confirmation, called "chrismation" in the Church of the East. Its full force can be grasped only in relation to the primary anointing accomplished by the Holy Spirit, that of Jesus, Christ (in Hebrew "messiah") means the one "anointed" by God's Spirit. There were several anointed ones of the Lord in the Old Covenant, preeminently king David. But Jesus is God's Anointed in a unique way: the humanity the Son assumed was entirely anointed by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit established him as "Christ". The Virgin Mary conceived Christ by the Holy Spirit who, through the angel, proclaimed him the Christ at his birth, and prompted Simeon to come to the temple to see the Christ of the Lord. The Spirit filled Christ and the power of the Spirit went out from him in his acts of healing and of saving. Finally, it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. Now, fully established as "Christ" in his humanity victorious over death, Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit abundantly until "the saints" constitute - in their union with the humanity of the Son of God - that perfect man "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ": the whole Christ"; in Saint Augustine's expression. - CCC 695 - 1John 2:20,27; 2Cor. 1:21; Ex. 30:22-32; 1Sam. 16:13; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 2:11,26-27, 4:1,18-19, 6:19, 8:46; Rom.1:4, 8:11; Eph. 4:13; Acts 2:36 -

FIRE - While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. The prayer of the prophet Elijah, who "arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch" brought down fire from heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. This event was a "figure" of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transform what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes "before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah", proclaims Christ as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Jesus will say of the Spirit: "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" In the form of tongues "as  of fire" the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself. The spiritual tradition has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit's actions. "Do not quench the Spirit." - CCC 696 - Sirach 48:1; 1Kings 18:38-39; Luke 1:17, 3:16, 12:49; Acts 2:3-4; 1Thes. 5:19 -

CLOUD and LIGHT - These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the cloud, now obscure, now luminous, reveals the living and saving God, while veiling the transcendence of his glory - with Moses on Mount Sinai, at the tent of meeting, and during the wandering in the desert, and with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple. In the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfills these figures. The Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and "overshadows" her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus. On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the "cloud came and overshadowed" Jesus, Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John, and "a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" Finally, the cloud took Jesus out of the sight of the disciples on the day of his ascension, and will reveal him as Son of Man in glory on the day of his final coming. - CCC 697 - Ex. 24:15-18, 33:9-10, 40:36-38; 1Kings 8:10-12; 1Cor. 10:1-2; Luke 1:35, 9:34-35, 21:27; Acts 1:9 -

The SEAL is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him. Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders, the image of the seal (sphragis) has been used in some theological traditions to express the indelible "character" imprinted by these three unrepeatable sacraments. - CCC 698 - John 6:27; 2Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13, 4:30 -

THE HAND - Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them. In his name the apostles will do the same. Even more pointedly, it is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given. The 'Letter to the Hebrews' lists the imposition of hands among the "fundamental elements" of its teaching. The Church has kept this sign of the all-powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in its sacramental epicleses. - CCC 699 - Mark 6:5, 8:23, 10:16, 16:18; Acts 5:12, 8:17-19, 13:3, 14:3, 19:6; Heb. 6:2 -

THE FINGER - "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God" then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts." The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus invokes the Holy Spirit as the "finger of the Father's right hand." - CCC 700 - Luke 11:20; Ex. 31:18; 2Cor. 3:3 -

THE DOVE - At the end of the flood, whose symbolism refers to Baptism, a dove released by Noah returns with a fresh olive-tree branch in its beak as a sign that the earth was again habitable. When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of the dove, comes down upon him and remains with him. The Spirit comes down and remains in the purified hearts of the baptized. In certain Church, the Eucharist is reserved in a metal receptacle in the form of a dove (columbarium) suspended above the altar. Christian iconography traditionally uses a dove to suggest the Spirit. - CCC 701 - Gen. 8:8-12; Matt. 3:16 -

                                                                      Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

"No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!" This knowledge of faith is possible only in the Holy Spirit: to be in touch with Christ, we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit. He comes to meet us and kindles faith in us. By virtue of our Baptism, the first sacrament of the faith, the Holy Spirit in the Church communicates to us, intimately and personally, the life that originates in the Father and is offered to us in the Son. - CCC 683 - 1Cor. 12:2; Gal. 4:6 -

Baptism gives us the grace of new birth in God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit. For those who bear God's Spirit are led to the Word, that is, to the Son, and the Son presents them to the Father, and the Father confers incorruptibility on them. And it is impossible to see God's Son without the Spirit, and no one can approach the Father without the Son, for the knowledge of the Father is the Son, and the knowledge of God's Son is obtained through the Holy Spirit. - Saint Irenaeus -

Through his grace, the Holy Spirit is the first to awaken faith in us and to communicate to us the new life, which is to "know the Father and the one whom he has sent, Jesus Christ." But the Spirit is the last of the persons of the Holy Trinity to be revealed. - CCC 684 - John 17:3 -

The Old Testament proclaimed the Father clearly, but the Son more obscurely. The New Testament revealed the Son, and gave us a glimpse of the divinity of the Spirit. Now the Spirit dwells among us and grants us a clearer vision of himself. It was not prudent, when the divinity of the Father had not yet been confessed, to proclaim the Son openly and, when the divinity of the Son was not yet admitted, to add the Holy Spirit as an extra burden, to speak somewhat daringly... By advancing and progressing "from the glory," the light of the Trinity will shine in ever more brilliant rays. - Saint Gregory of Nazianzus -

To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified." For this reason, the divine mystery of the Holy Spirit was already treated in the context of Trinitarian "theology". Here, however, we have to do with the Holy Spirit only in the divine "economy." - CCC 685 -

