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The Long Green Season, the season of Pentecost, will take us all the way until November 30, the First Sunday in Advent. The duration of this season is directly proportional to how important it is for our spiritual life and growth. When Jesus told the disciples that he would “…ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate (comforter) to help you and be with you forever—” (John 14:16), he was setting forth the future for all of us. This season is long because we need time to focus and embrace the Advocate. The issue isn’t that the Holy Spirit is hard to perceive; rather, it is that we have very short attention spans. In the age of exploding electronic and AI advancements where packages arrive in a day and even the most obscure information is seemingly available to us in seconds, it is no wonder that we think it will be the same with God. I am not saying that God isn’t available to us at this instant, but that our experience is that of being served with little or no effort. God is indeed with us always, “even to the end of the ages.” This is the same God that made Adam and Eve and set them to work, attending the Garden in partnership. Adam and Eve were not created with lounge chairs waiting and God serving at beck and call. In glory, we were created to work! Our structure, our bodies are made to labor on, as the hymn proclaims. We are at our best when we strive and exert ourselves. NIH’s National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biotechnology Information wrote in the article, The Importance of Physical Activity Exercise among Older People, that The evidence shows that regular physical activity is safe for healthy and for frail older people and the risks of developing major cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, obesity, falls, cognitive impairments, osteoporosis and muscular weakness are decreased by regularly completing activities ranging from low intensity walking through to more vigorous sports and resistance exercises. Yet, participation in physical activities remains low amongst older adults. The advancement of ease in services (information, Doordash, Teledoc, Uber, etc.) is appropriate, even expected social evolution has created the sedentary lifestyle so contrary to God’s design. They went on to say, Improvements in mental health, emotional, psychological, and social well-being and cognitive function are also associated with regular physical activity. Our physical well being–striving, working, is connected to every part of our being. A paper presented on the Black Physicians and Healthcare Network stated, We live in bodies designed for movement, yet many spend most of our days sitting in front of screens or confined to sedentary lifestyles. However, adding exercise to our daily routines isn't just about losing weight—it's about building good habits and turning exercise into a lifestyle. (220324) Building Good Habits What we all know about the importance of a robust physical life is also true about our spiritual existence. God designed our bodies and spirits with the same intention and to produce the same outcome. The ease we are all enjoying in our physical world has affected our spiritual health as well. The Long Green Season is a long time designed to help us build good habits. Reading, praying, just recognizing God’s design and striving to live into God’s plan requires a change of our habitual patterns. Just as going to Church on Sunday morning is a habit that produces great benefits, so, too, living into the presence of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives also. Saint Augustine, the great Bishop, theologian, and philosopher, realized that the ease of his day–of which he took full advantage, served only to degrade his person, body, mind and spirit. His journey for fulfillment led him to conversion and his embrace of Jesus is a witness through the ages. The season of Pentecost is a gift of time through which we all can realize the embrace of Jesus and the fulfillment of body and spirit. St. Augustine helps us begin our new habit of attention and devotion by giving us this prayer. Oh Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Love, Spirit of Holiness; I adore You and love You with all my heart. Teach me to know and to seek God, by whom and for whom I was created. Fill my heart with Your presence that I may live in awe and wonder experiencing all of creation as miraculous gift from You! Let Holy Fear and joyful anticipation greet me every waking moment and flood my sleep with the waters of life. Increase faith, hope and charity in me and bring forth in me all the virtues proper to my state of life. Help me to grow in the four *Cardinal Virtues, Your *Seven Gifts and Your *Twelve Fruits. Make me a faithful follower of Jesus, an obedient child of the Church and a help to my neighbor. Give me the grace to keep the Commandments and to receive the Sacraments worthily. Raise me to Holiness in the state of life to which You have called me, and lead me through a happy death to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be Holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be Holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is Holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is Holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be Holy. Amen. Next week we will look at the four “Cardinal Virtues,” our “Seven Gifts” and our “Twelve Fruits.” Exercising body and faith, Fr. Bill+
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Knowing versus Feeling
It’s hard to imagine, but knowing and feeling are frequently synonymised. That is, it is believed that they are the same thing. Scholars have pointed out that this has always been the case, but it is just more common now. Why is that? Well, both are powerful and intertwined one with the other. There are times when knowing and feeling happen almost simultaneously and can seem to be one, but if we think about it, we know that isn’t true–we can feel it in our bones. Knowing involves mental processes like perception, reasoning, and memory. It's about understanding the facts, concepts, and relationships between things. Feeling, on the other hand, is a subjective experience, an emotional response to a situation or stimulus. Knowing the difference between knowing and feeling is vitally important to how we feel about God. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 When St. Paul wrote that the love of God was a fact–he was convinced. He was not talking about how he felt. It is indeed possible that he could have felt the love of God as well, but here he is simply stating that of which he is convinced: God loves us! This is of paramount importance as a witness for daily living. There’s no Christian who doesn’t experience seasons when God feels distant or when we don’t feel his love. In those times, it is easy to fall away from God, disheartened or disillusioned. We all need love and to feel loved, but even when we can’t find love and don’t feel loved, we are still able to live and function because we know there is more to life than this. St. Paul talks about knowing that God loves us and that truth opens a multitude of doors to a deeper relationship with God. The plan (or hope) when we don't feel love is to seek someone to be in a relationship with us. We know this will be work, and it may be frightening, but we also know this is the only way to be loved–to be in a deepening relationship with the other. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). God has repeatedly shown us that we are loved whether we feel it or not. Our hopes are that we will feel God’s love, but we are sustained by the fact. The answer to the question, “Why don’t I feel God’s love?” is the question (in the tradition of Jesus), “Are you actively building your relations with God?” Take time today (every day) to contemplate the sacrifice of love God gave to you from the Cross. Think of the example of how much love must be present for Jesus to die for you—could you, would you do that for another? What kind of love is that! Take time to talk to God, just talk. Share your day, your joys, sorrows, and fears. Then pray. Ask God for wisdom and companionship. Ask God to help you to see the little things in life as a gift and the challenges as opportunity. As you grow in your relationship, your knowledge of God’s plan will blossom, and you will better feel the love of God. If you would like to know more on how to do this, please give me a call. Knowing and loved by God, Fr. Bill+ Who am I?
This seems like an easy question, and most would quickly answer by listing pedigree, history, career, and family status, but are those things we do really who we are? In order for us to respond to God’s call, we must be able to hear, and to hear, we must be attentive. How often have you missed someone calling your name because you were so entranced with what you were doing that you couldn’t hear them? We listen to what we are focused on, and our focus has a tendency to point away from God. Christianity has always advocated self-awareness and self-honesty. Being self aware means knowing the underlying reasons for what we do, say, feel, and believe. This may seem simple, but our usual reflections into these areas are cursory at best. We must be more attentive to our reason and less emphatic with our opinion. To look inside requires a degree of skill and a lot of will. First, you must know how the Creator designed you as a unique individual to partner with Him. At an early age, Jesus knew exactly who He was. When His frantic parents lost him in the crowd leaving Jerusalem after celebrating the Feast of Passover, they finally found Him in the temple. His mother scolded him, saying, “What do you think you’re doing, scaring us like this?” He responds, “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:41-52). Jesus had figured out who He was and where He had come from, and that informed everything He did. Throughout scripture, Jesus asks questions, not because He didn’t already know the answers. He wanted to deepen others’ self-awareness about who they are, what motivates them, and what they believe and value. He was the consummate asker of tough self-discovery questions. Consider what Jesus did when His disciples urged Him to send away the massive crowd that had grown hungry after a long day of listening to Him. Instead of complying, Jesus tells them, “You give them something to eat… How many loaves do you have? Go look!” (Mark 6:37, Matthew 14:16) This may seem like a simple logistical answer, but in reality Jesus was calling each disciple to know who they were at that moment. In the Gospel of John, Philip asks to see the Father, and Jesus answers with the question, “Have you been with me so long and you still don't know me?” You can see how this question, as jarring as it is, cannot be answered without a deep internal knowledge of the self. How could Philip have been so wrong and why hadn’t he seen it are self-questions that require a deeper dive into fear and motivation–a dive not many are brave enough to take. I know what we all want. I want it too, for God to just fix it and change us. How often have you prayed for relief from a situation more of your own making than you will admit? This kind of prayer does not find purchase, any more than seed scattered on concrete will grow. The prayer, “God give me wisdom to see and to know and to change.” reflects an admission of participation, even responsibility for the self. Can God speak to you if you don't know who you are? Yes, in the same way a voice can reach us over a crowd with basic directions, you can hear God. Rather, with honesty and perseverance, it would be our Savior's voice clearly heard in the silence of a quiet spirit and mind. If you would like to delve deeper, give me a call. Hearing Him, Fr. Bill+ May the Holy Spirit, who has begun a good work in you, direct and uphold you in the service of Christ and his kingdom. Amen.
