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Secrets of the Trinity
Linda Schubert, a leader in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States, shares some of the insights she has received on our relationship with the Trinity.
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As I reflected on this I saw how it all ties in with our relationship with the Trinity : the welcome of the Father, the listening heart of Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. In his Word to us God the Father is revealed as the one with overall mastery of everything. Out of his welcoming love everything proceeds. We are His sons and daughters through baptism, his children. This is our true identity. Jesus comes as our loving Saviour and to reveal and impart the character of God and we invite him to be Lord of all. He is always listening and encouraging us. The Catechism reminds us that to be in touch with Christ we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who kindles faith in us. The Spirit unites us to Jesus and enables us to live in Him. From this anchor point, valued and secure, with our Heavenly Father, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we learn to interact with the world. WELCOME … My prayer is that our hearts will be so awakened to God's fatherly love, His utter faithfulness and commitment to us, that something deep inside will say "yes" and we will experience a new and wonderful level of welcome. With open arms we will receive his good gifts (Mt7:11) and surrender to His love and His ways. In that deeper experience of this welcome, we, in our turn, will have an increased capacity to bring others into an awareness of their own welcome. As Jesus welcomed the tax collector, the sinner, the Samaritan woman, the thief on the cross, let's ask for the grace to know and believe in His welcome and extend it to those we meet along the way. "Negative experiences of natural father can lead to ambiguity about trusting God" The word of God tells us in 2. Cor 6:19 that God will be a father to us and we will be His sons and daughters. To many of us this creates confusion because we have mixed messages about the experience of father. Yet deep inside we know we need God to be our Father. We need His love and we need a father who welcomes us in the deepest places in our soul. I grew up with fear of my earthly father because he touched me in ways that were not fatherly. I never even told him I had had breast cancer or that I had a mastectomy because I didn't want his attention on that part of my anatomy. With the countless people who have negative experiences of their natural father, there is ambiguity about trusting Father God. But God does not leave us orphans. He says in Psalm 27 that even though our father and mother might forsake us, God has a plan, someone who can model the fathering and mothering we need. Our Christian communities at best have people to step in and even re-parent the lost parts of us. Trained professionals often help with this need. God wants us to experience a deep welcome in our homes, families and communities. LISTEN ... There is awesome healing in being heard and understood. On a recent retreat people told me that when they were really listened to they felt respected, valued, worthwhile, unburdened and less alone. When they were not listened to they felt worthless, frustrated, ignored, invisible. Jesus welcomed, listened to and empowered friends and strangers, young and old, rich and poor. Blind Bartimaeus in the gospels (Mark 10:45) is a lovely example. He called out to Jesus, who stopped and invited him to come near. He listened to the need and empowered him with health and a desire to follow Him. When a friend listened to me without judgement as I shared difficult things about my life, I could feel the love of Jesus pouring into me. With my trust level rising, something old and cold and hard in me began to break down. Knowing she loved me, helped me to see myself with new eyes. God has a plan for each of our lives. He wants us to hear from Him. There is nothing more important than to listen to Him as He listens to us - then do what He says. He gives us His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in our inner being - to help us do what He says. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18) we learn to respond in our daily lives by turning to him and saying "Lord, what should I do about this? How should I feel about that situation?" He wants us willing to hear Him and face up to things in our lives. "Lord, what should I do about this?"
EMPOWER… Once I had a vision in which I was brought into the throne room of God the Father. He led me to a door, opened it, and showed me a long line of people. "These are the people I have prepared (empowered) to help you on the next stage of your journey." The words brought me comfort and courage and wherever he has led me round the world, people had always been there to meet my needs for Him. This is the grassroots work of the Holy Spirit, meeting us where we are and inviting us to step into His empowering love. He says, "Come, follow me." And gives us the grace to do it and provides the people to help. Jesus came to bring God's life (Jn10:10) and offers us a new way to pray - with praise and thanksgiving flowing naturally from this close relationship. The 1 Cor 12 gifts of the Holy Spirit emerge easily from this intimate connection because our hearts are open to Him and to those he places on our path. "We can't live the life God calls us to by our own strength and ability" The Life in the Spirit manual published by the US National Charismatic Catholic Office defines Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a conscious breaking forth of the graces and power of the Holy Spirit already received in the sacraments of Christian Initiation: baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist. Let's ask for that conscious breaking forth. We can't live the life God calls us to live by our own strength and ability. We need the strength of God. We can't know the depths of God's love unless we allow the Holy Spirit to pour His love into our hearts. (Romans 5:5) And knowing God's love is what opens us to become all he wants for us to be. On a trip to Nigeria one year I was overwhelmed by the needs of the people. At the end of the day alone in my room, I cried out to God, "The needs are so eat and I am so little!" His response stole my heart, "Little in my hands is much." He is not asking for big things, but to do what is in front of us, with His love. He will make it much as we yield it to Him. At another time, in another country, I heard the Lord say, "Linda, I will take you as far as you want to go. You set the limits." Wow. How far do I want to go? How far do you want to go? Let's ask the Lord to reveal the limits we place on His plan for our lives. And then ask Him to help us extend those limits! Secure in His love we could stop now and He would love us forever. How much better it would be to take His hand and say, "All the way with You, Jesus. I don't know what's around the corner, but I choose the path for my life that keeps me closest to you!"
Linda's latest Book! PRECIOUS POWER
Through the precious power of the Holy Spirit God continues His ministry today. This is an excellent tool for pastors, counsellors and Christian leaders and individuals in every walk of life. Priced at £ 2.00 + p&p from:
Linda Schubert's London schedule 11-19th May 2005 May 11 Kingsbury, north London prayer meeting Santiago Salaices' one day healing workshops for men and women Thursday May 12 10:30-4:00 in Putney Details of these events can be obtained from the Goodnews Office
tel. 020 7352 5298 |
My
deceased mother, a wonderful Pentecostal Christian, talked with God
all day long and often wrote reflections in her journal. For example:
"Thank you Lord for bringing things to the surface. I think you
wanted to loosen me up in this situation." Or "I've spent
too much time feeling sorry for myself." Or "Lord in my
confusion I asked you to think through me today. You did and things
cleared." She also wrote, "Jesus uses the trials and concerns
in our lives to open us up to hear Him. Then He teaches great lessons."
She described her practical walking with the Holy Spirit as "Grassroots
learning". (The dictionary defines as "basic, fundamental,
not adapted from or added to.)
