Spirit of power, love and self control

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 9th week in Ordinary time

June 3, 2020: 2 Timothy 1:1-3,6-12; Mark 12:18-27

We are given the Spirit of power and love and self control, not a spirit of timidity! We have just celebrated the coming of the Spirit...but the Word always warns us - we need to discern the Spirit. It is an obvious fact, seeing in the world today (or any day) the so-called 'spirit'ual people who act in a way that is so ungodly, so inhuman, so unbecoming of the title they pride in. 

In fact, a spirit of negativity reigns in the world today, a spirit of death and darkness, a spirit of discouragement and hopelessness, a spirit of nothingness and pessimism, a spirit of vendetta and a spirit of exploitation is seen prevalent everywhere. 

The question is: what is the Spirit that we have within us? The spirit that we see around and imbibe? Or the Spirit of the Lord that liberates and sets us apart? The Word invites us today to take a look at the Spirit with which we are filled as true sons and daughters of God. Are we going to be lost in the spirit of  negativity and squander our lives finding fault with others all the time? Are we going to be pessimistic about everything that is happening around and start lamenting our times? 

If we are truly sons and daughters of the Almighty, truly disciples and followers of Christ the Master, truly filled with the Spirit of the Lord, we would dare to stick our heads out, gird our shoulders and get ourselves ready to live our life to the full without wasting our time in criticism and judgments of others. I cannot be bogged down by the negativity of the other; I cannot be influenced and affected by the callousness of the other; I cannot become that which I criticise in the other; because I am filled with the Spirit of power, love and self control, not that of timidity and fear!