Affirmed
We are a Sacramental Church. Perhaps the greatest foundation of our Roman Catholic tradition is that Jesus Christ instigated our Church based on the sacred. Sacred moments, sacred experiences, sacred rituals all grounded in the sanctity of life itself. Sacrament, Sacred and Sanctity are three similar terms. They all hover around and underlie a flow of grace into the heart of what is really meaningful in life.
Perhaps you have heard me explain the Sacraments as desires that God has for us. The divine has hopes, dreams, even promises for the human. God wants things for us. For example, God has a desire for us to be welcomed into the community, so we have Baptism. Thus, Jesus chose to be baptized or immersed into human life.
Our Adventures in Grace pilgrimage calls this experience Drenched, thus urging us into a deeper appreciation of the sacrament. We have intentionally used the notion of pilgrimage because it is so essential to the unfolding journey of the sacred. We count on ritualizing sanctity as an adventure with an itinerary and so these sacramental realities build on each other. They indicate our growth and development. We believe that the sacred in life always holds more than what we know and are currently experiencing. It does not focus on one singular moment but, like life itself flows, travels and evolves. We believe this is best described as a pilgrimage.
I believe that God has a desire to be with us forever. See the Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel for details (Matthew 28:16-20). This is an unfolding desire that is manifest in its effect but not so clearly touched or grasped. It is felt, similar to the wind, but only apparent by the results of effects of its power. We feel a breeze and we see its effect in the moving trees or flapping flag. The Holy Spirit works in a similar manner.
Our Adventures in Grace calls this experience Affirmed. There are two basic definitions of affirmed. One emphasizes stating facts with assertion, strength and in a public manner. The other is to offer someone else emotional support or encouragement. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is asserted publicly in the Sacrament of Confirmation liturgy, and through this pilgrimage we are encouraging the identification of our gifts and supporting the process of sharing those gifts. The manifestation of this invisible Spirit is the practical effects of our behavior. Please respond with gusto and boldness to Terry Nelson-Johnson’s challenge to identify a gift/skill/talent/interest and demonstrate it, share it, enrich the world or the life of someone else by sharing it.
He also has repeatedly emphasized that the primary affirmation or confirmation in this Sacramental experience is our Baptism.
We will soon investigate God’s desires to both forgive us and heal us. Perhaps you can speculate on the Sacraments that we will be focusing on next. They will be the heart of the season of Lent that begins on March 2.
If you or someone close to you has not yet joined us on the Adventure in Grace, please go to our website and investigate some of the desires God has for you. We have worked very hard to provide this unique program of spiritual renewal. Scriptural support for both Confirmed and Affirmed comes from John 14:16, 25-27.
I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate to be with you always,
the spirit of truth.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you. I have told you this while I am with you, the Advocate,
the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and
remind you of all that I have told you.
My Hip Replacement
Please keep me in your prayers as I will have a total hip replacement surgery on Wednesday, February 23. I believe in the power of prayer, and especially your prayers. Thank you.