From the service of Reaffirmation of faith, BCP pg. 310 As we encounter options and opportunities each day, without much fanfare, we must constantly choose –What to eat? Where to go? To join in? To pay a little extra? To tell the truth? To be unkind? These and so many more questions are answered in the span of a blink. In those moments, we are aided by the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and offers us counsel. The Holy Spirit is the least understood person of the Trinity. Among the myths and the mistaken concepts, the Holy Spirit has been described as a force, a ghost, a second-class or replacement god, a created being, and simply, as a feeling. The Holy Spirit has been confused with the spirits, manifestations, the actions of God and has even been presented as an incidental figure that appears sporadically and is, in actuality, just a metaphor. Nothing could be further from the truth. In worship and in our prayers we call on the Ruah, the Breath of God, in every spiritual invocation and verbal trinitarian blessing, In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The following Bible verses will help you as you call upon the Holy Spirit right now and later, as you lean on the Holy Spirit for guidance. First, in a very personal way, the Spirit is a Person. We read (and know) that the Holy Spirit has feelings. The Holy Spirit can become sad or angry when God’s children turn aside or blaspheme: Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. - (Isaiah 63:10) And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. - (Matthew 12:31) You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! - (Acts 7:51) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. - (Ephesians 4:30) How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated, as an unholy thing, the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? - (Hebrews 10:29) The Holy Spirit reaches out in love and care for us, despite what is happening in the world. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. - (Nehemiah 9:20) When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. - (John 15:26) While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” - (Acts 13:2) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. - (Romans 8:26-27) I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. - (Romans 15:30) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. - (1 Corinthians 12:11) In the Book of Acts, Jesus tells us that, once filled with the Holy Spirit, “You will be My witnesses” (1:8). The Holy Spirit reflects the person of Jesus in our lives, and that is the distinguishing mark of a disciple, being a witness to Jesus Christ. Loving everyone is not the sign of the Holy Spirit; being a loving witness to Jesus Christ is. It is for this reason that the Holy Spirit was given to the Disciples at Pentecost, to teach them and lead them into all truth, and remind them of all that Jesus has said. (John 14:26) This revelatory action of the Holy Spirit fills us with love for the other. In the book of Genesis we see the Ruah, the Holy Spirit of God, hovering over the dark, disordered waters of the earth, ready to begin the New Creation. This same Holy Spirit is dwelling inside of you right now, reminding you that you are as much a new creation in Jesus as was creation itself in the beginning. Sit now, and breathe slowly and deeply. With each breath, think of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. With each breath, let go of the questions and “have to’s” and breathe in the very presence of God. You speak to the Spirit all the time; be still now and allow the Spirit to speak to you. Listening in the Spirit, Fr. Bill+ Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness On Friday we will celebrate the 249th year of our national independence. The 4th of July, Independence Day, is a beloved secular holiday dedicated to the idea of freedom made manifest by our separation from Great Britain. This separation, once achieved, made possible the dream articulated by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration was not simply a statement of war, far from it. The Declaration of Independence did list the grievances, which made separation a necessity, but it also recognized the principles held most dearly by the people. These principles were just that–principles. It would be the act of becoming an independent nation that would establish them as creeds held at the core of who “Americans” are. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The words of Jefferson were established as a creed for our nation. Based on a Christian understanding of Creation, these words echo Holy Scripture. The members of the Continental Congress (and later the framers of the Constitution) knew, as we do, that faith cannot be forced and that “equality” was more than a word. As a matter of record, three of the signers of the Declaration were not born in the colonies, and within two generations, the families of all members of the Continental Congress had immigrated from England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. Driven by persecution, famine, war, oppression, economic disaster, or the promise of endless possibility, our forefathers and mothers left their homes and histories and came to America to build a new life. Our nation began as a people from somewhere else, and this truth has made us stronger. Our nation has never had it easy. We have fought, quarreled, lived and died bearing different ideas and opinions. We are able to have these opinions and ideas because our forefathers knew that freedom did not mean a homogenous people. The freedom that was celebrated in the Declaration and set down as law in the Constitution served a diverse and proud people from everywhere. The truth of our diversity as our strength and our pride has been who we are since the beginning. In 1883, an effort went forth to erect the Statue of Liberty. A poem, entitled “The New Colossus” written by Emma Lazarus, a celebrated poet and Jewish activist, was auctioned to raise money for the construction of the pedestal. Her poem soon became synonymous with what the statue represented, and in 1903 the bronze casting holding her poem was fastened to the base of the pedestal. As Jesus proclaimed himself to be the light of life, the Statue of Liberty, the iconic symbol of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, holds aloft the lighted beacon of freedom to the world. This beacon, while it is not a Christian symbol, is in keeping with the proclamation of the Gospel inviting all people to come and be free. The Statue remains a national treasure, bolding proclaiming, in stature, the words in bronze at her feet: The New Colossus By Emma Lazarus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” This 4th of July, think on the faith of our forefathers. Their dedication to Christian principles formed the foundation of dignity and respect that supported the birth of our nation. Their devotion and the strength of their faith is clearly evident in the truth, all men are created equal. This truth was the power that formed a nation of diverse immigrants and faiths, not threatened by difference but made strong by different strengths joined together. Our Declaration of Independence In Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies: For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. Georgia Button Gwinnett Lyman Hall George Walton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes John Penn South Carolina Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward, Jr. Thomas Lynch, Jr. Arthur Middleton Massachusetts John Hancock Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge Gerry Maryland Samuel Chase William Paca Thomas Stone Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia George Wythe Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Harrison Thomas Nelson, Jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton Pennsylvania Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George Ross Delaware Caesar Rodney George Read Thomas McKean New York William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis Morris New Jersey Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett William Whipple Matthew Thornton Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins William Ellery Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott Living in Freedom, Fr. 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February 2026
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