The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our salvation. But in these "end times" ushered in by the Son's redeeming Incarnation, the Spirit is revealed and given, recognized and welcomed as a person. Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the new creation, be embodied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. - CCC 686 -

"No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." Now God's Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. The Spirit who "has spoken through the prophets" makes us hear the Father's Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith. The Spirit of truth who "unveils" Christ to us "will not speak on his own." Such properly divine self-effacement explains why "the world cannot receive [him] because it neither sees him nor knows him," while those believe in Christ know the Spirit because he dwells with them. - CCC 687 - 1Cor. 2:11; John 16:13; 14:17 -

The Church, a communion living in the faith of the apostles which she transmits, is the place where we know the Holy Spirit:

- in the Sacred Scriptures he inspired;
- in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses;
- in the Church's Magisterium, which he assists;
- in the sacramental liturgy, through his words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ;
- in prayer, wherein he intercedes for us;
- in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up;
- in the signs of apostolic and missionary life;
- in the witness of saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation. - CCC 688 -

The One whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God. Consubstiantial with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is inseparable from them, in both the inner life of the Trinity and his gift of love for the world. In adoring the Holy Trinity, life-giving, consubstiantial and indivisible, the Church's faith also professes the distinction of persons. When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him. - CCC 689 - Gal. 4:6 -

Jesus is Christ, "anointed" because the Spirit is his anointing, and everything that occurs from the Incarnation on derives from this fullness. When Christ is finally glorified, he can in turn send the Spirit from his place with the Father to those who believe in him: he communicated to them his glory, that is, the Holy Spirit who glorifies him. From that time on, this joint mission will be manifested in the children adopted by the Father in the Body of his Son: the mission of the Spirit of adoption is to unite them to Christ and make them live in him: - CCC 690 - John 3:34, 7:39, 17:22, 16:14 -

The notion of anointing suggests... that there is no distance between the Son and the Spirit. Indeed, just as between the surface of the body and the anointing with oil neither reason nor sensation recognizes any intermediary, so the contact of the Son with the Spirit is immediate, so that anyone who make contact with the Son by faith must first encounter the oil by contact. In fact there is no part that is not covered by the Holy Spirit. That is why the confession of the Son's Lordship is made in the Holy Spirit by those who receive him, the Spirit coming from all sides to those who approach the Son in faith. - Saint Gregory of Nyssa -

                                                                   Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

To live in the Spirit is to be born of the Spirit.

Nicodemus said, 'How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother's womb and be born again?' Jesus replied:

'I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born through water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God:
what is born of the flesh is flesh;
what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not be surprised when I say:
You must be born from above.
The wind blows wherever it pleases;
you hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.' - John 3:4-8 -

Most of us have the intellectual life, good moral character, sound behaviour, and amiable qualities of disposition, but sadly, without the new life of the Holy Spirit.

From now onward, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God's work. - 2Cor. 5:16-17 -

The Holy Spirit, [Sanctifier] as a divine person, was united with the Father, [Creator] the Lord Jesus Christ [Saviour/Redeemer] - The Holy Trinity - When our soul or heart truly converted to God, yields itself wholly to His love and becomes living Spirit, who dwells in us. Henceforth, our life is spiritual and divine. Therefore, it is not we who live, but the Lord Jesus Christ who lives in us; and we draw life, strength, health, love, joy, peace and all the fruits of the good Spirit from Him through the Holy Spirit.

Let me put it like this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing, and it is precisely because the two are so opposed that you do not always carry out your good intentions. If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you.

When self-indulgences is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. I warn you now, as I warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires. Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit. We must stop being conceited, provocative and envious. - Gal. 5:16-26 -

To live in the Spirit is to be Sanctified by the Spirit, to receive the Spirit of holiness, and thus be delivered from the power of sin.

The reason, therefore, why those who are in Christ Jesus are not condemned, is that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. God has done what the Law because of our unspiritual nature, was unable to do. - Rom. 8:1-3 -

If we live and walk in the Spirit, we have to acknowledge that the Spirit is presence and abiding in us, trust Him, depends of Him in the emergencies of life, called upon Him in every time of need or crisis. We must not only believe but unfailingly trusting the Holy Spirit and surely He will respond to our needs. Remember! the Holy Spirit cannot and will not dwell in an unconverted soul or heart, but He can and does work in the hearts of the unconverted, producing conviction and conversion of heart and leading them to a saving union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Having led the soul to Christ, the Holy Spirit now becomes the personal Sanctifier, Teacher, Comforter of the believer. Our sanctification has been purchased for us through the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ. By virtue of that one single offering, he has achieved the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying. - Heb. 10:10,14 -

Sanctification is not a mere human experience but it is the reception of Christ as the very substance of our spiritual life. For example, it is not like a person offering assistance or help solving a personal problem or loan us money to pay debts or start a business, of course, in return for a favour. It is Himself assuming it with all its burdens and liabilities, while we become subordinate and receive all our needs from Him.

The Law, of course, as we know, is spiritual; but I am unspiritual; I have been sold as a slave to sin. I cannot understand my own behaviour. I fail to carry out the things I want to do, and I find myself.....

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

In short, it is I who with my reason serve the Law of God, and no less I who serve in my unspiritual self the law of sin. - Rom. 7:14-25 -

In conclusion, to live in the Spirit and have the Spirit as a divine person living in us, first and importantly, we need to be baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and for those who already been baptized, he or she must observed and practices all the commands the Lord Jesus Christ gave us. And know that He is with us always; yes, to the end of time, because 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ.' - Matt. 28:16-20 -

                                                                     Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -