Witness by Word and Example

The last part of the prayer from the previous post had:

Holy Spirit,

send us forth to witness to the

Gospel by word and example.

Most of us have seen the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" where the moral is that one man living justly does not realize how many lives are impacted positively, so much so that they are praying and want to help the one that has touched them.

In Micah 6:8, we read:
"What is good has been explained to you, man; this is what the Lord asks of you:  only this, to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God."

I chose this topic because I wrote something in a high school graduation card this past weekend that resulted in this note from the mother of the dear girl graduating:

"Your card made her cry.  I do not think she realizes how she impacts people and how the Lord uses her.  I am glad you shared with her.  Thank you and God bless your summer."

Then I wrote back:

"What a great thing for her to learn now, how she impacts others.  A younger friend of mine, 24, sometimes gets down wondering what she is here for.  I told her every day, several times a day is chance to show Christ's love, caring, strength to someone."

This is what the prayer is asking for, that with the Holy Spirit's assistance we can witness to the Gospel.  We can witness each day in unexpected ways to people we know well, and people we don't know well, and to people of all ages.  

We don't know if the person we show Christ to indirectly will connect the dots in the near term or distant future, but we can do whatever good we can for them when we can, under the guidance and trust in the Holy Spirit.

I'm going to try to keep this post short as my very novice blogging skills need to do less endurance testing of you, the dear people who stop in here.



After I published this, I noticed two other posts that went up within the past few hours on the same topic:
Please see:  New evangelization must begin with the heart, Pope teaches and Community , A Common Union.  As Mary says this seems to be a God-incidence.

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I read some great posts today that I really want to share:

First, this one by Karinann confirmed which of the three planned posts I would do first because it dealt with when we ask God into our ordinary life.  There is a mention of St. Ignatius in the post, and it reminded me of the daily examine I learned about in Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Michael Gaitley.  

He taught the B-A-K-E-R method, where the B is for listing out the blessings of God for that day.  Fr. Gaitley also mentioned how St. Ignatius became so in tune with God's goodness and love active in his ordinary life that he would often be moved to tears several times during a given day.

The next two referrals go together:

1. A beautiful prayer for three sisters that left this world from a car accident in post by Abigail.  If you haven't already, please pray for them and their family.
2. Spiritual Legacy by Jean Wise I especially liked because of the reflection by Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose birthday is today:

• Her sixth child, Charley, died of cholera in July 1849  “It was at his dying bed & at his grave,” Stowe writes in an 1853 letter, “that I learnt what a poor slave mother may feel when her child is torn away from her…I have often felt that much that is in this book had its root in the awful scenes and bitter sorrows of that summer.”

That really made me think because it is so sad when parents lose a child.  I reflected only briefly on the impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin, helping to change enough of the country's hearts and minds to bring about an end of slavery in this country.  

Then my next thought was on the monumental impact of the loss of Jesus by Mary and the Father, and the immense gift of salvation and peace that came from that grief.

This last one, many of you have probably already read, since it was a referral from Mary at Beautiful Gate, and that is God Always Saves the Best Wine For Last.  This really has some soul stirring reflection on things we have to look forward to in our spiritual lives.

God Bless You and may he bless us all with his presence, like in this tremendous conversion story by Elizabeth Malou.  (one last, last one :)