Lesson 31 - Holy Spirit, Cleanse Our Hearts

(Lesson 31)

First Scrutiny - Holy Spirit, Cleanse Our Hearts

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…”John 16:13

Discussion Guide:

The voice of the Holy Spirit will lead us away from the typical prejudices found in our society. Turning away from these attitudes is a lifelong process that involves prayer, the sacraments, community, and constant conversion. We need to reflect on the way that we view others around us, especially those who are different from us. Do we look at certain ethnic groups with suspicion or dislike? Do we look at poor people or rich people in a prejudiced fashion because of their status? Do we scoff at certain teachings of the Church because they do not fit our own life-styles? Original sin has weakened our ability to see the truth and to surrender our prejudices and our pride. The Holy Spirit can help us to see others and ourselves through the eyes of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit enlightens us in many other ways. He is a life-giving Spirit who reveals the love of God to our souls. He enables us to hear the voice of God more clearly in our everyday lives. We respond to the Spirit by acknowledging and repenting of the attitudes we possess that lead us to commit sin. Jesus told the disciples: “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever”. (John 14:16) We need to listen carefully to the voice of the counselor. The Holy Spirit speaks to every one of us through the Church, Sacred Scripture, our consciences, and the people that surround us. It becomes easy to tune out his voice when we become too self-absorbed and isolated from the rest of the community. Also, we should not be too quick to judge the motivations and intentions of others who are living outside the faith. Although Church teaching has given us the ability to recognize what is objectively right and wrong, we do not have the ability to see into a person’s heart. While we must detest sin in all its forms, we must be careful to always love the sinner (CCC 1933). It is not always easy to give people the benefit of the doubt, but in the spirit of charity we should always try.

Discussion Points:

· Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to be our counselor for all time

· Original sin has made it difficult for us to see others as God sees them

· Conversion of heart is a lifelong endeavor for every Christian

· There are various attitudes that lead us to commit sin

· Although we should hate all sin, we must never hate the sinner

· We need to see every human being as a child of God

· Prejudice of any kind is contrary to the teachings of the faith

· Although we can distinguish sin from righteousness, we can not read the intentions of another human beings heart

Intervention by the Permanent Observer of the Holy See at the 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Mar. 23, 2004

Msgr. Silvano Maria Tomasi

1. The wound of racism keeps returning to poison human relations. The forms taken by contemporary manifestations of racism are evident in spontaneous, officially tolerated or sometimes institutionalized behavior. In recent events intolerance, based on the idea of group superiority on the basis of the group’s origin or attributed characteristics, provokes new violence and death, ethnic cleansing, refugee flows and untold misery. Racist behavior and self-affirmation become occasionally the cover for undemocratic hold on power and for a rationalized justification for corruption. It is not difficult to notice from the information networks that practically in all continents, with the increased mobility of people, immigrants, especially if in an irregular situation, find themselves exposed to attacks and forced marginalization as a result of prejudice, even when their presence is needed for economic and even demographic reasons.

While race defines a human group in terms of immutable and hereditary traits, racist prejudice, which feeds racist behavior, can be applied by extension, with equally negative effects, to all persons whose ethnic origin, language, religion or customs make them appear different. In this way the right to full participation in society is denied to a variety of groups often set apart by the additional burden of great poverty.

2. The fight against racism remains therefore a contemporary commitment. Major positive steps have already been taken in recent decades in the effort to contain and eliminate prejudice and discrimination. The corner-stone remains the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with its principles of equality without distinction of any kind such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. These principles were further elaborated in other major instruments like the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), and the Declaration and Program of Action of the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban from 31 August to 8 September 2001.

4. The achievement of these objectives has to begin from an attitude of acceptance of the "other" and of a genuine appreciation of the multiplicity of gifts that human groups and cultures contribute to the whole of the human family. This necessary positive outlook can come only from deep convictions to make the art of living together in peace and mutual respect a reality. A strategic tool in this regard is education, especially human rights education, that must go beyond the external expressions of a culture and reach out to the value system and the spiritual belief that sustain the identity of a people. Dialogue at this level will go a long way to eliminate the walls built by prejudice and historical circumstances. All major religions strive to inculcate this inner rooting of tolerant behavior and at the same time they provide encouragement to teach by example first of all…. My Comment: Sometimes the United Nations needs to be reminded of the duty to protect the rights of the weakest members of all society!

First Scrutiny - Holy Spirit, Cleanse Our Hearts

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…”John 16:13

Opening Prayer:

The Confiteor: I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Theme:

The Holy Spirit is our counselor. Every one of us is a sinner in need of God’s mercy. We must change the attitudes that lead us into sin and cleanse our hearts in anticipation of encountering the Lord. Everyone is our brother and our sister in the eyes of Christ.

Bible Reading:

John 4:7-28 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city….

