PRAISE HIM! May/June 2017
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Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ Publication Volume XLIV No. 3 PRAISE HIM! May/June 2017 Hungering and Thirsting for God by Dr. Tom Curran Blessed Elena Guerra “Missionary of the Holy Spirit” by Christof Hemberger The Duquesne Weekend by Patti Gallagher Mansfield A Note From Mother Juana Teresa Chung, DLJC Superior General Dear Friends, Jesus loves you! It is a great joy to continue to celebrate the Jubilee of Catholic Charismatic Renewal! One of the things that I have been meditating upon is, the double portion of the Spirit that Elisha asked Elijah in 2 Kings 2:9. As I read these words, I was inspired to ask the Lord for more of the Holy Spirit, for an increase of the Sanctifying gifts and charisms for the service of the Church. Let me share with you some of the things that I have been doing to be better disposed to receive more of His Holy Spirit. First, for the increase of the Sanctifying gifts, I have been meditating upon and have been more aware of God’s grace in my life in day-to-day situations. In addition, I have decided to increase my visits to the Blessed Sacrament because He is the source of these gifts. God has given us these beautiful gifts so that we may be more like Him. What a joy and consolation is to know that we can rely on His mighty and powerful gifts to grow in His likeness. Secondly, for the increase of the charism for the service of the Church, I have been studying, asking questions about the gifts from those people who manifest the charisms, and then praying for these gifts. Recently, I met a lady who is 72 years old and she leads praise and worship in various retreats and conferences! She plays a heavy guitar and she is for hours on her feet leading praise and worship. She was so inspiring that I asked her about this charism of praise. She had so much wisdom about it because she had done this for over 50 years! First thing she told me is to rely on the Holy Spirit and be willing to be docile to be lead, humble to be taught and patient in waiting and practicing. My dear friends, I have shared with you a few personal endeavors. If you have not done so yet, I invite you to ask the Lord for MORE of His Spirit.” LOVE 2 Hungering and Thirsting for God Dr. Tom Curran “Stir into flame the gift of God that several things. You will realize how you have...” 2 Tim 1:6. little you love God. In fact, what One of the ways that we can comes to be revealed when you say seek a deeper stirring into flame of to someone, “I love you,” is in fact the gift of the Holy Spirit is through how much better I need to love you, the stance of prayer that is called how much more my love could be. the prayer of desire. It’s the prayer of When I say to my wife, “Kari, I love one who loves, of one whose passion you,” what automatically rebounds is for God. in my face is the ways in which I I’m not talking about am not loving her, the ways in being emotional in prayer. which my love for her isn’t I’m talking about being as deep as it could be, volitional in prayer. The or should be. And what act of love is an act of the begins to grow in me will. You can express is a hunger, a thirst, passion without being a desire to love her emotional. Think about better. If we take up what you are passionate the stance of the prayer about. Are you passionate of desire, it’s going about your garden? Are you to stir up within us the passionate about a hobby? realization that we don’t love Or about a sports team? It doesn’t God well enough and a desire to always equate to emotions and yet love God more. there is emotion involved. Take a moment to pray Psalm The prayer of desire, the 63. “Oh, God, you are my God— prayer of one who loves, is prayer for you I long, for you my soul that says, “Father, I love you. Jesus, is thirsting, like a dry weary land I love you. Spirit, I love you.” Now, without water.” When you pray that, saying that, speaking in a personal you will realize, “No, it doesn’t.” way in love to the persons of God, Again, we can pray Psalm 42, “As the is a striking thing. When you take deer yearns for running streams so up this stance, the prayer of the my soul is yearning for you, my one who loves, you are going to learn God.” When we pray it, we will go on PRAISE HIM! May/June 2017 to pray, “God, you know, I’m not dry land. His thirst is to empty, to there yet, but I want to be. Make it pour out, to give. Why? Because real in me, God. I want to experience God loves us! St. Thomas Aquinas the fact that I am like a dry parched says that to love someone is to have a land without water. I actually want heart open to receive to oneself the to experience within me this yearning beloved. When you love someone, for you.” As we take up the stance of you are welcoming the beloved the one who loves, we will come to into your heart. That loved one know and experience this hunger and impresses himself/herself into your thirst for God. heart. And the experience of doing We are going to experience this is delight. something even more profound and The word delight – "delexio" important than this revelation of our – is the same root as the word to hunger and thirst to love God. We will describe the delight that’s involved learn the truth that even more than in a woman breastfeeding her we hunger and thirst for baby. When a woman is God, God thirsts for us. breastfeeding her baby, Even more than you thirst that is called delight. Now to encounter God, He where’s the delight that’s thirsts to encounter you. involved in a nursing He thirsts to love you. baby? It’s both the The Catechism talks delight of the mother about John 4, where Jesus giving and the delight of asks the woman at the well the baby receiving. You for water. She says to Him, are God’s delight. And “Who are you to ask me God intends for you to for water?” And Jesus says, “If you delight in Him. only knew who was asking you for Isaiah 62:3-5 says, “You shall water, you would have asked him be a glorious crown in the hand of and he would have given you living the Lord, you shall be a royal diadem water.” The Catechism says that held by your God. No more shall Jesus’ asking her for water is a sign men call you forsaken or your land of God’s desire to encounter every desolate, but you shall be called ‘my human being (cf. CCC 2560). It’s delight’ and your land ‘espoused.’ For a sign of God’s desire to encounter the Lord delights in you and makes you. Watch out. God has His eyes set your land espoused. As a young man on you and He hungers to be able marries a virgin your builder shall to love you. Would you like to know marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices that? Take up the prayer of the one in his bride so shall your God rejoice who loves. in you.” It is God’s intention for us There is a difference between that we would know this reality, that our thirst and God’s thirst. Our thirst we would encounter it, that we would is a thirst to receive. We are that experience it. The path to doing that is 4 PRAISE HIM! May/June 2017 taking up the stance in prayer of the that we are His passion. And as we one who loves, the prayer of desire. are in the presence of that passion that When we do, the Holy Spirit will he has for us it will stir that passion in make it real. us. That passionate commitment for I encourage and even challenge God—God will become our passion. you to take up this stance in prayer Now, what is so incredible for the next two weeks. Every day about being Catholic is that we spend at least 10 minutes praying don’t simply have to experience with Psalm 63 or Psalm 42. By the this by looking at the crucifix, but end of those two weeks, you will we can come into the very presence see that, in fact, the Holy Spirit of Christ’s passion, and death, and will make your desire real. You will resurrection at Mass. Here we find in perceive a tangible change in your fact the prayer of desire most perfectly relationship with God. displayed and manifest. “Take this, Remember the reaction of the all of you and eat it. This is my disciples on the road to Emmaus? body given for you. This is the cup When Jesus spoke to them, when he of my blood shed for you.” That is pours out His love for them, their hearts passion! were burning.