I wanna be "seasoned by God"

Conversion is a lifelong process in which Christians are expected to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Although all Christians remain sinners (e.g. Romans 7:7-25 and 1 John 1:8-10), those who know better are expected to do better.

"What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?"

About last night's talk (Pentecost Triduum 1-3 June) at Our Lady of Lourdes, by Fr. Paul Goh. I believe it was a move of God that Mum & Dad agreed to go. I mean.... like finally, they are willing to come for something like this.... And the message was exactly everything I wanted mum/dad to hear. Well, I don't know if the message has remained in their hearts, but I believe it is the start. And I do wish for them to get to know the Holy Spirit and God's real presence in their lives - so that they are able to bear the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering(patience), goodness, kindness, gentleness, self-control, faithfulness. And begin to serve and give - even more, and not worry and fret over petty things.. being too caught up in me myself and I.


SpiritualSurvival.org -->
A very true Exerpt: "If we don't stay in a close relationship with the Holy Spirit, we experience harmful attitudes, spiritual sluggishness, negative thoughts, reduced spiritual vision, resistance to sin is lessened, and damaging habits creep in causing a slow spiritual decline. These bad habits can become a major part of our lives. The good news is that these patterns are reversible. The bad news is that before we can change these habits, we need to recognize and accept that our behavior needs to be changed."
I'm now on CHAPTER 3 of Spiritual Survival.org. It's fantastic. http://www.spiritualsurvival.org/view/?pageID=804


As for today...
--> I was looking around but couldn't find the answers to "What is the sin against the Holy Spirit". So I found it at this catholic website. It's comforting to be reminded once again, that after all, the Catholic faith indeed does contain the fullness of truth.

--> This includes the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a book i've not touched till today... and found that it's really rich! Perhaps, it's time that I'm seeking more answers.. to be grounded in truth.. and to be assured of God's promises even more : http://www.catholicdoors.com/catechis/index.htm


The Exerpt from http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu42.htm:

Q. 2. More specifically, what sins offend the Holy Spirit?
A. There are six sins that offend the Holy Spirit. These are:

(1) Despair, "By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God's goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is faithful to his promises - and to his mercy." (C.C.C. # 2091)

(2) Presumption of God's mercy, "There are two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon God's almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit)." (C.C.C. # 2092)

(3) Impugning the known truth, (Clarification: To "impugn" the known truth means to attack it by word or argument, to resist it, to contradict it, or even to oppose the known truth or to challenge it as false.)

(4) Envy the spiritual good of another, (Clarification: Regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians states, "All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually as the Spirit chooses." To envy the spiritual good of another is to question the Divine judgment of the Holy Spirit in His distribution of spiritual gifts. It is to be jealous of another person who has a gift different than one's own gift. Through envy, one rejects the gift that he has received from the Holy Spirit, determining in his own mind that the gift he has received is not good enough for him and he wants someone else's gift.)

(5) Obstinacy in sin, (Clarification: To be "obstinate" means to resist the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, to be stubborn, to persist in sin, to be unyielding.)

(6) Final impenitence. (Clarification: "Impenitence" means to be uncontrite, unrepentant, hardened, unconverted, to be without regret, shame or remorse.)


SEASONED BY GOD
God works in mysterious ways,
Always fulfilling His Divine Plan.
He inducts the hearts He chooses.
Did He not see St. Paul's potential?
Temporary taking His sight away,
He softened Paul's heart to His affinity,
Transmuting him into a great teacher.
God is the true transforming power.
Many sufferers are moulded by Him,
Including captives of war and prisons.
Using their prolonged solitude,
God reaches them in an obscure way,
Teaching them true righteousness
And a great compassion for others.
Then He sends them out into the world;
To follow the footsteps of His Son.
Hardened by their sufferings
And softened by the love of God,
Nothing stands in their destiny;
Their only fear being the fear of God.
Chosen, they have been seasoned by God!

Poem taken from CatholicDoors.com: http://www.catholicdoors.com/poetry/index.htm