Explanation of the Bible reading: During his encounter with the woman at the well, the Lord makes it clear that he has come to save all people. The Jews and the Samaritans had a deep dislike for each other. This feud went back hundreds of years. The Samaritans were viewed as “half-breed Jews” who intermarried with pagans and adopted some of their practices. Jesus wanted to save them too! It was a big deal for him to take a drink of water from a Samaritan woman. She also had the privilege of hearing the Lord teach about the proper way to worship, in spirit and in truth. The apostles could not believe their ears or eyes when they saw Jesus talking to her. Of course, they were too timid to ask him about it. The fact that he spoke to a woman in that circumstance was also significant. He revealed the equal dignity between men and women in the eyes of God. It would have been highly unusual for a Jewish Rabbi to speak with a Samaritan woman, especially one who did not have a good reputation. He showed respect and love for a sinner from a foreign land. That is what I would call a good example of tolerance! Unlike the modern version of tolerance, that seeks to justify all sinful lifestyles, Jesus displays tolerance by calling all sinners to repentance because he cares about their eternal salvation.

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2727 We must also face the fact that certain attitudes deriving from the mentality of "this present world" can penetrate our lives if we are not vigilant. For example, some would have it that only that is true which can be verified by reason and science; yet prayer is a mystery that overflows both our conscious and unconscious lives. Others overly prize production and profit; thus prayer, being unproductive, is useless. Still others exalt sensuality and comfort as the criteria of the true, the good, and the beautiful…..

1931 Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that "everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as 'another self,' above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity." No legislation could by itself do away with the fears, prejudices, and attitudes of pride and selfishness which obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a "neighbor," a brother.

360 Because of its common origin the human race forms a unity, for "from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth"….

781 "At all times and in every race, anyone who fears God and does what is right has been acceptable to him. He has, however, willed to make men holy and save them, not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather to make them into a people who might acknowledge him and serve him in holiness. He therefore chose the Israelite race to be his own people and established a covenant with it. He gradually instructed this people. . . . All these things, however, happened as a preparation for and figure of that new and perfect covenant which was to be ratified in Christ . . . the New Covenant in his blood; he called together a race made up of Jews and Gentiles which would be one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit."

1935 The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it:

Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design.

683 "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!" ‘This knowledge of faith is possible only in the Holy Spirit…. And it is impossible to see God's Son without the Spirit, and no one can approach the Father without the Son, for the knowledge of the Father is the Son, and the knowledge of God's Son is obtained through the Holy Spirit.

2560 "If you knew the gift of God!" The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.

1865 Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.

Reflection Questions:

Are there any groups of people that you view with suspicion?






Describe a situation where you experienced or witnessed racial prejudice.






What specific area of your life do you need the Holy Spirit to cleanse? Pray for it!

John Paul II
Angelus August 26, 2001

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. "I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory" (Is 66,18). The word of the prophet Isaiah, which we hear in the liturgy today, makes me think of the important international meeting which will be held at Durban, in South Africa, 31 August to 7 September. It is the UN World Conference Against Racial Discrimination. There, once again, the Church will raise a strong voice to safeguard the fundamental rights of man, rooted in his dignity of being created in the image and likeness of God.
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has prepared, with an updated introduction, a new edition of the document published at my request in 1988, entitled The Church in Face of Racism: For a More Fraternal Society, in order to present to the faithful and to the international community the thought of the Holy See on such a problem.

2. In the last decades, characterized by the phenomenon of globalization and marked by the worrying resurgence of aggressive nationalism, ethnic violence and widespread phenomena of racial discrimination, human dignity has often been seriously threatened. Every upright conscience cannot but decisively condemn any racism, no matter in what heart or place it is found.
Unfortunately it emerges in ever new and unexpected ways, offending and degrading the human family. Racism is a sin that constitutes a serious offence against God. The Second Vatican Council reminds us that "We cannot truly pray to God the Father of all if we treat any people in other than brotherly fashion, for all men are created in the image of God....
Therefore, the Church reproves, as foreign to the will of Christ, any discrimination against people or any persecution of them on the basis of their race, color, social condition or religion" (Vat. II Nostra Aetate, n. 5).

3. To oppose racism we must practice the culture of reciprocal acceptance, recognizing in every man and woman a brother or sister with whom we walk in solidarity and peace. There is need for a vast work of education to the values that exalt the dignity of the human person and safeguard his fundamental rights. The Church intends to continue her efforts in this area, and asks all believers to make their own responsible contribution of conversion of heart, sensitization and formation. First of all, prayer is necessary to achieve this.
Particularly, let us invoke Our Lady, so that everywhere the culture of dialogue, of acceptance, and of respect for every human being may be advanced. To her we entrust the coming Conference of Durban which we hope will reinforce the common will to build a freer and more solid society.