Time to Catch Up

Is it time to review, rethink, and renew our faith? We are reminded in today’s gospel reading from John 14:21-26 that the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will teach us and remind us about love and keeping the word of the Lord. Something so simple as a clock’s face can be a springboard to help us.

 Let’s start with 1. Have we told our one almighty, all-powerful God and Creator today that we are thankful for all of his beautiful creation? This time of year we see seeds sprouting, lovely flowers growing, new life appearing.

 Next on the clock, 2, reminds us that Jesus is truly human and truly divine. He is the Word Incarnate, God and man. He understands. He has “been there, done that” in many situations on this earth. May we stop all our busy life occupations for a little while and just think about the sacrifices Jesus made for us in simple and eternal life-saving ways.

 We come to 3. Let’s think about the three Persons in one God, the Holy Trinity. We pray the sign of the cross with reverence and gratitude. We have the Father’s love, redemption through the Son, and the help, gifts, and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It may have been a long time since we have considered the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. Look “em up! Review their meanings! We have been gifted!

 Still on the right side of the clock face, we come to 4. We could go to the gospels and thank Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four gospel writers who have helped us to learn about our Savior. Bible-study courses can teach us about the evangelists. We can compare their styles, their similarities and differences. We are so grateful for their work!

 The first 5 books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch. Again, a Bible-study course will bring a new understanding of Genesis, Leviticus, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The five books, which the Jewish tradition calls the Torah, are very interesting and informative.

 We are up to 6. God created the world in six days and on the seventh day He rested. We could take each day of the week, each day’s account of creation, and thank God for what he created on each day, and then rest on the seventh day. We can personalize it all!

7. We know there are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church. Should we look into each one’s description a little more closely? How long has it been since we have studied the aspects of our faith? We might forget the riches available to us to help us draw closer to God.

 Going up the left side of the clock face, we are up to 8. Depending on how you read and count them, some sources say there are eight beatitudes. Read Matthew 5:3-11. Pray with that passage and ask for the Spirit’s help.

 We will put 9 and 11 together and think about how we often call out to the Lord, like a “9-1-1” emergency call when we have danger or illness confronting us. Maybe it is time to thank him for all the answers to prayer we have received over the years!

 The number 10 reminds us of the Ten Commandments. Have we looked at those commandments since Sunday school class? Living according to moral guidelines in this world of “me-first” can be quite challenging nowadays.

 And we are up to 12. We remember there were 12 apostles. Can we name them? Jacob had 12 sons and so there are 12 tribes of Israel. Perhaps we can write down 12 friends and relatives we want to pray for today.

 Most importantly, let us take time to just be with the Lord today and be joyful!

  ✝️✝️✝️

Photograph by Malvestida on Unsplash

Sharon Krause is a RENEW volunteer whose writing has appeared in several resources for small-group faith sharing. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother residing in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, Connecticut. Over the years, she has served in many parish ministries.